2021 Hacking and Riding

Thank you! I'm sure he will test me again in the not too distant future, but most of the time he is a sweet, if a bit pushy, boy. It was nice to trust him with the littlies today.
 
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So much going on barely anytime left to ride. Chunkys rider has gone on holiday this week. So chunky has had the weekend off.

Friday was an out an back. 1.5 miles.
Saturday i went down the hill, through the housing estate and back up through the woods. About 2 miles.
Tonight was a speed hack, just before dark. Down the road, up through the woods, back down the other side. Only about 1.5 miles, poor Billy got asked to walk it briskly. He kept breaking into trot and i kept bringing him back to walk. A few times it was more like a joggy walk.
 
Tshirt whether here to hack out this evening. Having said that it was coat weather at one point. I got back from my ride. Could see the rain coming in up the valley. The heavens opened and it poured. Fortunately i had my long riding coat hanging in the tack room. It got soaked turning the boys back out, and whipping over to feed the sheep.
 
We had a good, if a bit strange, ride today. Set off happily enough, went through the gate into the inclosure, and Hogan started listening and looking through the trees, towards where the road is. He didn't really do much, just looked and listened. On we go, good boy, trotting up nicely. At the point where we loop round to come back, we met OH, who came over looking worried. "Everything ok? " he says. Turns out a herd of ponies got spooked out on the road, and galloped into the inclosure, straight at OH and dog. He picked Alfie up thank goodness, and they veered round him. However, an older chap, walking his little cockapoo, lost her when she panicked and ran off. I know this man, and he worships his little dog - she's adorable. Anyway, turns out he found her alright. We set off for home, with Hogan getting increasingly excited, which luckily, manifested itself in very active, forward trots all the way home. And to think, I considered riding along the road outside the inclosure today - would have been right in the middle of it!Screenshot_20210816-121410_Gallery.jpg
 
Ohhhh glad everyone is ok.
Sounds like in the end it was a good ride.

Thankfully another decent day here.
And with a bit of clouds it will be even better..
Hes in the big rd pen thats more in the sun right now but being decent out ant a bit cloudy its perfect.

I'm going to see when I play if i have enough room in the laneway along the arena to do travelling circles.
 
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So much going on barely anytime left to ride. Chunkys rider has gone on holiday this week. So chunky has had the weekend off.

Friday was an out an back. 1.5 miles.
Saturday i went down the hill, through the housing estate and back up through the woods. About 2 miles.
Tonight was a speed hack, just before dark. Down the road, up through the woods, back down the other side. Only about 1.5 miles, poor Billy got asked to walk it briskly. He kept breaking into trot and i kept bringing him back to walk. A few times it was more like a joggy walk.
Oooh the joggy walk! Storm never ever managed a hack in proper walk, in the end I settled for joggy walk. Maybe it was just her gait and the feel of it?! She would walk just fine in the school mind. But out hacking, what a ball of fire!
 
Oooh the joggy walk! Storm never ever managed a hack in proper walk, in the end I settled for joggy walk. Maybe it was just her gait and the feel of it?! She would walk just fine in the school mind. But out hacking, what a ball of fire!
How I wish I could relate to a joggy walk - not in Hogans vocabulary.
 
Another fun weekend. I'd previously been on a guided ride to the Malvern Hills and this time I decided to take my hacking buddy A and see if I could find my way around. We had a nice ride, although the path up was rather steeper than I remembered!

On Saturday we had a play with some poles in the school, then did some work on walk to canter (Getting there!) and finally a few goes at changing legs (starting to get there!)

On Sunday a nice local hack round with one of the other liveries

A leading the way
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View from the top
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Hacking
12.5 miles
4 hours 30

Schooling
30 minutes

Totals
Schooling
17 hours 45

Hacking
297 miles
89 hours 25
 
It was decent even with the sun.

My travelling circles were nothing to write home about.
The area is quite tight.
We haven't done it in a couple years.

I was getting caught up w the line and training stick. He got silly.
It wasn't very fluid.

It seemed much easier in virginias huge arena across the street.

I'll just have to work at it here to be fluid in a much tighter space.

I did find a shorter line.
 
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Another very short ride tonight. Not a pleasant one either. Silly sod had his spooky hat on tonight. Barely got out the gate and he was looking at something. Frozen to the spot. Walk on. Cant mum. Walk on. Okay. Thats scary mum. Cant take it mum im off, cue spin round 180. I turned him straight back towards whatever it was and insisted he walk on.
Came to the conclusion he was looking at the white fence reeler that was hanging on my garden gate. Its been hanging on there all summer. Its for the wire ive got up round the lawn for them to go in to graze off. Hes hacked past i dont know how many times and walked right close past it when ive put them in through the garden gate to graze. Just decided today to be an idiot.
I know he doesnt like white objects, but to spook at it after seeing it all summer. The only other change is that ive ridden him out these past few days without his fly mask on. Now the days are cloudy hes not headshaking as bad so i decided to not put it on to ride. But his been past for a couple of rides already this week and not one spook. I can only think it looks strange seeing it without a mask on.
The rest of the ride he was just looking for things to spook himself. Mind one spook i will let him off for. There was a big deer in the paddock. It was huge and utterly gorgeous. It was actually only 30ft from us. Stood looking at us. I made billy stop so it didnt give him an excuse to spook and tried to get my phone out to take a shot. But it just sauntered off casually into the wood that was next to it. I asked Billy to walk on and as we got level to where it had stood Billy starts looking to see if it was there. Hes then looking round to check it wasnt behind us.
 
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