CT
21st Aug 2001, 09:16 AM
Hi everyone
Yes it's me and Mr. D again with more exploits. Sorry it's a bit long again. I'll try to post more regularly so they are shorter and easier to read.
If anyone wants to share their own 'new owner' dilemas/disasters - even if you find it hard remembering that far back! - then tag them onto this post. It would be good to hear about other potential pitfalls so that I can try and avoid them. I think Dougal would really appreciate it too!
Caron
The Dougal Diary
Days 2-8
Dougal
Colour : Bay (ish - I think I'm developing a sort of orange glow)
Weight: Heavy
Carrots consumed: Loads
Help meeeeeeeee I'm being assaulted. If you're reading this please call SPOD (the Society for the Protection of Dougals) NOW!
Everything seemed to be fine on Day 1, give or take a little electrocution but since then she's done nothing but beat me up. First she spent most of days 2-4 trying out various head collars and bridles. She'd put them on, she'd twiddle about with them, and she'd take them off. That would be alright if it wasn't for the fact that every time she did it, she managed to poke me in the eye/nose/chest or head. Then there was the day when she brought the complete bridle to try on me. She had the whole kit this time, double reins the lot. She put the reins over my ears, catching my ears of course as she did that, she then began to put the rest of the bridle near my face and the whole thing fell apart. Luckily, the bits that dropped off managed to miss my tender tootsies
On Day 8 she managed to seriously assault me and I'm thinking about bringing charges. She'd tied me up outside my comfy stable and I kept watching her mucking out stuff inside. The whole thing made me really want to pee and the more I watched the more desperate I got. The floor outside the stable was clean and I didn't want to mess it up. I put my head round the stable door a lot and tried to make it clear that I wanted to come back in. She thought I was just being 'cute'. Eventually she twigged that something was up and thought I wanted a drink. I got quite excited when she came towards me and I tried to get inside the stable quickly but forgot that I was tied up. She tried to get the lead rope off me but forgot that she had a broom under her arm, which jabbed me in the face. I then moved backwards and hit my leg on a wheelbarrow that pushed me forwards again, jab, backwards, prang. Luckily she put the broom down and got me inside. I had the quickest pee ever.
I have noticed that each time these things happen she sniffs a lot, talks about guilt, my friends in Devon and gives me lots of carrots. I suppose the occasional ABH ain't all that bad really.
Caron
Hair colour: greying (fast)
Weight: losing (fast - yippee)
Calories consumed: Not many. No time to eat.
Dougal has grown. In Devon he was definitely 16.1hh, but I swear he is about 18hh+ now he has come to London. I took him out for a short walk and munch around the livery yard this morning and was virtually hanging off the head collar (I'm 5ft 4). I only managed to come back to earth when he put his head down to munch and then was off the floor again when he moved on. I'm told that this head up to the sky stuff won't last. I hope not, I'm getting airsickness.
Buying and fitting a bridle, what a fiasco. Got a good quality bridle off the peg at the local tack shop and a friend gave me a set of reins. As Dougal is usually ridden in the mullen mouth pelham at Heather's I bought one of those too. I fitted it to the bridle but couldn't understand why the curb chain was hanging so loose and low. I checked if I'd put it on the right way round and it all looked right, the bit was curved at the front so nothing wrong there. I tried it on Dougal who seemed OK but there was definitely something not right about it. Went to bed and woke up at about 4am when it came to me that the bit was upside down. Doh!
Day 5- Dougal is a food terrorist! I've been sucking up to him with carrots, fruit polos, and the occasional apple and he has now begun to demand them all as soon as I go near him. Failure on my part results in him doing his 'Kevin' impression eg. ears back in a 'I hate you' fashion. Began to wonder if he's going to be too much for me, if he is like this because he is stressed and missing his old friends in Devon, and if I should really have taken him away from all that. Guilt, guilt, guilt and tears in the stable. Bad day.
Day 7 - Been to the stables every day at 5am to muck Dougal out, and take him out for a walk. He is turned out for up to 7 hours in the afternoon through to the evening, but since he is used to being out for much longer than this, guilt has meant that I turn up at the crack of dawn and take him out of the stables for as long as possible. At the other end of the day I go back and take him for another walk around/munch so that he spends as little time as possible in the stable. Tiring day.
Day 8 - Dougal's back down to 16.1hh, my feet are now firmly on the floor, and cutting out treats means no more 'Kevin' impressions. The livery yard owners are helping me out with Dougal in the evening and I'm on AM duty and not so tired today. Now I only have to contend with the other livery owners constantly asking (accusing?) me "have you ridden him yet?". Why am I the only person who seems to think that Dougal needs to settle in a bit before I ride him/hack him out in the local forest? Beginning to think there must be something wrong with me but also worried that there's something wrong with all of them too. Not sure what is worst scenario. Fairly good day though.
