JenHunt
Well-Known Member
Well... I would have posted yesterday, but I was alseep in the field by 9!
So, Mum and pete arrived on friday night and spoke to us over the fence in the dark. They were talking about this fence and that fence... but I couldn't tell where it was from their descriptions.
Saturday morning we were dragged in from the field at half 8 (unholy hour outside of hunting!) and given breakfast. I don't really like breakfast as it breaks up my sleep too soon, but I ate it anyway, and then rinsed my mouth in the nice clean water barrel mum had filled for me. She'd put salt in my breakfast, what did she expect?!!
then, the worst bit, she came back about half an hour later and attacked me viciously with a hose pipe, sponge and girly pink shampoo.... at least it was sunny, so I didn't get cold. and just to make it worse she scrubbed my socks with blue stuff and then made my mane (no longer a mop, but stands on end) into weird knots with string. Tom stood in his stable and laughed at me, then went back to trying to sharpen his teeth on the salt block. Tom hates it when he thinks I'm going somewhere without him and starts trying to get mum's attention with silly things like that, or he takes his brushes off the window sill and throws them at her.
Then aunty Ro came out and made a fuss of him, so he was quiet and I could go back to sleep in the sunshine and concentrate on drying off. Then mum put more stuff on me, she said it's to make me shiny, but I think its just to make me smell like a girl. I was beginning to worry that we were going to fart about in a show ring, or do dressage....
Then Pete was asking mum about water buckets and things, so it couldn't just be dressage. Mum put socks over my socks and I went into the fun moving stable. Tom was put into the winter paddock all by himself. I'm not sure which I would rather do - go into 8 acres of really green grass and eat myself silly, or go into the fun moving stable and go somewhere exciting.
When I got out of the stable we were in a field full of the things, with lots of humans and horses around, and a farrier not far from us... surely not just an elaborate trip to the farrier?! But then Pete came back with some numbers and a yellow thing on his riding hat, and I was tacked up ready for something suspiciously like dressage.
It was dressage, which would explain the nasty French link snaffle that I was put in earlier in the week. But I decided I would try for Pete as it was the first time he had tried to make me do dressage. But then.. they made me leave everyone else, across a road and then do the little circley thing in front of a car. I was so worried that I forgot all about everything mum had told pete, and went back to being a camel. Pete was quite cross, but mum told him it was only cos i was worried and he gave me a polo and told me not to be silly or we wouldn't get to go jumping!
At least it wasn't going to be just dressage then! Soon I was tacked up again (with my nice comfy Myler snaffle back!) and aunty Ro helped Pete get ready for some show jumping - aunty ro is really good and she and tom get to do really big jumps with really scary fillers in! and she told Pete that he had to relax and let me go into the fences and then I jump better. I think I jump brilliantly anyway. she also told him to make me use all of the arena to make it easier for us both. When we went into the ring it was on a slope, but that's fine. there wasn't anything too scary in the ring, but one of the fillers had escaped and was sitting on the side watching me... it had a red eye on it that followed me round the ring! and in my haste to escape it I knocked one of the poles off, but Pete gave me a pat and seemed quite pleased.
I knew now that cross country was next. Pete was really calm by now and so i knew it would be fine. Mum said to aunty ro that she should take the dog (i'd forgotten that she'd come too) and go and stand by the commentator (i guess its some kind of human name for a jump?) so she could see us come past.
Soon it was time to go, and the man at the start counted really really slowly and I got told off by Pete for being impatient. But we went and I tried to go really fast, but Pete kept telling me to just steady up a bit for the fences. they were quite fun, but not very big. We went round the course quite slowly, and mum said we had time faults - I don't think it was the time's fault, i just think that pete didn't let me go fast enough!
Anyway, by the time I had a roll by the moving stable, and got given a bucket of sloppy food and washed off again (2 baths in 1 day! I'm not a smelly girl!) it was about 7 when we got home, Tom was really pleased to see us and hasn't stopped talking since!
Mum said something about next weekend... so I hope i don't have to do dressage again!
