Hacking in company - could do with some advice

Bodshi

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Apr 23, 2009
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Raf is lovely to hack on his own, I feel like we have a bit of a partnership going and it's a two-way communication.

But when I hack him with another horse, especially with OH and his horse Jack, he's lazy, switched off and just wants to pootle along behind the other horse. It's spoiling my hacking pleasure because I get so cross with myself that I can't get Raf to listen to me instead of 'leaning' on the other horse.

Tonight OH came out with us on his bike instead of riding, but bless me if Raf wasn't just the same with the bike - when OH went faster Raf tried to chase after him and when he went slowly Raf didn't want to go past the bike and I had to tap him with the whip to move him on. Once properly out in front he's fine again, but when he's sticking to the other horse/bike he just doesn't respond to my aids at all and it's getting me down. He didn't used to be like this, I think it's just happened over time since OH got Jack last year.

Raf is 6 now and I think I can detect some other little signs of rebelliousness, but I could just be imagining these. Sometimes when we go in the school we have a lovely session and other times it just seems like a battle to get him to do anything, which always makes me worry, is he lame?, is he ill? etc. Besides I don't want battles, I want to persuade him that he wants to do what I want to do so that he does it willingly.

Any tips would be most gratefully received!
 
TBH I think it's quite normal for a young horse to use an older or more experienced horse as a comfort zone.

I wouldn't see it as a rebellion,I would look at it as a perfectly normal reaction to feeling more secure due to the company.I would guess when he is out on his own he is a little more 'switched on' as he has to be,he is then repsonsible for his and your safety which increases anxiety and awareness and is bound to have an effect on energy levels and responses.

When with company he is probably happier,more confident and relaxed and this is coming out in his lack of responses and lesser energy levels maybe??

I would suggest taking the lead more (I pretty much always go in front with my spotty youngster so he gains confidence in his leading skills but still has the security of knowing his 'nanny horse' is nearby),and perhaps do some schooling on your hacks to wake him up a bit?? Do you have decent hacking that has some scope for a bit of faster work along the way?? Again a bit of a blast might just wake him up and lift his energy levels.

I really don't think your problem is a unusual or a big deal.Sounds like a young horse that is feeling a bit of relief at not being out in the world alone and taking the opportunity to follow rather than lead.

By contrast but same principle my older cob who is the nanny horse is quite a different animal when he's in front,more on his toes and aware of surroundings (still safe as houses by anyone elses standards,but on his toes for him if that makes sense??),put him behind and he's back in total plod looks at absolutely nothing mode.
He's a star whatever the situation,and will step up to whatever is asked of him no matter what,but that's because he older and more experienced.Ideally though in his mind he prefers and is happier to follow not lead.

My spotty lad is naturally more of a leader,but at the same time lacks confidence at times and is prone to anxiety,so he never quite knows where he prefers to be lol.

Is all a learning curve,and I wouldn't worry about Raf,he's just finding his feet in the world,he'll get there with age and experience:smile:
 
Thanks Devonlass, maybe I'm making too much of it, as it probably is only natural as you say. But it does upset me that if, say, I ask for trot he completely ignores me unless Jack also trots. That's why I thought he was being rebellious, because he knows what I'm asking but chooses to do what he wants anyway. Strangely we've been working on responsiveness in my lessons but it doesn't translate to out hacking at all!

If I can get him to go right past Jack he is better out in front, but Jack has a much faster walk and OH has a thing about being in front (think it's a man thing lol). We can't go fast either as OH has a bad back and fast cantering is a no-no for him at the moment. I had a little canter last night when OH was on the bike but not a fast blast as we were confined to the narrow grassy strip down the middle of the farmer's track.

I think it's a really good idea to do some schooling while we're hacking though, why didn't I think of that? That's a brilliant idea, and then I can reward him when he's done well by letting him slope along on a loose rein behind Jack for a bit. Starts tonight!
 
I do understand the difficulty of a hacking partner who prefers to be in front, but I also think that devonlass is spot-on about mixing up the order to keep him listening. It's good for both horses to practice going in front, behind, side-by-side, passing each other etc. This happens a lot on fun rides, in warm-up arenas, or if you meet another group of horses out hacking.

