'Mr F' and I took part in our biggest outing yet, some 20+ horses / ponies gathered to be part of the riding club's Christmas ride on the 23rd December 2014. I really didn't fancy another group ride but thought that 'Mr F' had to learn somehow that groups of horses doesn't equal racing.
'Lillian' went with 'Luke', a first time for 'Luke' too ... he had never been out with this large a group.
We loaded the boys into the trailer and off we went to our destination. Upon arrival we left the boys in the trailer for a while, letting them 'chill-out' and take in their surroundings (windows and doors open. Both were as calm as one could hope for. Meanwhile we used the opportunity of being there first to have a quick glass of Champagne to celebrate 'Jane's' Birthday.
Soon more people arrived in trailers and on horseback. It was time to unload the boys. 'Luke' was remarkably calm and very interested in the other horses. He likes to go and say hello; I think it helps him to figure out where he stands in the crowd.
'Mr F' on the otherhand is not really interested in other horses and was doing his usual 'ok ok, where does the race start ... come on come on .. where do we start!'
However, I was pleased to see that he was still partly 'with me' - compared to our last big ride at Chatsworth, when his eyes completely glazed over in excitement/anxiety and no matter what I did or said, it didn't actually reach his mind. This time he was a little more present.
The time came to mount (we travelled with tack on and only had to put the bridles on).
Having been warned of some other participants I knew I was once again in for a 'bit of a ride'. This was confirmed as soon as we took off. There was a group of riders that had no control over their horses (to the point where they just canter wildly on the main road!) and also a few that didn't fancy walking and instead preferred to do the whole ride as fast as possible, would they have had their way.
Had I known of this I would not have gone. Not because of myself but it was not fair on 'Mr F'. I take him to these big rides so he hopefully over times learns that its not a race if there are more than 6 horses. Considering that he was feeling a little better this time I was hoping that the 'wild group' would behave.
Not so: they lived up to 'Lillian's warnings, and more on top of that!
'Mr F' on the otherhand is not really interested in other horses and was doing his usual 'ok ok, where does the race start ... come on come on .. where do we start!'
However, I was pleased to see that he was still partly 'with me' - compared to our last big ride at Chatsworth, when his eyes completely glazed over in excitement/anxiety and no matter what I did or said, it didn't actually reach his mind. This time he was a little more present.
The time came to mount (we travelled with tack on and only had to put the bridles on).
Having been warned of some other participants I knew I was once again in for a 'bit of a ride'. This was confirmed as soon as we took off. There was a group of riders that had no control over their horses (to the point where they just canter wildly on the main road!) and also a few that didn't fancy walking and instead preferred to do the whole ride as fast as possible, would they have had their way.
Had I known of this I would not have gone. Not because of myself but it was not fair on 'Mr F'. I take him to these big rides so he hopefully over times learns that its not a race if there are more than 6 horses. Considering that he was feeling a little better this time I was hoping that the 'wild group' would behave.
Not so: they lived up to 'Lillian's warnings, and more on top of that!
To make the ride as calming for 'Mr F' as possible, I decided to join up with the group at the front. Or let me translate: being with the fast and somewhat out of control group. I was weighing up my options. Should I stick at the back and have yet another full-time jogging ride (upsetting the others) or shall I see if being with the front group will please 'Mr F' a little more.
The first half of the ride 'Mr F' spent doing his usual jogging and head shaking (just as I had seen him do in a race when he was charging past his opponents for the win!). On that note: I have been thinking about this head shaking of his and it is exactly the same movement as when he walks up to horses in the field gesturing at them to move away. That gesture alone is enough for any horse to move out his way, I have observed this with interest (and tried to imitate it!) many times. It is a very powerful yet simple gesture but it clearly means business.
The first half of the ride 'Mr F' spent doing his usual jogging and head shaking (just as I had seen him do in a race when he was charging past his opponents for the win!). On that note: I have been thinking about this head shaking of his and it is exactly the same movement as when he walks up to horses in the field gesturing at them to move away. That gesture alone is enough for any horse to move out his way, I have observed this with interest (and tried to imitate it!) many times. It is a very powerful yet simple gesture but it clearly means business.
