A True Gentleman Wears Slippers

Day 2 of the shoe trial.

Accompanied by 'Lilian' and 'Luke', I and 'Mr F' went for a longer walk to try out the shoes.

'Lillian' is slowly becoming a welcome friend. She is just there, ready to answer questions but also patient and not expecting anything. She also doesn't judge my way of looking at horses which I find by now is rather different to the rest of the horsey people I have met so far.

But we are useful for her too:  'Mr F' and I are assisting her working with 'Luke'. Its a good little team we have going.

Straight away it was very noticeable that 'Mr F' walked much better and also was able to do turns on the cobbled yard without great difficulties.

Of course taking out a horse with carpet slippers isn't the done thing to do around here (or anywhere I guess) and 'Mr F' and I received much attention. A group of cyclist was particularily interested and were not short of various witty comments such as "Oh I say, slippers!" - "Where is his smoking jacket?" and so forth.

I suppose the hoof boots really did look a little like those warm slippers one would wear when enjoying a good book and a brandy in front of big open fire ...

Unfortunately the 'slippers' did not stay on all the way. As soon as they had come off,  'Mr F' wanted to walk on the grass verges again and began walking more hesitantly. 

I was glad really because it meant I was on the right track to resolving what bothers him or at least part of it. It was time to develop these slippers further.

Cutting open the old shoe for yet another 'flat projection' this time with better shaping of the edges so that the shoe does not have edges were they rub when walking.

Extending the back 'opening' for better shaping and fitting.

I used old socks to pull over his hooves so that I could apply the gaffa tape without it sticking to his hair.

We are ready for another trial soon.

These Boots Are Made For Walking

After our recent hack adventure with 'Jane' I spent some time researching on matters of hooves.

For the time being, I was ruling out his back as main source of discomfort as it had been checked over by the Osteopath.

Now it was time to look at his feet.

I have to say, taking on a horse without any prior knowledge of horses and their health is one hell of a learning curve. You just don't know where to start! There you are, with a horse that is for better or worse dependent on your efforts to care for its well being. Countless hours have been spent reading up on various topics. It's quite easy to get yourselves lost and I had to make some kind of plan for myself, to look at each issue one by one rather than to work a little here and there.

Well, so far I knew he had discomfort in his rear area. He had been diagnosed with a 'dead' back - the lumbar joint but this has been addressed and is still being addressed also with massage etc.

It's time to look at his feet.

'Jane' has had a barefoot specialist look at 'Rose's feet (the other ex-racehorse that arrived with 'Mr F', also barefoot). 

She recommended something that I now call 'Cloud Walking'. How is it supposed to work? 

a) Get 4 'Solemates Pads' (26mm thick pads, very similar or may even be memory foam). 

b) Have the horse stand on each pad to get an imprint the cut out leaving some extra so the hoof doesn't slip over the pad. 

c) Attach the cut to shape pads to each hoof with duct tape (just to the hoof, not the skin!). It comes of easily. Alternatively: make boots that can hold the pad for each hoof, using old carpet. (that intrigued me!)

d) If you have successfully managed to complete a - c, the rest is easy: walk your horse for about 30 minutes each day wearing these pads.

This 'cloud walking' would help stimulate frog growth and also correct structural imbalance while they are worn.

Having seen 'Jane' trying to apply this to 'Rose', I decided to make some 'boots' out of old carpet for 'Mr F's back hooves. I wanted to know if it would make a difference and whether it would stop him from hogging the grass verges. 

To make the shoes, I needed some idea of 'Mr F's hoof size and shape. The easiest way was to make 'casts' out of paper by wrapping them around his foot and  sticky-tape them into shape. I then cut open each wrap so that I could make some form of 'flat projection' onto a piece of old carpet.

The paper 'casts' of 'Mr F's hooves. I made several straight cuts down the paper hoof wall so that I could transfer a flat projection of the shape onto a piece of old carpet.

Once the carpet versions are cut out, fold them back into shape and fix together with duct tape, lots of it. With 2 'boots' prepared, I went to try them on.