I used to hack out with my Dad all the time. Massive stereotyping, but he is a typical bloke rider who likes being in front and bombing about a bit. We used to have words when his likeminded ID set off my sharp WB by suddenly galloping past or jumping things. But we also had loads of fun playing follow-my-leader (switching lead horses), or seeing how many times we could pass each other without breaking pace before the end of a field.

Making hacking into a game, relaxing, and have a good laugh, seems to do a lot for horses' confidence, as well as being very good for keeping their attention. I do also like to school while I hack or go for a plod sometimes too though ;)
 
Ziggy prefers to march at the front, or, if he can't do that, to slop along at the back with his nose on the horse in front's tail and his ears flopping to the sides.

It si good for him to have to go side by side with the other horse, and stay exactly there - slowed up if he rushes, kicked on if he lags. My proudest hacking in company moment was trotting abreast with 15.2 Mattie and 16.1 Tommy for a whole mile of track. All 3 horses had to concentrate!

So I would say to insist, and if you can make a game of it, all the better.
 
Joy's happy to be anywhere in the file at walk, if it's a proper walk. I struggle though because I've worked hard to get her walking out at a decent pace and she expects to walk at a decent pace.

Trot and canter are a little more interesting. It's a great chance for me to practice some impressive dressage moves to keep her behind!

We don't hack out in company much as it fraustrates me and she can feel that so she simply keeps asking why we can't just go ahead and set the pace!
 
It does seem that a lot of horses actually hack better alone.

I can think of several in our yard that the owners say - ' oh he is so much better alone '!

I have to say, even though I have only ever done baby hacks alone on Tobes, he too seems to listen to me far more than in company and spooks an awful lot less!!

Horses tend to be happiest behind one other. The leader then has all the spooky things to look at, and funnily friend who has the ploddiest cob in the world, who is bomb proof, commented at how spooky she was alone. Usually Tobes is in front as she is so slow, and so he has to encounter all the spooky objects first and she cruises along behind happy as larry.

Horses in large groups tend to get excited, and it is just practice that stops that becoming a problem.

Tobes likes to tuck in behind YO's horse. Klins is a warm blood with an absolutely massive walk - I always thought Tobes was speedy, but not compared to him! Tobes is calm hacking with YO's horse. Prefers to get his nose on Klins tail - we argue a lot about this and I insist he takes the right hand track - and quite often if Klins has a epi about a certain object, Tobes strides right on ahead - the same object if Tobes was in front would be exactly the same issue for him!!!

Just keep going - as YO says, horses only know what they have done, and you have to teach them.
 
Thanks folks, I'll keep trying! Went out tonight together to hack to my lesson and Raf not too bad with Jack, but then he didn't feel quite right so I was concentrating on that. Got to my lesson, told RI I wasn't happy with how he was going, she assessed him at walk and trot both reins, he was fine so started lesson walking round and he promptly started hopping. Jumped off and had the lesson on Jack instead, but tried Raf again to go home and he was absolutely fine - very annoyed at something, probably having to wait for nearly an hour doing nothing, and full of beans. Absolutely no danger of him clinging on to Jack, he was raring to go all the way. There's no wonder I can't sort out what I'm doing, I never know what's about to happen!
 
I will reply to this since there is a shortage of answers and it is something I encounter with RS horses.

Pretty much agreeing with Devonlass. But from a different perspective.
I dont go with the idea that horses test us or deliberately thwart us.
And because I still ride several different horses, I dont believe that being on a slow horse that likes to go second when it sets out in company, reflects badly on my own riding.

Horses are genetically predisposed to economise on energy and to follow the herd.
But more than that, some horses are trained to continue this under saddle. I sometimes ride a RS pony that knows his job perfectly - which is to follow, and subsequently to trot and canter, not in answer to my cue, but when the instructor's horse in front does. Another mare who is sometimes used for lead rein lessons leaves the yard at a normal walk but slows to next to nothing as soon as she hits the bridle track. This makes sense - she is trained to walk just a little faster to cross the road - but when the track is reached, that is where the lesson will start and the teacher will want as slow as possible.

This training of horses by what they have been previously asked to do in similar situations (or which they are genetically programmed to do) if often misperceived as something the horse "does". One may be told that a particular pony "wont go first" - Or is "being silly" and refusing to go first on a particular day - even though the girl who rides with me and I myself know very well that this same horse cantered willingly up the whole long meadow with me last week going first.

