Meowy Catkin
Meow!
To set the scene...
the two humans involved were myself (not very steady on my feet due to spinal injury) and my Dad (very deaf). The two horses were the grey arab (very sensible) and the chestnut arab (very excitable). The landscape is steep and if you aren't going uphill, it's because you're going downhill.
Now, of course my Dad led the grey and I had the gelding
and for some, frankly insane reason we decided to take them up the bridleway instead of just a potter down the lane as per usual. I'm sure that alot of you know - that as my mare has been on field rest for over a year - I havn't been up the bridleway for ages. Well, it's certainly alot harder to walk on now as dirt bikes have really carved it up.
Anyhoo, I fell over twice going up the steepest part
as I just couldn't keep my feet under me . I have to say, I'm very proud of the gelding who apart form one spook and lots of poos was pretty well behaved. The grey, was once again so good that it was sickening. Even the alpacas running over and meeping at her, didn't cause even a blink of her eyes. I discovered that it was much better if I was infront because I couldn't ask my Dad to wait if he was infront and I was having trouble with the terrain (he just can't hear you shout).
The gelding needs to work on steady-ing as he is a very forwards chap (tail up, ears pricked... and march, no stopping allowed) and I just can't walk as fast as he can up the rutted slopes. He is also a bit of a princess and avioded getting any mud on his toes. .
The grey will walk through whatever you ask and I think that my Dad expects every horse to be like that. When we got back to the yard, he decided to not take her through the ford (I couldn't get his attention to say that this was a bad idea). There is an alternative, but it involves a narrow gap with some flappy plastic, walking over an old bonfire, then up a tall concrete step and finally over the septic tank with it's two drain covers. Of course she did all this perfectly and luckily so did the gelding. His eyes were on stalks but he just carefilly placed his little toes on the ground he liked to look of and didn't hesitate.
So, it was all very exciting and took two hours! I'm so tired now and I'm sure that some of you will think that I am nuts, but they will be expected to ride around the same terrain in the future and it's quite nice to see how quickly the horses learn to be patient because the human is having trouble. I fully expect the chestnut to be as good as the grey in the not too distant future. Poor boy, he'll even learn that mud wont kill him. 
the two humans involved were myself (not very steady on my feet due to spinal injury) and my Dad (very deaf). The two horses were the grey arab (very sensible) and the chestnut arab (very excitable). The landscape is steep and if you aren't going uphill, it's because you're going downhill.
Now, of course my Dad led the grey and I had the gelding
and for some, frankly insane reason we decided to take them up the bridleway instead of just a potter down the lane as per usual. I'm sure that alot of you know - that as my mare has been on field rest for over a year - I havn't been up the bridleway for ages. Well, it's certainly alot harder to walk on now as dirt bikes have really carved it up.Anyhoo, I fell over twice going up the steepest part
as I just couldn't keep my feet under me . I have to say, I'm very proud of the gelding who apart form one spook and lots of poos was pretty well behaved. The grey, was once again so good that it was sickening. Even the alpacas running over and meeping at her, didn't cause even a blink of her eyes. I discovered that it was much better if I was infront because I couldn't ask my Dad to wait if he was infront and I was having trouble with the terrain (he just can't hear you shout).The gelding needs to work on steady-ing as he is a very forwards chap (tail up, ears pricked... and march, no stopping allowed) and I just can't walk as fast as he can up the rutted slopes. He is also a bit of a princess and avioded getting any mud on his toes.
. The grey will walk through whatever you ask and I think that my Dad expects every horse to be like that. When we got back to the yard, he decided to not take her through the ford (I couldn't get his attention to say that this was a bad idea). There is an alternative, but it involves a narrow gap with some flappy plastic, walking over an old bonfire, then up a tall concrete step and finally over the septic tank with it's two drain covers. Of course she did all this perfectly and luckily so did the gelding. His eyes were on stalks but he just carefilly placed his little toes on the ground he liked to look of and didn't hesitate.
So, it was all very exciting and took two hours!
I'm so tired now and I'm sure that some of you will think that I am nuts, but they will be expected to ride around the same terrain in the future and it's quite nice to see how quickly the horses learn to be patient because the human is having trouble. I fully expect the chestnut to be as good as the grey in the not too distant future. Poor boy, he'll even learn that mud wont kill him. 