I am pleased that by now 'Mr F' is patiently letting me get on with whatever I want to do with him, in his usual patient yet inquisitive manner. Every now and then he would turn his head and look as if to say "What on earth are you doing now?!"

Our first hoof boot prototype ... carpet slippers ... 

It was time to test them out. I lead 'Mr F' up and down the drive several times to test the boots or as I called them: his slippers.

'Mr F' was not quite sure at first what just happened to his feet but when he realised that he now was able move on gravel and hard ground without feeling uncomfortable, he began to walk much better. 

For the first time we managed to achieve a speedy walk and even his turning was now quicker and easier for him. A result!

The stiffness in the back leg remains, albeit a little less leaving me with the hope that when his feet are in an improved condition his stiffness may lessen eventually as he hopefully will be able to move more freely without having sore feet. I like to add that he only has sore feet on stony ground. When I lead him up in the open fields behind 'Buttercup Farm' his walk is very different.

First Hack With 'Mr F'

'Jane' asked whether I'd like to come out on a hack with 'Mr F',  accompanied by her on 'Madame'.

After some hesitation I did accept the kind offer. I hesitated because I didn't feel able to manage him out in the 'wild' and was concerned that I might cause traffic jams should I fail to deal with 'Mr F.

But there has to be a first time for everything and so I decided to not worry as it wouldn't get me anywhere. 

First of all I had to get to grips with all the tack. The previous time when I rode 'Mr F' in the menage, he had been tacked up for me as I had no clue. I knew where the tack was supposed to be but how to make it stay there is a different story!

Once everything was in the right place and securely 'attached', 'Mr F' was 'parked' along side the stonewall which all use to mount. 'Mr F' was very kind and stood still - perhaps too much so, as I will find out later.

'Mr F' and I are off on our first hack.
And no, I am not a child, I am 40 ... 

He patiently let me mount and waited until I had adjusted my stirrups. He must have known that I was a rookie / greenhorn in terms of riding. I was very well aware that he could have so easily taken advantage of my lack of ability, but he didn't. 

And so we got on our way, veeeeery slowly. 'Mr F' was desperately trying to stay on the grass verge, resisting any attempt of mine to get him off it. I was busy trying not to get stuck in the trees! 

All I can say is this:  'Boy' was A LOT easier to 'steer'. 

There was an embarrassing moment when 'Mr F' decided to stand still in the middle of the road, ignoring my feeble attempts to make him move, holding up traffic coming from both sides. I guess he didn't want to go out, perhaps he didn't feel secure enough with me. 

'Jane' had to come to the rescue with 'Madame'.

After this little mishap we continued and the rest of the little outing went without further mishaps, although very slowly.

All along I felt that 'Mr F' was very stiff and uncomfortable on his hind legs. I had the notion that he was in pain, although I was not quite sure where.

I had a recommended local Osteopath look him over. The diagnosis was that 'Mr F's back was dead (the lumbar section - somewhat similar to the driveshaft in a car...). He did make some changes / corrections and I had followed the instructions to massage and stretch 'Mr F's limbs and back. 

The Osteopath did say that he could not see a reason why 'Mr F' couldn't be ridden again.

So, perhaps he was still having back pain, although the fact that he was determined to stay on the grass verge which is soft compared to the tarmac, made me think he may have sore feet.

When 'Mr F' was put into the field in his previous home, his shoes were taken off and he was kept barefoot. I guess they occasionally trimmed them but they were in quite bad condition. Unevenly shaped and flared.

Some people did suggest that I should just put shoes back on but after I did some considerable research into the whole barefoot topic I decided to keep him barefoot. 

It was time for some more reading ... and to find a barefoot trimmer.

All pubs should have shovels!

'Luke' is here at 'Buttercup Farm' for two reasons:

a) so that 'Mr F' has a pasture mate now that 'Rose' has moved over to 'Madam's field.

b) it is a safe environment for 'Lillian' to work with 'Luke', who has apparently been a problem horse ever since she bought him. (or was it her daughter that bought him, I cannot remember).

A more recent incident with 'Luke' is described here: A very bumpy ride

Today, 'Lillian was planning on riding 'Luke' again and I would accompany her with 'Mr F' (on foot, not ridden).

