NeverSayNever
Well-Known Member
went out for a long hack today with my relatively new horse Charlie, whom I have been regaining some lost confidence with...
I got on using my plastic step thingy as always,and he stood for me, what a good lad!
As I asked him to walk on I thought - why is he walking like he has stringhalt, throwing his head about and what is that clattering ??? The wee soul had somehow put his hind leg through the step and it was stuck on his leg 
I admit I panicked as I anticipated the carnage that might be about to ensue... kicked my feet free from the stirrups and jumped off pronto. Took the step from off his leg and bless his heart, he didnt react or do a thing! That could have been soooo nasty, and I havent had a horse to date that wouldnt have freaked, bolted/panicked had that happened to them.
So off we went on our hack - the roads round us are usually really quiet but we met a small lorry not far from home. Like a removal van type thing. There was a gateway for us to pull into and he stood like a good boy as it went past
All was well and we had our first proper flat out gallop and cantered round part of the tracks I use for XC training and he felt fab
Then as we were going along the main road, a huge lorry approached us with a queue of cars behind it. It was huge, like a big cattle lorry but with flappy sides, and its headlights were on. Poor Charlie stopped and I just felt him go, 'no mum, this is too much' I waved to the driver, who thankfully, slowed right down - but by this time C was refusing to go forwards and was genuinely scared. The driver, bless him, stopped the lorry and waited for me.... and I tired again to make him walk past, but we ended up going backwards across the road :-[ The driver then turned off his engine (what a star!) but C was having none if it - thankfully there was an entrance into a field of barley on the opposite side of the road and I signalled to him that I would go in there. Once in the gateway he I turned him round so he was facing the road and he stood and watched the lorry as it moved off. The people in the queue of cars behind were all goggling at us and pointing as they went past, oh the shame! After the road was clear again we carried on...... and I had the realisation that I wasnt feeling any nerves!! That I had dealt with it without bricking it thank goodness for that driver - had he not been so considerate and steamed on past i dread to think! i waved and mouthed thank you at him profusely.
On the way home we met a combine harvester - ok, it was parked with noone in it. I took it as a chance to do some positive work with him and i think this shows how my confidence is coming back as I pushed him closer and closer, circling round it, until we got this anyone listening would have thought i was mad : the conversation went along the lines of; "ooh lets go and say hello to Mr CombineHarvester! Hello Mr CombineHarvester! Isnt he smart Charlie? Isnt he handsome? Look at his lovely shiney green paint!! Iwonder if he would like to be your friend?"
I got on using my plastic step thingy as always,and he stood for me, what a good lad!
As I asked him to walk on I thought - why is he walking like he has stringhalt, throwing his head about and what is that clattering ??? The wee soul had somehow put his hind leg through the step and it was stuck on his leg I admit I panicked as I anticipated the carnage that might be about to ensue... kicked my feet free from the stirrups and jumped off pronto. Took the step from off his leg and bless his heart, he didnt react or do a thing! That could have been soooo nasty, and I havent had a horse to date that wouldnt have freaked, bolted/panicked had that happened to them.So off we went on our hack - the roads round us are usually really quiet but we met a small lorry not far from home. Like a removal van type thing. There was a gateway for us to pull into and he stood like a good boy as it went past
All was well and we had our first proper flat out gallop
and cantered round part of the tracks I use for XC training and he felt fab Then as we were going along the main road, a huge lorry approached us with a queue of cars behind it. It was huge, like a big cattle lorry but with flappy sides, and its headlights were on. Poor Charlie stopped and I just felt him go, 'no mum, this is too much' I waved to the driver, who thankfully, slowed right down - but by this time C was refusing to go forwards and was genuinely scared. The driver, bless him, stopped the lorry and waited for me.... and I tired again to make him walk past, but we ended up going backwards across the road :-[ The driver then turned off his engine (what a star!) but C was having none if it - thankfully there was an entrance into a field of barley on the opposite side of the road and I signalled to him that I would go in there. Once in the gateway he I turned him round so he was facing the road and he stood and watched the lorry as it moved off. The people in the queue of cars behind were all goggling at us and pointing as they went past, oh the shame! After the road was clear again we carried on...... and I had the realisation that I wasnt feeling any nerves!! That I had dealt with it without bricking it
thank goodness for that driver - had he not been so considerate and steamed on past i dread to think! i waved and mouthed thank you at him profusely. On the way home we met a combine harvester - ok, it was parked with noone in it. I took it as a chance to do some positive work with him and i think this shows how my confidence is coming back as I pushed him closer and closer, circling round it, until we got this
anyone listening would have thought i was mad : the conversation went along the lines of; "ooh lets go and say hello to Mr CombineHarvester! Hello Mr CombineHarvester! Isnt he smart Charlie? Isnt he handsome? Look at his lovely shiney green paint!! Iwonder if he would like to be your friend?"
