Today Vinnie and I went out for a hack.
Yep, most unusual for the pair of us to actually get our little bottoms outside the yard gate (going out in the lorry to compete doesn’t count in the same way).
We were going to try the new DEFRA ride (an off-road scheme open to horses around the margins of adjoining fields) but the ground’s so soft beneath foot/hoof that we quickly decided we’d do some roadwork.
Vinnie showed none of the twatishness he’d displayed yesterday; within a fairly short span of time we were out and trogging down the lane.
We were out for an hour and a half – we rode a circular route known as the long block, here’s the view I had for the duration:
Brilliant, isn’t it? Even from the back of his head you can tell he’s enjoying himself (the ears are a signal!). It’s a little blurred though, but Vinnie doesn’t really do stop. Go, Go faster, Greased Weasel Shit and Oh My God are his speeds. This was taken at Go.
Anyway.
The lanes were very busy for a Sunday afternoon, we met four cars – FOUR! In an hour and a half! It’s like rush hour.
Along the way we met some new people, most of them had two legs but one of them had four.
The one with four legs was a 24-year-old pony called Hazel. Sitting on top of Hazel was a young girl – about eight – who is visiting the UK from Adelaide.
Holding on to Hazel (to aid steering because by the look of her, Hazel wasn’t going to vanish unexpectedly over the horizon any day soon) was Hazel’s mummy and UK-based relative of the young girl, while accompanying them on foot was the girl’s (grown up) Aussie brother and Hazel’s mummy’s little boy – about nine.
We met these new people in a lane that runs on top of a hill near the yard. It’s a brilliant view from up there but I keep forgetting to photograph it. We had a little chat – just a few words – then Vinnie remembered he doesn’t do Stop and we left them in a cloud of dust (metaphorically speaking).
When we got back to the yard a couple of people were loose-jumping their horses in the arena. It’s quite stunning to see how effortlessly these brilliant animals propel themselves over obstacles at tremendous speed.
I ‘did’ Vinnie (where ‘did’ = untacked, scratched, groomed, fed treats, checked him over for lumps, bumps, bruises, groomed again, fed treats again, led him to his box, rugged him up and left him to dive in to his haylage as though he hadn’t been fed for three weeks), put his tack and grooming kit away and had a cup of tea.
Then The Lovely S arrived, fresh from her spending in Worcester, and conveyed me to La Peque Cochinera where the all-day veggie breakfast did its work.
And now home, a little interwebing, maybe some Top Gear and perhaps a 24 or two.
Then bed followed by almost instant loss of consciousness and a 05.15 alarm.
Pretty cool, huh?