We planned to take them through the nearby village and then finish our little trip out at one of the pubs.

'Luke' coped very well; we passed big noisy waste collecting vehicles, we passed children on bicycles who decided to cycle right in front of 'Luke' and he even coped with a collie who was barking at us wildly from one of the gardens.

That same collie however got loose and began chasing us down the main road. Barking wildly, he began to circle us. The collie was closing in and was now uncomfortably close to 'Mr F's hind legs. I was considering getting off and make use of my whip but the owner came running up the street, shouting apologies all along. She eventually caught up with her dog and she was truly embarrassed about it all, including the fact that her dog's behavior held up all the traffic.

It does happen quite often that we are chased by loose/escaped dogs. I wish people would keep them on leads until we are out of sight, even when out in the countryside.

We arrived at the pub and enjoyed a couple of drinks in the warm sunshine. 

But no pub visit goes by without one of the horses leaving a 'gift', resulting in us asking around for a shovel. It usually creates great interest when I go inside and ask at the bar for a shovel ... 

There always seems to be at least one keen gardener asking for the droppings. It has happened that people came from across the road picking up what our horses kindly dropped.

However, overall I am quite impressed at the friendliness of landlords and landlady's when we turn up with our horses.

Nothing major happened on the way back to 'Buttercup Farm' and all in all it was a good result. 'Lillian' was feeling a little more relaxed about riding 'Luke'.

'Luke'

Meeting 'Boy' - 3rd time riding with 'Calamity Jane'

As previously suggested by 'Calamity Jane', I was to test my directing abilities on a more experienced horse. I was told that I may find it easier dealing with a pony that was used to hacking out etc, rather than an ex-racehorse that seemingly had done nothing but racing.

I was quite uncomfortable with the thought of riding a horse that I did not know. It is important to me to get to know the horse I am about to ride before actually getting on. The horse ought to be able to trust me or at least feel comfortable in my presence to eventually accept me on its back. Getting along surely will make things much easier, that was my point of view.

With mixed feelings, I made my way over to the menage.

When I arrived, 'Calamity Jane' was still busy and so I used the waiting time to spend some time with 'Boy'. 

As I approached him I felt quite sorry to be riding him, he looked so relaxed and was half dozing. And to be fair, he was old and really looked old. To me he didn't look like a horse that should be ridden any longer. However, I was here and declining the very kind offer would have been rude. I knew he was still being ridden occasionally and he needed to be exercised because of his arthritis, so I was informed. Standing still all the time in a field was making it worse. 

I started to do my usual talking, scratching behind years and just 'listening' while standing with him.

Eventually it seemed as though he was ok with me. He is a lovely tempered and well mannered, senior age pony.

'Boy' being quite a lot smaller than 'Mr F',  felt a lot different to ride. Very uncomfortable, choppy and somewhat asymmetric, kind of out of rhythm.

Once in the menage, we did the same directional exercises as I had attempted before with 'Mr F' and my 'steering' abilities seemed to improve. It was indeed much easier to direct 'Boy', in comparison to 'Mr F' and I now felt less 'useless' as a rider.  It seems that I have to teach 'Mr F' to be a 'normal' riding horse.

To end the session, we rode the horses up to their fields, which meant to go on the road for a few yards. It was most enjoyable! My first time 'hacking' out, much more fun than hanging around in the menage. Much like 'Mr F', to me the menage is repetitive and it somehow draws out all energy.

It appeared that 'Calamity Jane' thought I was doing well on boy because she suggested that I would go on a hack with her. 'Boy' needed to be exercised and I was light and small enough for his old body, so she said. "OK, that would be most helpful." Although I really wanted to go and explore with 'Mr F', this was only my 3rd time in the saddle and for 'Mr F's sake I rather practise once more so that at least I somewhat have an idea of what I am supposed to do as a rider. And so that my body gets a feel for it. Admittedly, my body loved every minute of being in the saddle.

'Calamity Jane' would let me know when she had time for a hack.

