Post by NFK Dumpling on Sept 21, 2015 19:43:35 GMT -1
I am now back to riding both ponies.
I took Musk round the gallops Friday evening, saw a fox and four deer, had a good gallop and did the two log pile jumps fluently (thanks Pam and Tanya). We also had a lovely hack around the tracks in the next village on Sunday during which we encountered a hedgecutter and a tractor pulling a rotary cultivator with no hystrionics
Saturday I took James around the field at home and then onto a track where I asked for a trot which got quicker and quicker as he realised that there were loose sheep in front of us that needed pursuing
They disappeared into the maize and we turned out onto the roadside track (making sure to shut the gate, which is a performance in itself as James would far rather be on the home side of it and never misses a trick to achieve this goal). We had a short burst of canter on the track, followed by a trot which ended with a sudden shy at a bird(!) combined with the dropped shoulder and me decanted onto my feet beside him much to the amusement of the passing traffic 
I don't mount from the ground in deference to his age so had to lead a very smug pony up the road until I found something to mount from in this case a roadsign a good quarter of a mile away. When we were nearly home we met a family on bicycles apart from the smallest child who was on a scooter. We did 180 spin and took off AWAY FROM HOME!!!!! for a few yards, he then grew a couple of hands and stood snorting and huffing with his old heart banging away. One of the few times he has been genuinely worried by something.
It ended with us tucked in a gateway with the little girl walking past pushing her scooter shielded by her Mum and her bicycle - dotty old pony
I took Musk round the gallops Friday evening, saw a fox and four deer, had a good gallop and did the two log pile jumps fluently (thanks Pam and Tanya). We also had a lovely hack around the tracks in the next village on Sunday during which we encountered a hedgecutter and a tractor pulling a rotary cultivator with no hystrionics
Saturday I took James around the field at home and then onto a track where I asked for a trot which got quicker and quicker as he realised that there were loose sheep in front of us that needed pursuing
They disappeared into the maize and we turned out onto the roadside track (making sure to shut the gate, which is a performance in itself as James would far rather be on the home side of it and never misses a trick to achieve this goal). We had a short burst of canter on the track, followed by a trot which ended with a sudden shy at a bird(!) combined with the dropped shoulder and me decanted onto my feet beside him much to the amusement of the passing traffic 
I don't mount from the ground in deference to his age so had to lead a very smug pony up the road until I found something to mount from in this case a roadsign a good quarter of a mile away. When we were nearly home we met a family on bicycles apart from the smallest child who was on a scooter. We did 180 spin and took off AWAY FROM HOME!!!!! for a few yards, he then grew a couple of hands and stood snorting and huffing with his old heart banging away. One of the few times he has been genuinely worried by something.
It ended with us tucked in a gateway with the little girl walking past pushing her scooter shielded by her Mum and her bicycle - dotty old pony
How old is he now?