I am not saying I am a better rider - just that I know from experience that horses who are naturally inclined to do one thing, or are trained to do one thing, will respond differently once they understand that the rider allocated to them that day is asking for something different.

With the pony that likes to follow, I do not start by asking him to go first. I let him follow for a bit (It is his job in most riding lessons and I dont want to be mean.)
But it is important to me, if I am riding second, to open up a good safe gap between me and my escort before the transition to canter. So I slow him down as the other horse accelerates. I delay my canter transition till the horse ahead is going properly.
Teaching one's horse to go second, independently of the horse ahead is the key to helping that same horse go first in company. It doesnt have to wait till canter. Much of this schooling to go first can take place while riding second. When following another horse it is quite possible to vary the gap between you and the horse in front - by slowing and speeding up the walk - the same goes for trot. This variety of speed, stride length and distance gets the horse's mind away from the horse in front and onto me as rider.
In walk one can even drop back and then (ask/warn the other rider first ) trot to catch up.
If you trail ride you will find this trotting is something slow horses do naturally to catch up the horse in front. So it is the easiest and most natural moment to ask your slow horse for acceleration. I tend to ask to ride lots of transitions - even when riding second, riding 6 trot 6 walk alternating, brings the horse's mind back to me. Or you can play follow my leader, copying the rider ahead - this is what horses do naturally so it lets you reduce to minimal cues - which is what you need to teach a riding school horse used to beginners kicking it along. I am too old to kick.

Because this is a RS pony, the schooling I do (the games and tactics) are not a once and for all training fix. It is something I resume on every ride. For fun. You could say that for me the problem solving is an amusement.
I would always rather have something to think about on a hack - and I prefer to ride first, especially in canter.
And may be if you regard it as fun, the horse wont be so sticky and will have fun with you too.

One further thought. The gelding I ride who refuses to go first - a year ago I was warned he might spook if going first in canter. And I am ancient enough to worry that I cant sit a spook in canter. So the concession I made when riding him first and fast, was to ride him more positively in the canter than I would have done when riding second. Not dictating, but enough leg and enough rein to remind him he was doing it for me. I guess psychologically (at first anyway) a horse that is trained to follow, or which prefers to follow, may need leadership from its rider - whereas my fav mare loves to go first and we fly along with almost no real riding at all.

Slow and fast, first and second - is all in the mind of the rider really. You have to let any horse know very quickly if what he offers is not what you want - rejecting it either by rejecting the upward transition and coming back to halt or walk - or if you are on a sustained trot - having yourself a very definite idea of exactly how far you are going to trot and at what rhythm. Get the idea across to the horse with a slight show or touch of the whip if that is what the pony is used to. Because what you are after is the horse's mind. You have to think quicker and more creatively than the horse. You want his mind on you - and once you have that he will go as fast or slow as you want.
And you have to reciprocate by giving your mind 100% to the horse. It isnt just horses that are different when hacking in company, it is me. Talking to another rider is a great obstacle and distraction here - whether riding with someone or OH walking out with my share - it removes your mind from the horse, so he reciprocates and his attention is indeed diverted to the leader, just as you describe.

I hope this helps. I ride my share horse solo and at the RS, I am obliged to have an escort. It is not something I regard as a massive problem - just part of hacking with two horses together.
 
Thanks Skib, there's some really good ideas and useful advice in your reply, which I will attempt to follow when I get my sound horse back!

I find it interesting that you don't think horses deliberately test or thwart us, as a while ago I would have agreed with you but now I'm not so sure. The reason I think Raf is thwarting me is because generally in my lessons he listens to my aids. Same as hacking on our own, or in front, he is alert and responsive. But if he's behind or next to Jack I can give him a strong aid, including a touch of the whip, to move on and he'll jerk his head up but refuse to move any faster. To me that means, 'Yes I've heard you, I know what you want but I'm not going to do it because I'd rather be right here with Jack'. Obviously if I insist I can get past Jack but it upsets me that I have to be so firm - using boot and whip to make him move - I don't want to be that forceful with him and I'm afraid that we'll get into a pattern of unwilling horse/forceful rider, when I want him to be responsive and willing.

Incidentally he doesn't cling onto Jack's tail - we can be quite a distance behind Jack - although the further we are away, the more responsive he is! If we do get up behind Jack Raf tries to bite his bum so I won't let him get too close. If we ride side by side Raf tries to bite Jack's neck so I have to be ready with a twitch the outside rein.

