You think you’ve seen everything out hacking and then...

Sussexbythesea

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You meet a woman taking her shrieking cockatoo for a walk in the park o_O:oops:

We initially thought someone had a weird squeaky dog toy and the horses got a bit jiggy. Then we saw the woman holding it in her hand while it squawked. We were also having to pass a tractor with flashing lights at the same time but the boys were pretty good all in all only one spin between them. They’d already got a bit antsy as there was also a group of about 20 women jogging through the park earlier that were quite noisy and came up behind us but a couple were lagging and we kept passing them. All in all not the most relaxing ride we could have had!

What’s the most unusual thing you’ve come across hacking?
 

SEL

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A goat on a lead and someone playing the bagpipes. Not on the same ride thankfully.

Then there was the car by the bridlepath that I realised too late was moving rather energetically with steamed up windows. We were heading home and any detour would have taken us away from home. Horse wanted tea and was not up for considering detour...... so I looked the other way and horse had a good stare.
 

MyBoyChe

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A party of Lhama walkers!! Who knew that was a thing but apparently it is. There is a small holding in a village near us they have some pet lhamas and you can go and walk them. We met them on quite a narrow bridleway and I was convinced I was going to die, pony however decided he was completely in love with them and had to stop, sniff and nuzzle them. Spotty, I too was once flashed at whilst riding, many many years ago now and the chap saw me approaching and asked me if I had the time, whilst I was looking for my watch he dropped his trousers!! Now Ive never been easily shocked so I just laughed and rode my 17.2 hunter type straight at him, pulling away at the last minute. I know it wasnt the most sensible thing to have done but honestly, the fear on his face was priceless...pillock!
 

Sussexbythesea

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Were you tempted to give them a tap with your whip and a click, click "Ter...rrrot... get on with you"?

Yes very. One got her foot stuck in the mud and lost her shoe (this was the second time we passed them) so one of the organisers had to come back and help her out. She was practically crying. The rest of the group had to keep stopping for them to catch up. To be fair though I probably would have been 9ne if the laggers if I were stupid enough to run through a foot of mud :D
 

Chianti

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Saw two youngish men ahead of me in the woods carrying something which I realised was a microphone as I got closer. Caught them up and one asked if he could record my pony's footsteps- for a game. I said he could but did point out that pony was unshod and we were on mud so possibly not much sound. He said that was Ok so they followed me for a while. I do sometimes wonder when I'm out riding if there are teenagers all over the land on their Gameboys listening to my pony's footsteps.
 

Pearlsasinger

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We once found ourselves in the middle of a charity bedpush, complete with uniformed nurses and a 'patient' in the squeekiest bed, you have ever heard. The horses coped brilliantly with that but were most disgruntled when we turned to go the opposite way at the end of the road. They could hear the clapping and cheering as the beds got to the finish line and wanted to join in. :oops:
The same pair did not cope so well with the group of shrieking 6 and 7 yr olds having a birthday party with a bouncy castle, in almost exactly the same place.:eek:

The very worst response I remember was to what turned out to be a washing line with pegs left on it. :D The garden was below the level of the road with a high hedge shielding it from view. The 'bombproof' Draft horse stopped dead, spun to block the road to her companion and point blank refused to move forwards. I could neither see, nor hear anything at this point. Her companion just thought she was having a funny turn and eventually managed to overtake her and lead the way past.

It was several weeks later when I worked out what the problem had been but I had a friend who liveried quite near the garden and often had problems getting her sensible cob past that point and had never been able to work out what the problem was.
 

scruffyponies

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Our most entertaining encounter was a steam lorry. Like a traction engine, but much, much bigger. It was fully underway, with a 20ft plume of black smoke, hissing steam and clanking like Marley's ghost.

We were in the middle of a chocolate box village at the time, so not much space to pass... and as luck would have it I was bareback.
 

windand rain

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Hazel was horrified last week when the sheep in the field on the right suddenly appear 100 yards further up the same lane on the left totally lost the plot
 
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Keith_Beef

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2 kids in mid air above a hedge. Clearly on an invisible trampoline. His nibs was having none of that!

I had that once, too. High hedges, so the horse couldn't see the noisy kids until they started bouncing and trying to throw a basketball through a hoop at the same time.

The only other unusual thing was I think about four years ago when we met a couple of young men with a kite-skateboards in a field next to the path.

Man with helmet: no problem. Oversized all-terrain skateboard: no problem.

Then he pulled the strings, the wind got into the rectangular parachute-like kite that made a roaring noise as it shot into the air.

The horse acted as if he saw that every day of the week: he just kept on walking along.
 

humblepie

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Oh yes used to meet children on trampoline hacking from a yard used to be at. Was okay provided their dogs didn’t lie in wait behind the hedge at the same time and then chase the horses. Weirdness one was waiting at a junction of a one way lane which led to a byway type road. Was waiting for a car to decide which way they were going when out of a sloping downhill drive at the side child laying down on large skateboard appeared and went past the front of my horse and the car. Not sure if driver horse or I were more shocked. Child lucky were all stationary.
 

ycbm

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Not witnessed personally, but some friends of mine came across a naked rambler! :oops:


I think you might well mean THE Naked Rambler, Stephen Gough. He was very well known until a few years ago, spent a lot of time in prison for insisting he had a right to walk naked.

He's the one I came across, and my horse was transfixed by the wobbly bits he'd never seen before. He wouldn't take his eyes off them. It was hilarious.
.
 

crazyandme

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One of the recumbent bikes meant I reversed at speed down a narrow lane before I reached the entrance of a bridleway and could let it past with my old Welsh

Very friendly herd of alpacas near a bridleway who would come charging down to say hi! Always nervewracking on a horse that hadn't passed them before (especially as it was right next to the railway as well) as if the horse took umbrage it was either through a thick hedge or towards the railway

Goat on the lead appeared whilst Reg was surrounded by special needs kids. Quickly removed him from their vicinity before he decided he didn't like the goat!

Gliders and small planes coming in to land over our heads

Local bridleway went right past the local zoo, so could sometimes see animals from it!
 

GinaGeo

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Mum and I were trotting through the woods on Christmas morning. It has been cold and there was a thick frost with remnants of snow in places.

The horses shot sideways, we turned to look and running through the woods besides us, off the path and very much in the brambles, was a man wearing nothing but a pair of walking boots.

The path forked shortly after and we cantered away, equally bemused and half wondering whether it was the gin from the night before.

He must have been a bit sore!
 

humblepie

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Re the local zoo. Never meet any of the animals fortunately but many years ago circus used to spend a week in September at the farm as was just on the edge of large town. It was disconcerting leading the horses out in the semi dark to the field adjacent hearing lions and elephants. Used to just hope the lions were still in the circus compound and not out and about for an early morning snack.
 
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