hairycob
Well-Known Member
First thing yesterday morning texted a friend good luck for the endurance at Keysoe & then promptly forgot all about it.
Rode out with YO on her elderly, slightly arthritic mare & me on her young, solid in traffic but nervous in open country, cob. Cob has been known to spin & bog off at the sight of horses coming towards him on a bridleway - you can guess where this is going can't you. Yep - a couple of miles from home all was going well until we were about to join another bridlepath & we realise it's part of the endurance route & the really serious FEI level competitors are hurtling along it. Decided discretion is the better part of valour & turned for home. Or at least YO did. Cob lost the plot & couldn't decide whether he should be going with the horses that were clearly fleeing some terror or his field mate who was totally oblivious to the danger. So we went in most directions including upwards & backwards at speed. Jumped off as he calms down with someone walking alongside him & he followed me back towards home. Once he couldn't see the endurance he was calm enough for a constant a battle to stop him snacking - he is 16h, built like a tank & thinks WHW should be called if he hasn't eaten for 5 minutes. Being arable country it was ages before I found somewhere to get back on & it was flipping hot. Get back to the yard tired, sweaty & with stomped on feet so decide to ride my horse late afternoon.
5pm... having spent the last hour poo picking I decide it's too hot & sticky to put breeches on & I will walk my horse out in hand instead - he is recovering from atypical myopathy & we are just doing gentle walks. YO decides she will walk her mare out with me. It's a long track to the yard & there is a ditch alongside it. We were walking side by side, I was ditch side. Suddenly, without any warning that we spotted the mare tried to double barrel my horse who leapt out of the way & ended up on his back in the ditch. He managed to get himself up with a bit of effort & walked out of the ditch, thank god. He was muddy but no cuts, swelling or tenderness so turned him out & will trot him up this morning.
Rode out with YO on her elderly, slightly arthritic mare & me on her young, solid in traffic but nervous in open country, cob. Cob has been known to spin & bog off at the sight of horses coming towards him on a bridleway - you can guess where this is going can't you. Yep - a couple of miles from home all was going well until we were about to join another bridlepath & we realise it's part of the endurance route & the really serious FEI level competitors are hurtling along it. Decided discretion is the better part of valour & turned for home. Or at least YO did. Cob lost the plot & couldn't decide whether he should be going with the horses that were clearly fleeing some terror or his field mate who was totally oblivious to the danger. So we went in most directions including upwards & backwards at speed. Jumped off as he calms down with someone walking alongside him & he followed me back towards home. Once he couldn't see the endurance he was calm enough for a constant a battle to stop him snacking - he is 16h, built like a tank & thinks WHW should be called if he hasn't eaten for 5 minutes. Being arable country it was ages before I found somewhere to get back on & it was flipping hot. Get back to the yard tired, sweaty & with stomped on feet so decide to ride my horse late afternoon.
5pm... having spent the last hour poo picking I decide it's too hot & sticky to put breeches on & I will walk my horse out in hand instead - he is recovering from atypical myopathy & we are just doing gentle walks. YO decides she will walk her mare out with me. It's a long track to the yard & there is a ditch alongside it. We were walking side by side, I was ditch side. Suddenly, without any warning that we spotted the mare tried to double barrel my horse who leapt out of the way & ended up on his back in the ditch. He managed to get himself up with a bit of effort & walked out of the ditch, thank god. He was muddy but no cuts, swelling or tenderness so turned him out & will trot him up this morning.