NeilM
Well-Known Member
The OH is out of action at present, having had a big lump of gristle hacked off her foot by a surgeon last Friday. This has given me the opportunity to reacquaint the 'Fat Lad' with hacking out on his own. He's been a little 'looky' on a few occasions, but on the whole he's been as good as gold.
Tonight we had a real test of character; in fact we had several tests.
First off we met a friend and were having a bit of a natter when we heard the sound of an approaching scramble bike...make that two, actually make that THREE. The three of them (being ridden by guys 35 to 40 years old) came hurtling around a corner that we were about 20 yards from. I had H facing the corner and my friend had her HW cob across the path. The guys saw us in time and took another path, one even stopped and apologised, before shooting off. The horses did not bat an eyelid
We parted and went our separate ways. H and I wandered into the wood, where there are a few impromptu jumps, but instead of waiting for me to shorten him up, H decided to take an alternative route. This meant I had to drop to one side of him in order to avoid being knocked senseless by a large bough and then get into the saddle in time for a decent sized natural jump.
After I (we) finished laughing H suddenly stopped dead, as about 100 yards away was a deer, just on the edge of the woods. It was while looking at the deer that I noticed a large shiny 4 X 4 charging down a steep hill on what I thought was a bridleway. Fortunately H and I were to one side of the path as the fat bloke in his shiny car came belting around the corner at 40 mph. The driver nearly shat himself and swerved around us. H didn't move a muscle.
Well, that's enough for one hack, thought I, WRONG. Just as we got out of the woods and back onto the road, I noticed in a field to our right that one of the old breed sheep that live there had managed to get a horn caught in a wire fence! I dismounted, tied H to the gate and climbed over it. H was happily munching grass, so he was safe. The field is a very steep slope, which is why the sheep are there, anything bigger or less sure footed would roll down the hill. I had just got to the sheep, which was performing some pretty impressive acrobatics, when a car came round the corner on the road where H was tied up and startled him. He pulled himself free and cantered down the road 20 yards....it just gets better and better don't it?
With the sheep now free, I walked / ran / fell down the hill to the gate and climbed over it. The guy in the car has stopped and H was giving it the evil eye, as he does with anything or anybody who disturbs him while he is eating.
I thanked the driver for stopping and remounted.
There rest of the ride home was pretty uneventful. Still, at least I know the meaning of the term bombproof now.
Tonight we had a real test of character; in fact we had several tests.
First off we met a friend and were having a bit of a natter when we heard the sound of an approaching scramble bike...make that two, actually make that THREE. The three of them (being ridden by guys 35 to 40 years old) came hurtling around a corner that we were about 20 yards from. I had H facing the corner and my friend had her HW cob across the path. The guys saw us in time and took another path, one even stopped and apologised, before shooting off. The horses did not bat an eyelid
We parted and went our separate ways. H and I wandered into the wood, where there are a few impromptu jumps, but instead of waiting for me to shorten him up, H decided to take an alternative route. This meant I had to drop to one side of him in order to avoid being knocked senseless by a large bough and then get into the saddle in time for a decent sized natural jump.
After I (we) finished laughing H suddenly stopped dead, as about 100 yards away was a deer, just on the edge of the woods. It was while looking at the deer that I noticed a large shiny 4 X 4 charging down a steep hill on what I thought was a bridleway. Fortunately H and I were to one side of the path as the fat bloke in his shiny car came belting around the corner at 40 mph. The driver nearly shat himself and swerved around us. H didn't move a muscle.
Well, that's enough for one hack, thought I, WRONG. Just as we got out of the woods and back onto the road, I noticed in a field to our right that one of the old breed sheep that live there had managed to get a horn caught in a wire fence! I dismounted, tied H to the gate and climbed over it. H was happily munching grass, so he was safe. The field is a very steep slope, which is why the sheep are there, anything bigger or less sure footed would roll down the hill. I had just got to the sheep, which was performing some pretty impressive acrobatics, when a car came round the corner on the road where H was tied up and startled him. He pulled himself free and cantered down the road 20 yards....it just gets better and better don't it?
With the sheep now free, I walked / ran / fell down the hill to the gate and climbed over it. The guy in the car has stopped and H was giving it the evil eye, as he does with anything or anybody who disturbs him while he is eating.
I thanked the driver for stopping and remounted.There rest of the ride home was pretty uneventful. Still, at least I know the meaning of the term bombproof now.
i wish there was forests round here lol ... me and my friend were hacking past a bunch of felabellas (sp) in a field and one came through the fence and started following us haha it was cute 
then a car came and opened the field gate for us to heard it back in lol we felt like cowgirls 
