Friday 18 April 2014

Not-so-Good Friday

Today being a Bank Holiday, She thought it would be the ideal time to introduce Hanuman to walking quietly round the arena with a rider on his back.  The arena is next to a road, so She figured that a Bank Holiday would be ideal as there would be only light traffic and nothing to scare him.  As is usual with these things, the plan didn't match reality.  Hanuman was being very good until a clanking vehicle gave him a fright and he bolted.  
Her valiant efforts to steer him to the safety of the yard failed and She impaled Herself on the gatepost.  At first She seemed to be just crumpled on the floor, groaning, but then lay motionless for several minutes.  We became quite worried about who was going to let us out of the stables and give us food in future.


Finally, She came to, just as an anxious passer-by enquired about Her welfare.  We think She is concussed because She got back on Hanuman and rode him into the arena again (although we did note that She didn't stray too far down this time).  Hanuman had forgotten about the whole incident, although, judging by the limping, we don't think She will forget it quite so soon.

Tuesday 15 April 2014

Easter Ride

On Sunday I was chosen to go on the riding club Easter Ride and I had great fun.  I quickly slotted in behind my new best friend, Max, and set a good example to the rest behind me.  In the woods I showed them all how to make majestic leaps over tree trunks.
I size up the jump ahead
At one point we set off for a canter but Max was very fast and the only way I could keep up was to charge along at a gallop.  Max's rider seemed to have a poor grip of the laws of physics, which state:
           Mass   x   Velocity   =   Unstoppable Momentum
Max's rider slowed without considering the stopping distance required by a horse of my mass, so, as there were no warning brake lights or hand signals given, suddenly I found myself crashing into the back of Max.
Anyway, order was quickly restored and soon afterwards my finely honed detection skills alerted me to the presence of a pile of treats and I managed to stuff quite a few carrots into my mouth before the others arrived to demand a share.  The riders were happy filling their faces with chocolate, except for one small girl who was chewing a carrot.  That should not be allowed.
Anyway, we carried them and the extra calories back safely, only to find that the riders could claim yet more chocolate.

I had a well deserved day off yesterday, but today, I was woken from my nap in the stable and had to have a dressage lesson because Posy had a sore foot.  I puffed my way through all the exercises and won much praise for my simple changes and counter canter produced at such short notice.  I need to have a lie down now.