I thanked her for letting me ride 'Boy' and made my way back to 'Buttercup Farm' where I spent some time with 'Mr F'.

'Luke' is up to something

And I am not sure what it is!

He has been displaying some unusual behavior which I am not yet able to read/understand.

Scenario 1 - yesterday's 'groundwork' session with 'Mr F'

Upon entering the field, 'Luke' was clearly very eager to have mine and 'Mr F's attention and thought it would be a great idea to squeeze himself between us while we were trying to work. Their field was the only flat field that would allow for some ground work. Plus it was full with poles, hurdles and other obstacles that are great to work with.

After 'Luke' had been told off a couple of times by myself and  'Mr F'  he realized that he was in the way and wandered off. From a distance he kept watching us with great interest.

It was unusual for 'Luke' to interrupt, he normally just follows around keeping a acceptable distance. I could have separated the two for the exercises but I had it in my head that 'Luke' should learn to not interferre when I am in the field.

So, to end the day's session, I went on to do some physio routines with 'Mr F'.  I was just reaching down to 'Mr F's front legs for stretching exercises when I saw 'Luke's shadow on the ground approach. I looked up only to see him with his front leg already on 'Mr F's back!

Mr 'Mr F' was NOT pleased and in warning began to raise his hind leg, which had the desired effect of getting 'Luke' off his back.

Later on I was pondering over the meaning of this.

Among dogs it generally means that they are trying to dominate other dogs, but does it mean the same with horses? Although 'Luke's face was very cheeky, playful.  Perhaps 'Luke' thought I was playing with 'Mr F'. After all they do nibble each others legs quite often when they initiate some game play. I watched it many times. Interesting ...


Scenario 2 - during the evening routine, same day:

Both boys had their feed I put them into their field. Sometimes I feed them in the field but often I take them out and change surroundings so both get used to the fact that circumstances can change.

All went fine, eating, grooming, walking around the trailer, etc.

We arrived back at the field. This time we had company in shape of a group of calves in the opposing field.

Earlier this afternoon I accompanied 'Lillian' and 'Luke'. We were basically 'babysitting' the two, me and 'Mr F' both walking. 'Luke' was not yet ready to go out on his won with 'Lillian'. when we took both of them out for a walk/ride earlier ('Mr F' acting as 'Luke's babysitter). We do that quite regularly so that 'Lillian' can slowly work on 'Luke' (6 years of age) being a riding horse. 


I then proceeded to go to the bottom of the field to check if they had enough water. I was half way down the field when I heard heavy hooves pounding the ground behind me. Nothing unusual as both sometimes trot leisurely around while I am in the field minding my own business. However, this time it sounded rather more eager and coming near fast.

When I turned around to face into the direction of the sound, 'Luke' was already facing me, with is front legs lightly lifted up in the air!

Now I have to say that at this moment I desperately tried to:
a) keep calm and not panic - bear in mind I am only 5' tall and 'Luke' is of considerable size.
b) hide the above mentioned feelings and pretend to be brave and calm
c) search through my 'mental library' of information in reference to signs of anger in a horse, 'Luke' did not actually seem angry but what did he want?? He had a very goofy face on.

My reaction was to say loudly ' 'Luke'! Stop!' and I firmly stood my ground. As he stopped he squeezed his nose into my neck then turned and made a big loop around me in a very odd, kind of skipping trot. Then he approached me again! I hadn't moved and looked straight at him.
Meanwhile 'Mr F' noticed what was going on and came trotting over but 'Luke' was already in front of me. I reacted in the same manner as above. 'Luke' stopped and and then came close with his head stretched and tilted sideways, mouth wide open (similar to when they 'yawn'), ears pointing in all directions except backwards ... and then he started nibbling my arm very gently!

'Mr F', now standing next to us, seemed quite alright although curious as to what was going on. He looked at me and then gave 'Luke' a quick 'nip' (nothing serious) and 'Luke' wandered off. Both began grazing as though nothing happened and continued pretending that nothing happened while I proceeding with my initial plan of checking the water.

For me, it was an interesting set of events!