I do think your suggestion of working him at different paces behind Jack is the way to go, same as schooling him while we're hacking. Hopefully it will get him listening to me more so we don't have to have these battles.
 
Good reply Bodshi - To which I will respond tho I hope that it wont dismiss anything I described in my previous post.

Yes, out hacking it is important to have total control of one's horse and challenge any resistance - of which more below.

But in the example you describe it isnt exactly clear to me whether this situation arises.

But if he's behind or next to Jack I can give him a strong aid, including a touch of the whip, to move on and he'll jerk his head up but refuse to move any faster. To me that means, 'Yes I've heard you, I know what you want but I'm not going to do it because I'd rather be right here with Jack'.

We dont know at what point in the hack this happens nor what preparation you have made. It could be that if you are asking your horse to pass Jack or go first, may be you need to consider that, at this stage, you are asking too much of him? John Lyons has a great maxim that you should start by asking of the horse the things you know he can do.
Anything we teach horses needs to be broken down into tiny steps, each of which they can manage. This task and mental barrier of overtaking needs to be broken down into stages by doing as I describe above. If there is antagonism between the two horses with them nipping each other, your horse may well be frightened to overtake.
I think I and my escort unconsciously avoid this horse versus horse situation. Even after making the slower horse listen, we usually stop and discuss who will go first and then we set off in the new order - My pony doesnt actually have to pass the other horse - and go ahead. Though I have asked and had him pull ahead and trot first towards the end of the ride.

Our hacks last an hour so it may be half an hour before the pony is asked to lead. Another thing we have done well on into the ride is on a wider track to ride side by side keeping the ponies noses aligned - doing transitions and varying the speed. We do it playing at formation riding which is something our pony club excel at. This is something that is quite hard to do. And it is a different task from asking the pony to go first.


But if you are not challenging the horse to do something he really cant face and he is thwarting you, this is a different question, isnt it? A horse that thinks it knows better than you do?
Again in terms of herd dynamics just being a horse. But demands are made of horses by humans and these take precedence over the horse's relationship to other horses. Even trainers like Rashid and Peace strongly believe that horses have to earn their keep.
Anyone out hacking has a particular need to have a horse fully under their control and submitting to your requests. My all time fav. mare a Connemarra cross can be a right madam when it pleases her.
My most recent cure, was taken from Richard Maxwell last summer, when he emphases that when taking a horse on the road you need working accelerator, steering and brakes, just as with a car.
Out hacking, if there is insubordination, or the horse is jumping about and wont settle after a spook, I ask the person with me to wait and stand a little way off. I then apply Maxwell's drill - think of it as a check list for MOT. Not sure how to describe it, but I turn the head of the horse to my right knee and then use that same right leg to move the haunches round. This turns the horse 180 degrees. Then the turn same in the other direction and then back the horse up a few steps. I do it calmly. No emotion or punishment involved.
But I do it in male authority mode, (as Maxwell did in the clinic) no hesitation, routine - and very clear, decisive aids for the turns, no minimalism! two turns and back up - all quite quickly.
If I am allocated a horse to hack that I think isnt heeding me - I do this or when the mare is messing about. Making the feet move under you in this decisive way, seems to show a horse who is in control.It makes me feel better too.
With a privately owned horse this routine might come as an unwelcome shock - so, in your place, it is something I might choose to teach first in the school as unstressed, separate moves with lighter cues. This is what Maxwell does in initial training, first ground work and then ridden. It may derive from Parelli yields which I have just seen taught to my grand daughter - I expect any horse I ride to back up for me. But not all UK riders are used to this.

But in this case I dont think the horse is thwarting you. It is more as if you are asking too much all at once? The head going up shows stress. It isnt any good putting a pistol to the head of a child who cant manage the eight times table - you have to start with two times two and work up from there.
 
Mmmm, very interesting indeed!

Because Raf is quite happy hacking on his own (I had him a year before we got Jack) or even being in front, I had just assumed that he should be ok to 'go in front' when I ask him - I had never thought that it might be the actual 'going past Jack' that could be the problem, but of course it is because once he gets past Jack and is properly out in front he is ok again.

