Monday 31 January 2011

Tuesday 25th Jan - Longest Hack Ever!!!

This riding lark is getting more fun by the minute!!!

I've been out on the most amazing hack this morning with my instructor all the way around the Bowood riding route. I have been desperate to do this since first getting my horse and today I achieved it!!! What an amazing feeling. We were out for two hours and rode through woods, big stubble fields, up hills, down muddy tracks, and saw a buzzard, a few pheasants and about 40 deer.

I think my mare thought the deer were lions at first, as she stopped dead in her tracks the moment the first one appeared in front of us. She seemed quite on edge as the next 20 ran across our track, and was abit joggy and on her toes for a few minutes afterwards. I knew that if I let myself get scared then she would be too, and so remembered back to the course about what it felt like to be ridden by a nervous tense rider and what it felt to be ridden by a relaxed confident rider, and did my best to imitate the latter. My instructor gave her a polo to help take her mind off things and we walked on, and I praised and encouraged her al the way, keeping my legs in a light contact with her sides and chatting merrily away.

When the next group of 20 charged across the track in front of us she stopped again, but walked on, all be it a little warily, had a small spook at a bird that flew through the trees and then settled back down again.

On the homeward straight we had a really lovely steady trot and she she came back to me as soon as I asked her too.

Yes!!!!!

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