Lots of carrots and an extra big portion of oats for getting this far!!
So, Mum and pete arrived on friday night and spoke to us over the fence in the dark. They were talking about this fence and that fence... but I couldn't tell where it was from their descriptions.
Saturday morning we were dragged in from the field at half 8 (unholy hour outside of hunting!) and given breakfast. I don't really like breakfast as it breaks up my sleep too soon, but I ate it anyway, and then rinsed my mouth in the nice clean water barrel mum had filled for me. She'd put salt in my breakfast, what did she expect?!!
then, the worst bit, she came back about half an hour later and attacked me viciously with a hose pipe, sponge and girly pink shampoo.... at least it was sunny, so I didn't get cold. and just to make it worse she scrubbed my socks with blue stuff and then made my mane (no longer a mop, but stands on end) into weird knots with string. Tom stood in his stable and laughed at me, then went back to trying to sharpen his teeth on the salt block. Tom hates it when he thinks I'm going somewhere without him and starts trying to get mum's attention with silly things like that, or he takes his brushes off the window sill and throws them at her.
Then aunty Ro came out and made a fuss of him, so he was quiet and I could go back to sleep in the sunshine and concentrate on drying off. Then mum put more stuff on me, she said it's to make me shiny, but I think its just to make me smell like a girl. I was beginning to worry that we were going to fart about in a show ring, or do dressage....
Then Pete was asking mum about water buckets and things, so it couldn't just be dressage. Mum put socks over my socks and I went into the fun moving stable. Tom was put into the winter paddock all by himself. I'm not sure which I would rather do - go into 8 acres of really green grass and eat myself silly, or go into the fun moving stable and go somewhere exciting.
When I got out of the stable we were in a field full of the things, with lots of humans and horses around, and a farrier not far from us... surely not just an elaborate trip to the farrier?! But then Pete came back with some numbers and a yellow thing on his riding hat, and I was tacked up ready for something suspiciously like dressage.
It was dressage, which would explain the nasty French link snaffle that I was put in earlier in the week. But I decided I would try for Pete as it was the first time he had tried to make me do dressage. But then.. they made me leave everyone else, across a road and then do the little circley thing in front of a car. I was so worried that I forgot all about everything mum had told pete, and went back to being a camel. Pete was quite cross, but mum told him it was only cos i was worried and he gave me a polo and told me not to be silly or we wouldn't get to go jumping!
At least it wasn't going to be just dressage then! Soon I was tacked up again (with my nice comfy Myler snaffle back!) and aunty Ro helped Pete get ready for some show jumping - aunty ro is really good and she and tom get to do really big jumps with really scary fillers in! and she told Pete that he had to relax and let me go into the fences and then I jump better. I think I jump brilliantly anyway. she also told him to make me use all of the arena to make it easier for us both. When we went into the ring it was on a slope, but that's fine. there wasn't anything too scary in the ring, but one of the fillers had escaped and was sitting on the side watching me... it had a red eye on it that followed me round the ring! and in my haste to escape it I knocked one of the poles off, but Pete gave me a pat and seemed quite pleased.
I knew now that cross country was next. Pete was really calm by now and so i knew it would be fine. Mum said to aunty ro that she should take the dog (i'd forgotten that she'd come too) and go and stand by the commentator (i guess its some kind of human name for a jump?) so she could see us come past.
Soon it was time to go, and the man at the start counted really really slowly and I got told off by Pete for being impatient. But we went and I tried to go really fast, but Pete kept telling me to just steady up a bit for the fences. they were quite fun, but not very big. We went round the course quite slowly, and mum said we had time faults - I don't think it was the time's fault, i just think that pete didn't let me go fast enough!
Anyway, by the time I had a roll by the moving stable, and got given a bucket of sloppy food and washed off again (2 baths in 1 day! I'm not a smelly girl!) it was about 7 when we got home, Tom was really pleased to see us and hasn't stopped talking since!
Mum said something about next weekend... so I hope i don't have to do dressage again!
Lots of carrots and an extra big portion of oats for getting this far!!