Caron
Yes it's me and Mr. D again with more exploits. Sorry it's a bit long again. I'll try to post more regularly so they are shorter and easier to read.
If anyone wants to share their own 'new owner' dilemas/disasters - even if you find it hard remembering that far back! - then tag them onto this post. It would be good to hear about other potential pitfalls so that I can try and avoid them. I think Dougal would really appreciate it too!
Caron
The Dougal Diary
Days 2-8
Dougal
Colour : Bay (ish - I think I'm developing a sort of orange glow)
Weight: Heavy
Carrots consumed: Loads
Help meeeeeeeee I'm being assaulted. If you're reading this please call SPOD (the Society for the Protection of Dougals) NOW!
Everything seemed to be fine on Day 1, give or take a little electrocution but since then she's done nothing but beat me up. First she spent most of days 2-4 trying out various head collars and bridles. She'd put them on, she'd twiddle about with them, and she'd take them off. That would be alright if it wasn't for the fact that every time she did it, she managed to poke me in the eye/nose/chest or head. Then there was the day when she brought the complete bridle to try on me. She had the whole kit this time, double reins the lot. She put the reins over my ears, catching my ears of course as she did that, she then began to put the rest of the bridle near my face and the whole thing fell apart. Luckily, the bits that dropped off managed to miss my tender tootsies
On Day 8 she managed to seriously assault me and I'm thinking about bringing charges. She'd tied me up outside my comfy stable and I kept watching her mucking out stuff inside. The whole thing made me really want to pee and the more I watched the more desperate I got. The floor outside the stable was clean and I didn't want to mess it up. I put my head round the stable door a lot and tried to make it clear that I wanted to come back in. She thought I was just being 'cute'. Eventually she twigged that something was up and thought I wanted a drink. I got quite excited when she came towards me and I tried to get inside the stable quickly but forgot that I was tied up. She tried to get the lead rope off me but forgot that she had a broom under her arm, which jabbed me in the face. I then moved backwards and hit my leg on a wheelbarrow that pushed me forwards again, jab, backwards, prang. Luckily she put the broom down and got me inside. I had the quickest pee ever.
I have noticed that each time these things happen she sniffs a lot, talks about guilt, my friends in Devon and gives me lots of carrots. I suppose the occasional ABH ain't all that bad really.
Caron
Hair colour: greying (fast)
Weight: losing (fast - yippee)
Calories consumed: Not many. No time to eat.
Dougal has grown. In Devon he was definitely 16.1hh, but I swear he is about 18hh+ now he has come to London. I took him out for a short walk and munch around the livery yard this morning and was virtually hanging off the head collar (I'm 5ft 4). I only managed to come back to earth when he put his head down to munch and then was off the floor again when he moved on. I'm told that this head up to the sky stuff won't last. I hope not, I'm getting airsickness.
Buying and fitting a bridle, what a fiasco. Got a good quality bridle off the peg at the local tack shop and a friend gave me a set of reins. As Dougal is usually ridden in the mullen mouth pelham at Heather's I bought one of those too. I fitted it to the bridle but couldn't understand why the curb chain was hanging so loose and low. I checked if I'd put it on the right way round and it all looked right, the bit was curved at the front so nothing wrong there. I tried it on Dougal who seemed OK but there was definitely something not right about it. Went to bed and woke up at about 4am when it came to me that the bit was upside down. Doh!
Day 5- Dougal is a food terrorist! I've been sucking up to him with carrots, fruit polos, and the occasional apple and he has now begun to demand them all as soon as I go near him. Failure on my part results in him doing his 'Kevin' impression eg. ears back in a 'I hate you' fashion. Began to wonder if he's going to be too much for me, if he is like this because he is stressed and missing his old friends in Devon, and if I should really have taken him away from all that. Guilt, guilt, guilt and tears in the stable. Bad day.
Day 7 - Been to the stables every day at 5am to muck Dougal out, and take him out for a walk. He is turned out for up to 7 hours in the afternoon through to the evening, but since he is used to being out for much longer than this, guilt has meant that I turn up at the crack of dawn and take him out of the stables for as long as possible. At the other end of the day I go back and take him for another walk around/munch so that he spends as little time as possible in the stable. Tiring day.
Day 8 - Dougal's back down to 16.1hh, my feet are now firmly on the floor, and cutting out treats means no more 'Kevin' impressions. The livery yard owners are helping me out with Dougal in the evening and I'm on AM duty and not so tired today. Now I only have to contend with the other livery owners constantly asking (accusing?) me "have you ridden him yet?". Why am I the only person who seems to think that Dougal needs to settle in a bit before I ride him/hack him out in the local forest? Beginning to think there must be something wrong with me but also worried that there's something wrong with all of them too. Not sure what is worst scenario. Fairly good day though.
Caron