Did he want to play? I had noticed some similar behaviour between the two of them. But why would he want to include me to play? Perhaps I am spending so much time in their field that I have somewhat become part of the crew and he did want to play indeed.

'Luke'

2nd Time In The Saddle

Another riding trial was due and 'Calamity Jane' came over to 'Buttercup Farm' to pick up me and 'Mr F'. 

I gave myself extra time to fetch 'Mr F' and to tack him up. Over the months he has become content with just my company and it doesn't bother him being in the yard with just me. We took our good time and I just about remembered where all the tack went. 

Punctual as usual, 'Calamity Jane' arrived, to my surprise on horseback. She suggested that I ride with her over to her menage.

'Oh dear ... ' I thought to myself because I knew from last time that my 'steering' abilities are sure not roadworthy. However, the route was short, with a small crossing that lead into a quiet residential area.  I trusted that  'CJ' would not suggest anything that could potentially be dangerous. 'We should be fine' I thought.

I got a leg up and off we went, me trusting 'Mr F' not to misbehave. Well, we got as far as the little crossing and to my embarrassment I just did not get 'Mr F' to move down the side lane. He had figured out that we were on the way to the menage and he just wasn't having any of it.  'Calamity Jane' had to grab his lead rope and lead  us all the way to the menage, to my quiet embarrassment.

We did a repeat from last time, me still trying not to send mixed signals with my leg aids. 'Mr F' was very patient yet again but most certainly bored. There wasn't much to see and all he was doing is placing one leg in front of the other, going in circles, a bit like a goldfish in its bowl ... 

And I admit, I wasn't much excited either, although I knew I had to do this.

Seeing that I was struggeling with the steering, 'Calamity Jane' asked me if I wanted her to ride 'Mr F' for a few minutes so she could see what he can do.

"Ok, perhaps you can tell me if it is just my ill doing or his too."  'Mr F' was a little puzzled to see that I was letting 'Calamity Jane' get on and looked at me rather puzzled. She did a few rounds but I could see that she too was struggling. It certainly wasn't as easy as she may have expected. 

"I think you should ride 'Boy', my oldie. At least then you can ride a horse that is used to be ridden." she said. 

"Ok. That would be very kind. It will give me an idea as to what I actually need to do. At least I can then see if it is really just my inability or if it is both of us."  I felt  like a traitor though, already arranging going off with another horse. How silly!

We made our way back on our own, I was leading 'Mr F' back. He was glad to be back at 'Buttercup Farm' where he could go and relax with his mate 'Luke'. 

I was curious to find out what it was like to ride a horse that is supposedly 'normal' to ride, whatever 'normal' is ...

Today is the day - Our first riding experience

At last, after 5 months, I was ready to go and ride 'Mr F' for the first time.

'Mr F' hasn't been ridden for a while. I understand that after he finished his racing time, he's been stood in a field for 4 years or so.

As mentioned earlier, my riding experience is minimal and going back to teenage days where I had lessons for some 6 months in turn for mucking out stables.

'Mr F' and I have been spending the past months just being together, in shape of grooming, going for walks along the countryside and spending time in the open fields behind 'Buttercup Farm', etc etc. I felt that we by now knew each other well enough to dare going out together.

'Calamity Jane' kindly offered us her menage to start our adventure and to give me some basic instructions. We arranged to be there for very early in the morning, I wanted to avoid the heat of the day and the flies.

I was ready and went to fetch 'Mr F'. Both him and 'Luke' were chilling out in the already warm, early morning summer sun.

'Mr F' (flat out), not a worry in the world, soaking up the sunbeams ....

'Luke': "Nope, I'm not coming, I'm chillin' "

I sat next to 'Mr F' for a while, until he decided it is time to get up, which really should have been 10 minutes ago. The phrase "Hurry up and be patient" springs to mind ...

'Mr F': "Alright, I'm up. What do you want?" 

The lack of tack situation was temporarily solved by 'Lillian' lending me her father's old, well used English saddle and I used 'Mr F's old bridle. It was a very slippery and hard saddle, it had seen a lot of use in its years. But it was a start. 

