Had a [possible first?] international HHO meet up!

Sparkles

Sparkles

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With the lovely SarahF on here in the Gambia :)

Had some lovely rides and met the ever sweet Chance, who is also very lovely!


Some pics!

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My lovely little Albra buddy!

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Queenie

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And the lovely Apaat, who Sarah was completely right, he is lovely [minus the unintended 'race' with Albra and me last time lol]

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And the day we were nearly hit by lightening out riding....see the whole in the roof of the beach hut with the men unthatching it? We were there when lightening struck the roof about an hour previous to this photo and set it on fire. The horses were saints for not throwing us off as it was slightly terrifying that close!

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And the super adorable Tabby cat :)

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And my 'attacker' who jumped me.....lol

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Lovely lady, lovely horses and a lovely time :) Thankyou for the horses [and best ice cream parlour! lol]! Will see you again soon :)
 
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SarahF

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Haha it's strange seeing you called Christmas Sparkles now!

It was so lovely to meet up - had some little adventures (& some lovely icecreams lol!)

Looking forward to next time! X
 
Sparkles

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Thanks. It was great :) I just came back yesterday, ended up staying over there for a month. It sucks to come back, apart from baby coblet.
 
Paint Me Proud

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looks like fun, a bit like the sort of thing i did in aruba. Although i think queenie needs a crupper, lol, i used to have a mare whose saddle would disappear up her neck too!
 
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SarahF

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Wagtail said:
Why are you riding an underweight 2 year old that is also far too small for you? Or have I got that wrong?
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Hi Wagtail
Chance is approx three now (est oct/nov) & although technically all the horses are underweight here, he's not doing too bad. In fact he's put on more weight in the month XS was here.
He's not schooling, just hacking on the beach to get him accustomed to the sights and sounds.

If you're referring to XmasSparkles ✨ riding him into the waves - she was originally on Apaat but we swapped so she could take Chance for a dip (I don't go in the sea - don't like getting me socks wet!) ;)

PS: I wasn't originally gonna respond to any criticism type posts but I'm sure you mean well - and I'm also aware that the difference between condition of horses/ practices here and Europe couldn't be further apart.
 
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Wagtail

Wagtail

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SarahF said:
Hi Wagtail
Chance is approx three now (est oct/nov) & although technically all the horses are underweight here, he's not doing too bad. In fact he's put on more weight in the month XS was here.
He's not schooling, just hacking on the beach to get him accustomed to the sights and sounds.

If you're referring to XmasSparkles ✨ riding him into the waves - she was originally on Apaat but we swapped so she could take Chance for a dip (I don't go in the sea - don't like getting me socks wet!) ;)

PS: I wasn't originally gonna respond to any criticism type posts but I'm sure you mean well - and I'm also aware that the difference between horses/practices here and Europe couldn't be more different.
Click to expand...

No, I was asking a genuine question. As you say practices are very different here and it would not be acceptable. However, compared to most horses in Gambia, I can see your horses have a very easy life. I was just shocked at the small size of them compared with the riders. It's really a matter of what we are used to. Thanks for clarifying.
 
Sparkles

Sparkles

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Not entirely sure which your on about, the horses we were riding apaat and albra are mature lads (6 & 8 year olds) Sarah's horse has just started to be walked down to the beach (bear in mind, he is kept on that road and horses spend the day loose grazing on the beach) a couple of times in the last few weeks seeing as it will be his job in the future. His mouth shows a definite 3yo year old and a lot of gambians don't even record their own birth date, let alone an animals. Sarah's horse is one of the lucky ones out there, seeing horse conditions over there with my own eyes. Anywhere else he'd be in a cart on the road all day or in full running work on the beach. At the minute there, its their version of our horses coming out of winter right now. It is not an easy country for horses to survive in. I understand that after seeing it.
 
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SarahF

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Wagtail said:
No, I was asking a genuine question. As you say practices are very different here and it would not be acceptable. However, compared to most horses in Gambia, I can see your horses have a very easy life. I was just shocked at the small size of them compared with the riders. It's really a matter of what we are used to. Thanks for clarifying.
Click to expand...

They are very small yes. Apaats the tallest at around 15'2'' and I don't think there are many wider than a narrow/medium saddle-wise.
Luckily for them their average Gambian rider (or cowboy as i like to call them) is about 8 stone wet through lol!
(Tourists on the other hand can often be a bit big for some of them, but they tend to just get lead up the beach and back anyway thankfully!)
 
Sparkles

Sparkles

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From the forum spot :) my partner is gambian so started talking to Sarah on here about the place as she lives there now. Said I was coming over at some point with my partner to there so we had to meet up and ride naturally lol and our apartment was just down the road from hers :)
 
Spring Feather

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Fabulous! Love the photos and always nice to learn about how things are done in other parts of the world. A great many things we do this side of the Atlantic are not the norm in the UK. Looks like you both had a wonderful time.
 
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