'Mr F' wanted for all the other horses to get out the way, he wanted to be at the front. But once we where at the front, he still wanted to go faster. As I did not know the route I decided to place ourselves behind the front two horses. After some quite hefty 'discussion' with 'Mr F', he finally agreed to reduce his movement to a fast walk (rather than a jumpy trot). All the while I was talking to him to see if he was still listening. He reacted well to my leg aids and I tried to concentrate on sitting as relaxed as possible, very gently wrapping my legs around him without too much pressure. Just enough so he knew I was there. If he would try and speed up I would squeeze his shoulders with my knees. A tip Rupert once gave me in a different context but it works in this scenario quite well. This way I don't have to 'hang' on his bit (although there was quite a bit of that too, unfortunately).
Considering the circumstances, we coped well so far, certainly better than on that previous group ride. But I think that was also due to the fact that by now I knew what I was in for so I was able to relax more and accept it, even though in theory, there was nothing about this ride to be relaxed about!
Considering the circumstances, we coped well so far, certainly better than on that previous group ride. But I think that was also due to the fact that by now I knew what I was in for so I was able to relax more and accept it, even though in theory, there was nothing about this ride to be relaxed about!
It got interesting once we reached the bridle path.
Although the invitation for the ride said that we all would be walking as there were many first timers taking part, the group I was with obviously did not read that bit of the invitation ...
As soon as the gate openend, they took off! I did hold 'Mr F' back just for a short while, but remembering the previous ride I thought it be better if I let him follow. This first bridle path was fairly wide and the overgrowth was high up enough not to cause me to much hassle.
I enjoyed this first canter greatly and so did 'Mr F' but he now had the racing bug even more. We both were very excited (yes I know I said in an earlier post that we had calmed down, but I do just love the speed and the force ... its the adrenaline!)
The next bit was too dodgy to canter and there were a few places of water to cross (We had done this bit before when we were scouting out the route some other time) This time 'Mr F' crossed the water without hesitation - were as the last time he made a BIG fuss. But water didn't matter this time because one HAS to be AT THE FRONT. Who cares about a bit of water!
We came to a crossing (thank god it was 'only' a country lane crossing). The unruly horses in my group would not stand still, setting of 'Mr F' again who decided to reverse backwards, half trying to rear and I had to kick him to make him go forward before he would walk into one of the cars by now waiting for us lot to get our act together. I apologised to the driver who thankfully was very understanding by saying 'Don't worry love, I got one like that at home myself!
At this stage I began to be rather angry with the group I was in but I just had to sit it out.
It go so out of hand that one of them charged past us, cantering up the road, followed by the others and eventually I had to let 'Mr F' follow them or I would have been in trouble. I was fuming by now ... it was NOT at all what I wanted 'Mr F' to learn!
We came to a crossing (thank god it was 'only' a country lane crossing). The unruly horses in my group would not stand still, setting of 'Mr F' again who decided to reverse backwards, half trying to rear and I had to kick him to make him go forward before he would walk into one of the cars by now waiting for us lot to get our act together. I apologised to the driver who thankfully was very understanding by saying 'Don't worry love, I got one like that at home myself!
At this stage I began to be rather angry with the group I was in but I just had to sit it out.
It go so out of hand that one of them charged past us, cantering up the road, followed by the others and eventually I had to let 'Mr F' follow them or I would have been in trouble. I was fuming by now ... it was NOT at all what I wanted 'Mr F' to learn!
Then there came a very large (I noticed later!) stretch of very narrow (noticed that too late, too!) stony bridle path. And without a warning, the person at the front raced off, the rest of my group followed in wild pursuit, including 'Mr F' and I. Oh and boy did he go - that wasn't a canter!
I thought to myself: 'Christ! Look at those branches, low and narrow! How the heck am I going to do this!?' Back then I was still riding with a body protector but that was now getting in my way big time. I wasn't able to hunch down far enough and so my helmet got hit by several branches, one of which hit the helmet quite hard which in turn slipped down over my face!
I could not see a thing! The last thing I remember was a bend and being rather uncomfortably close to the stone wall. 'Uh-oh, 'Mr F' is not going to give me enough room for this'. A pull on my foot and a metal clank sound told me that my stirrup (these damn stirrups seem to get in my way all the time!) had hit the wall and got caught up in a branch (not strong enough to pull it off though). Feeling unbalanced I let go of the other stirrup. I tried to shout for the other people to stop but they had all lost control of their horses. This wasn't going to end well. I would have stayed on but because I couldn't see I thought it was better to get off. 'Mr F' would stop once he reached the others, that I was sure of.