I bought myself a body protector, just in case, and of course a helmet. Being a 0 budget rider, I was thankful for certain online auction places. It was time to get to grips with the tack and where it all goes. All had to be explained to me. The saddle in particular seemed to me a dodgy matter. 'Mr F's back was so long, where am I supposed to place it? How do I know he is comfortable?  And this metal piece in his mouth, I wasn't keen on it. All I could think of was: this doesn't feel natural.

'Jane' accompanied us to the menage. I was leading 'Mr F' as I didn't dare ride over there on my own. The only experience of riding goes back 25 years, over about 6 months did I get to ride a riding school pony for half an hour a week. It was nothing like 'Mr F'.

So far I have learnt that this horse isn't just a 'normal' horse. 'Mr F' always know; he knows what I am supposed to do, he knows what I am going to do and therefore rather often looks at me almost disapprovingly or with a 'go on, make me do it' face. He knows what he wants and if he doesn't get it we have some sometimes serious discussions. Being with 'Mr F' isn't like being with other horses. 'Rose' is totally different and so is 'Luke'. They are less 'intrusive' or lets say: they don't look straight at me in the manner 'Mr F' does. Oh I know, most people think I am crazy but I don't care.

It was time to mount. Once I sat in the saddle, I was surprised to find myself instantly 'at home'. It was a totally different feeling to when I sat on those riding school ponies years ago. This time it was more 'personal' as I spent so much time with 'Mr F'. I was expecting that I might feel on edge but much the opposite, I felt safe and I trusted 'Mr F' not to take advantage of my beginner status. It was somewhat bonding, now I was in his 'hands'. It was time to see just how much we are really 'partners' in this.

'Calamity Jane' was giving me some instructions with regards to 'steering' etc. I was told to keep the reins short, SHORTER and shorter. Not knowing better I did as instructed but it didn't feel right, it seemed to upset 'Mr F' quite a lot.

He also didn't react to any leg aids and my ability to direct 'Mr F' from one point to another was hopeless. I had also noticed that he wasn't in the slightest motivated. As soon as we entered the menage his face went dull. Over the past months I have been out with this horse everyday. We either walked the countryside or went exploring in the open grazing fields behind 'Buttercup Farm', where we would say hello to all the calves and enjoy the juicy grass. 'Mr F's face was always awake, interested, taking things in. Here in the menage he was totally different.

I had a feeling that he was actually refusing my leg aids simply because he could but also because they were not clear nor consistent. It all annoyed him. 

We continued for a while but not much improvement. Then we decided that this was enough for a first time and we'd try again another day. I was grateful for at least having had the chance of using the menage but had a feeling that this riding matter was a path I had to work on on my own, with 'Mr F', somehow.

We made our way back to 'Buttercup Farm'. Perhaps he's not been ridden like this before, I guess he was just used to racing which would have been very different.

First though I needed to know what I was supposed to do as a rider. I didn't want to frustrate 'Mr F' any further and spoil it.

A very 'bumpy' ride!

It was a fairly hot summer's day and 'Jane', 'Lilian' and I were planning to take 'Rose', 'Luke' and 'Mr F' out for a ride/stroll. 'Lillian' was riding 'Luke', 'Jane was on 'Rose' and I was walking with 'Mr F'.

There were two reasons why I didn't ride 'Mr F' yet:

a) I hadn't yet developed enough of trust base between the two of us. There was more to be done. More about that later though.

b) I cannot ride. I rode for about 6 months as a teenager, on a well trained riding school pony. Now we are talking about an ex-racehorse ... which hadn't been used to hacking nor did he have his own tack.

We all got ready but 'Lillian' was not all that comfortable, which displays in her talking more than usual, a form of distraction. She was planning on riding 'Luke' who was still being accustomed to being ridden but he just isn't quite sure about it all.

'Luke' has been at 'Buttercup Farm' for just about a month, in a field with 'Mr F'. Since he arrived I noticed 'Luke' had changed a little, he was a bit more willing to partake in the worldly world, in other words: the world of us humans.

