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Post by snigsby on May 20, 2013 7:45:51 GMT
And to add to the fun,yesterday Rhona and I dressed Rafferty in his teensy little saddle and NagRags numnah and long reined him out looking like a Big Boy.
Next weekend,we are all taking our brave pills and Rhona is going to sit on him and be led around. I leant over and on him yesterday and apart from staggering theatrically and grunting (I am only joking,ladies and gents) he was totally unbothered.
I have a pic which I will try to upload.
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Post by nicxf on May 20, 2013 18:43:15 GMT
Oo, go Rafferty!
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Post by kas on May 20, 2013 19:27:46 GMT
Cool!
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Post by snigsby on May 22, 2013 12:47:48 GMT
Monday was a beautifully warm and sunny day. I offered to take one of the girlies from the yard and her horse to the beach if she wouldn't mind Khan's loading shenanigans. We hacked for 3 hours along the beach and up through various parks and cycle tracks in the town. It was fab,exactly why I have a horse Khan went in after a fairly short argument at home but then we had the help of two nice chaps (one of whom was obviously an Irish tinker) to get him in on the way home. Blindfolding worked this time. I feel so damned guilty every single time. The poor horse really does not want to be in a trailer and I find myself unable to give up my desire to ride in places other than round about home. And I can't afford to keep another horse. Sometimes I feel it's OK to put my needs and wants before Khans and other times I just feel totally wrong for making another being bend to my will. Aaaargh. But we both loved out three hour hack - he is ears up all the way,tackling little wooden bridges and passing golfers with no problems.
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Post by nicxf on May 22, 2013 12:57:13 GMT
If he enjoys going out and about, then if you keep doing it maybe one day he'll just get used to it! You never know. And you've had a massive improvement haven't you? Don't I remember reading way back that you couldn't really load him at all? Maybe it's just gonna take him a really long time to get the idea...
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Post by snigsby on Jun 3, 2013 8:13:47 GMT
Yes,nic,I need to remember the improvement and stop focussing on the negative. I have come to the conclusion that I have probably created this problem for myself with some help from Khan's previous owners and from Khan. Unwittingly,I must add. Being cut late,I firmly believe that he has retained a lot of the mindset of a stallion,in particular the part where he insists on discussing things. Anyway, after one hour's discussion,he loaded yesterday and off we sailed to a pleasure ride in Dumfriesshire that we haven't done before. Game of two halves,really. First half - heavenly; second half - hellish. He was so lovely for an hour,obedient,willing,calm and then..........he sighted horses cantering in the distance and bingo! suddenly we were in sideways,snorting,speeding mode for an hour. Horrible to ride that. But I enjoyed the day and we were within our time which was a bit of a miracle as we had to dismount for several gates and also a lost boot and also twice to collect tokens. The views were fantastic and although there were quite a few very stony tracks,the grassy fields and moors were great. Rafferty,on the other hand is being a real sweetie pie. He will still roll if long reined on a woodchip surface but not when carrying his young rider,thank goodness. He has so far not batted an eyelid at having a person on his back so we may venture out onto the farm track with me leading him.
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Post by beksnjake on Jun 3, 2013 18:11:55 GMT
I like the sound of the first half of your pleasure ride - not so sure about the 2nd half - you are a braver rider than me!
Rafferty - what a darling!
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Post by nicxf on Jun 5, 2013 7:14:27 GMT
Sounds eventful! And Rafferty sounds like a little superstar.
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Post by snigsby on Jun 5, 2013 9:23:16 GMT
Yes,he can be a good little pony quite often! He experienced his first unscheduled dismount yesterday when his saddle slipped. Eeeeeek! I had left it to his youg rider to check - she won't make that mistake again tee hee. Rafferty just stood still and sighed,eyeballs lifte to the heavens. I wish I could find a good tiny rider. His current one is very keen but hopeless - bit like myself,really.
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Post by snigsby on Jun 16, 2013 16:49:49 GMT
Khan and I went camping on Friday. We were only going to stay one night but he wouldn't load and I was knackered so we stayed last night as well. The ride we went to was in East Lothian and we managed our second Bronze qualifier! Yay! There was an FEI ** ride taking in the course we were on and it was fascinating seeing international horses doing 120k race ride and also our own homegrown ones doing 160k. Not quite so fascinating being all but bulldozed into a ditch by three Kuwaiti riders doing a slow gallop. Khan went nuts,well,even more nuts than usual. Then we were (politely) passed by a couple of competitive English riders and then........to Khan's delight,we got caught up in the racing finish to the 80k competitive ride. (The organisers need to get a grip on themselves for not having the sense to avoid this happening). So he only got a Silver for his heart rate. And he busted out of his corral when the Kuwaiti lorries arrived - same organisers need more sense not to have lorries parking beside corraled horses. Anyway, that's us two third of the way to Bronze - we'll have to do a 50k ride for our final. Hmmm. Hello? Hellooooo??? *small pony thrashes tail in exasperation* Er,some of us don't get all this kind of excitement,you know,we just go for B&B to the yard up the road and get spoiled rotten totally ignored.
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Post by nicxf on Jun 16, 2013 19:04:49 GMT
Coo, souonds exciting in many different ways...but yay, well done on the Bronze! *waves at Rafferty*
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Post by beksnjake on Jun 17, 2013 4:53:24 GMT
Sounds exciting. Good luck with the 50k.
Poor Rafferty - being left home all alone - not ;D
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Post by kas on Jul 9, 2013 6:28:36 GMT
Sounds exciting in all sorts of ways! But look at what you and Khan are getting to do Snigs, what a great achievement!
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Post by snigsby on Jul 9, 2013 9:17:34 GMT
Yes,we are having some exciting times and I am loving them. Er,mostly. This time it was "tramping" (I have invented this word for camping in your trailer) at Broughton in the Scottish Borders. weather was fantastic and the organisers had laid on a buffet supper in the village hall on Saturday night. Yummy!. Friday night we had a 10 mile pleasure ride along an old railway line from Broughton to Biggar along the valley of the Biggar Water. Bucolic,pastoral splendour. I happened to be the last one out and barely saw a soul,not a horse and hardly even anyone in the distance. Except the cow on the track. eeek. Had to get off and lead Khan past but he was fairly calm which is good when he had a cow 6 feet away and not even a fence to save him. Then on Saturday,the pleasure ride went south,along the valley a little way then up,around and over the hills to the south. Sheep tracks across the moor down into the next narrow valley,breathtaking views over the hills to the north and farm tracks back along the valley to grass tracks back down to the venue. Khan was adorable for the first half hour or so until I let him canter up to the top of a small mountain and then he went into his usual "want to canter everywhere" mode. But we survived. Another wonderful couple of hours. On Saturday,there was a Handy Pony course set up. £2 a go for charity. I really,really couldn't be bothered re-grooming and tacking up again in the heat but wanted to show willing so we did it in hand,even the jump (not a very high one lol) and then,in a fit of bravado,we did it again bareback (without the jump!!). WE WON A PRIZE!!! Yes,we were given it on the basis of that old joke about dogs dancing on their hind legs - not that we had done it well but that we had done it at all A lovely,lovely weekend and one of which memories are made. Oh,you wanted to know why Khan was sentenced to death? By being staked out in the hot sun and eaten by horseflies? Really,really hot sun and very,very vicious horseflies? Would you believe starting to load at half ten on Sunday morning and finaly going in at quarter to FIVE?
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Post by nicxf on Jul 9, 2013 10:17:33 GMT
Sounds like a fab weekend! But the little horror on the loading front!
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