I thought to myself: 'Christ! Look at those branches, low and narrow! How the heck am I going to do this!?' Back then I was still riding with a body protector but that was now getting in my way big time. I wasn't able to hunch down far enough and so my helmet got hit by several branches, one of which hit the helmet quite hard which in turn slipped down over my face!
I could not see a thing! The last thing I remember was a bend and being rather uncomfortably close to the stone wall. 'Uh-oh, 'Mr F' is not going to give me enough room for this'. A pull on my foot and a metal clank sound told me that my stirrup (these damn stirrups seem to get in my way all the time!) had hit the wall and got caught up in a branch (not strong enough to pull it off though). Feeling unbalanced I let go of the other stirrup. I tried to shout for the other people to stop but they had all lost control of their horses. This wasn't going to end well. I would have stayed on but because I couldn't see I thought it was better to get off. 'Mr F' would stop once he reached the others, that I was sure of.
I let myself drop sideways out of the saddle while 'Mr F' was still charging up that path. I was amazed later that I even menaged to keep hold of the whip!
As I was on the ground I rolled up so as not to be trodden on by followers
.
The person behind me luckily was in control of her horse and stopped (or the horse stopped seeing me on the ground, not sure which really). I got up thinking: 'Ok, nothing hurts ... so far so good'. When I reached the others further up, I did enquire why they did not stop. They couldn't stop their horses!
'Mr F' did stop when he reached the others as I thought and hoped he would. Somehow, he had a quite smug face on, I guess to him he won the race. We walked for a while, I was leading him until we found somewhere to mount. I hoped that he hadn't learnt something bad by me getting off. Well, it can't be undone. What is is and what will be will be.
.
The person behind me luckily was in control of her horse and stopped (or the horse stopped seeing me on the ground, not sure which really). I got up thinking: 'Ok, nothing hurts ... so far so good'. When I reached the others further up, I did enquire why they did not stop. They couldn't stop their horses!
'Mr F' did stop when he reached the others as I thought and hoped he would. Somehow, he had a quite smug face on, I guess to him he won the race. We walked for a while, I was leading him until we found somewhere to mount. I hoped that he hadn't learnt something bad by me getting off. Well, it can't be undone. What is is and what will be will be.
I did get back on at the end of the stony path and we continued to our pick-nick spot were we enjoyed 'Tom's home made mulled wine, which is most delicious!! To my great surprise - and it made my day despite everything else: 'Mr F' was now totally relaxed and eating grass!
On the last ride he never really relaxed, so to me this was a big improvement.
The ride back to the trailer was fairly event-less and 'Mr F' calmly rode up to the trailer. Both boys quite happily loaded.
'Luke' was perfectly behaved during this ride. I did not get the chance to ride with 'Lillian' as they were in the slower group (the sane group!) and mostly out of sight. But apparently, he coped VERY well. He certainly was happy when we returned, he was very affectionade and pleased with himself. Well done 'Luke' and 'Lillian'.
'Luke' was perfectly behaved during this ride. I did not get the chance to ride with 'Lillian' as they were in the slower group (the sane group!) and mostly out of sight. But apparently, he coped VERY well. He certainly was happy when we returned, he was very affectionade and pleased with himself. Well done 'Luke' and 'Lillian'.
Looking back, it was A LOT for us to take in and equally as exhausting as the previous group ride, mentally, not physically. I was shattered. 'Mr F' had to be washed down upon our return, which I did while enjoying some well earned southern comfort!
I am entirely thankful for having 'Mr F' as my first horse to ride however. I could not learn so much in such a short time with another horse, at least that is how I see it.
As I learn, 'Mr F' keeps pushing me further; whenever we reach a level where things become easy, he will drive me on. I started riding last August, never did I think I would do what I do now just a little over a year later!
The souvenirs to take home are some quite bruised toes.
As I learn, 'Mr F' keeps pushing me further; whenever we reach a level where things become easy, he will drive me on. I started riding last August, never did I think I would do what I do now just a little over a year later!
The souvenirs to take home are some quite bruised toes.
To finish off - notes to self:
- get a fitting riding helmet!
Merry Christmas!
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