For some reason, the decision was made to go through the open fields behind 'Buttercup Farm'. I thought at the time that it wasn't exactly safe but went along. I mentioned it in an earlier post, 'Mr F' and I have spent some time getting used to and exploring the fields. 'Rose' however couldn't bare being in open fields. Hopefully she would be fine in company, that was the though anyway. I had no idea if 'Luke' would cope but that was 'Lillian's choice.

We got through the first field fine, me and 'Mr F' walking, the others riding.

When we entered the second field 'Jane' and I took a route along the edges of the field. 'Jane' was just about to suggest to 'Lillian' to remain near us,  when 'Luke' started bucking for no apparent reason. 'Lillian', not prepared for this because she was at that very moment occupied with something on the saddle, and so she came off, somewhat slowly. He didn't buck much actually, she would have had no problems staying on if she wouldn't have been fiddling around with some tack. I think it was her stirrup she wasn't happy about.
'Luke' by now was properly spooked, having just lost his rider. I am quite sure that horses do NOT like it when their rider falls off - they don't intend to harm us, but from their point of view its all they can do to deal with what bothers them. He ran for a few meters but realised he was on his own and in wild panic turned around and ran straight over 'Lillian' who was curled up on the ground in a fetal position, trying to protect herself as good as she could. 

'Jane' and 'I' were helplessly watching the hole thing. As all this was taking place I also noticed that 'Mr F' couldn't care less about the situation, he was as happy as could be, grazing the juicy grass on a not yet used field. 'Rose' was close to us and reasonably clam, but intently watching 'Luke'.

'Luke' then ran towards us, we just managed to dodge him as he pushed through between us. 'Mr F' finally deemed the situation serious enough to observe and watched with great interest what 'Luke' was up to next. Meanwhile 'Luke' continued with his frenzied charge and even slipped on the ground, half falling over. He then hid in a corner of the field under big trees and their overhanging branches. Staying put, he seemed to try and get his bearings together, I could see he was breathing heavily and his nostrils were wide open. If a leave would now fall on his back he'd be off like a rocket again ...

Meanwhile 'Lillian' managed to get up. Luckily she was not seriously injured but she will have some serious bruising. Clearly shaken up, she went to fetch 'Luke'. The two had a few minutes together to sort themselves out.

Meanwhile, 'Jane' and I were glad that nothing worse had happened. We were also very surprised just how little 'Rose' and 'Mr F' were bothered about it all.

'Lillian' decided to lead 'Luke' for a while until we would get onto the road. I have learnt, through reading and listening into conversations, that many horses find wide open fields quite frightening and they feel safer on a road where they know where they are going. Seems odd but I noticed that with 'Mr F' too. Only once he thought of me as someone that is trustworthy and ok to follow was he relaxed up in the open fields. I had been up in these fields with 'Mr F' alone many times and that is sure one of the reasons why he was so relaxed. It also stopped 'Rose' from going loopy which she would have done no doubt.

Once back on the road, 'Lillian' got back on 'Luke' who was still terrified and most unruly. I thought of 'Lillian' as brave to get back on. I had in the past  fallen off twice myself and indeed I had been told back then that I had to get straight back on otherwise I would always remain afraid.

The route back home went by without any further issues. We were pondering over what might have upset 'Luke'. We couldn't think of anything else but that he was perhaps bitten by a horse fly and was upset by it. Those irritating creatures were at the time present to the plenty!  Or perhaps it was the flapping of the stirrup leather.

Back at 'Buttercup Farm', 'Luke' had a lot to think about. He was clearly not happy with the events and could not understand what happened and was clearly out of sorts even back in the field. 

 '... I don't understand ... what do the humans want?'

'Mr F' keeping an eye on 'Luke'

'Lillian' on the other hand also will have a fair amount to think about, plus some big bruises to take home.

For me this was in a way perfectly timed: with all this pushing on for me to ride  It takes NOTHING at all for the horse to go 'boom'! All I could think of was: we have to be able to trust each other (horse and rider) else it's just not working. The trust level has to be balanced. Bravery has not much to do with it. From my point of view it seemed obvious that if I am not trusting 'Mr F' he'll know and in turn he won't feel safe. He'll see me as 'weak' (frightened) which to a horse means: flight!