So I suppose I have two problems - one is that when he is behind Jack he is very switched off and the other is actually going past Jack, which he doesn't want to do. I'm pretty sure he's not scared about going past him because it's my horse that's the 'aggressor' - Jack is very peaceable and never retaliates out on hacks. When they were turned out together Raf constantly mithered Jack, nipping him, moving him on etc, which was a nuisance for Jack and he did once or twice give Raf a boot - which is why Raf is now turned out on his own (although with horses in the adjoining paddock - we're on a livery yard), because YO is worried he'll get a broken leg from being kicked.

I think your suggestions are very good and I'll ask OH if we can practice deliberately reorganising our order when we're hacking. I love playing formation riding - used to do this in lessons when I went to a RS - but OH won't play. Sometime if I go out with a friend we play this - just keeping level going round corners etc. I think if I have a purpose I can communicate the purpose to Raf, whereas if I just want to do something 'because I do' - such as going past Jack - it just doesn't happen. I've noticed this in lots of things I do with Raf, and also outside of horsey life.

I'm not entirely sure about turning Raf 180 degrees - I've spent the last couple of years working on not letting him spin when he spooks! But I know what you mean, you're asking the horse to yield, disengage it's mind from whatever it's fixated on and listen to you instead. RI advised a similar technique for Jack when he gets spooky, but more of a disengage and move sideways, a sort of shoulder in movement. I will try something like that when we're hacking and I'm getting no response.

Thanks very much for your useful comments and suggestions!
 
I think you have an extra problem here reading your last couple of replies.The behaviour you describe with Jack like the nipping on the neck and constantly bothering him if given the opportunity sounds quite annoying and a little out of the ordinary.
I wonder if it related to his late gelding and is stallion type behaviour and a dominance thing??

Have to be honest in my own personal experience of having a horse that is difficult turned out with others,not addressing it could be a mistake.Fine for now while you think injury is likely,but long tem I wouldn't assume individual turnout is the answer.He's not learning anything about how to behave with others by being alone.

Raf was prob kept seperated a lot of the time before you got him due to being a colt,and now kept seperate again.Might be nothing to do with your issues,and could be completely off the mark but not knowing how to behave with other horses approriately won't be helping going out in company and certainly won't be enabling him to be a happy and balanced individual in a horse sense.

Completely sympathise,having been there you're damned if you do and damned if you don't,but might be worth at least considering if his funny little ways and discrepencies in behaviour could at least in part be related to his being not quite sure where he fits in with others,or thinking he fits in where he doesn't.

In regards to the thwarting you stuff.Personally I don't believe horses think this way,just don't think they have the capacity (spite,taking the mick and selective deafness tend to be exclusively human behaviours IME:wink:).Totally see that there are many things they do that appear to be attempts to annoy and frustrate us,but I would assume it's more that we interpret it that way more than they mean it that way.
Horses are far less complicated than we think usually.Most of their behaviour is instinctive rather than contrived,again it's us that makes it personal.Paranoia,another distinctly human invention:wink:

You will sort it out eventually.You have already brought Raf way further on than many would have considering he was a barely started and freshly gelded flighty arab when you got him,and sure this current challenge won't cause you too much trouble for long:smile:
 
Ah, bless you Devonlass, I hope you're right!

Re this:

In regards to the thwarting you stuff.Personally I don't believe horses think this way,just don't think they have the capacity (spite,taking the mick and selective deafness tend to be exclusively human behaviours IME:wink:).Totally see that there are many things they do that appear to be attempts to annoy and frustrate us,but I would assume it's more that we interpret it that way more than they mean it that way.
Horses are far less complicated than we think usually.Most of their behaviour is instinctive rather than contrived,again it's us that makes it personal.Paranoia,another distinctly human invention:wink:

I totally get where you're coming from and I didn't think I was taking it personally that Raf is leaning on Jack, rather than me, when we go out - but now I'm thinking about it, maybe I am :unsure: And how right you are about paranoia, if I wasn't worrying about this, I'd be worrying about something else!

At the end of the day I know it's my problem and up to me to sort it out, it's just knowing the best way to do it.

And regarding the socialising with other horses - yes Raf was kept as a single batchelor on the 'stallion block' at the stud we bought him from. They told me he was kept in most of the time and I assume his turnout was on his own, as most large studs seem to operate this system.

It's been my dream since I got him to get him out in a little herd - I've always believed that horses should live with other horses - but I can't blame the YO for wanting to keep him separated. She can't risk injury to the other liveries and Jack is much happier with the other gelding he lives with now - they graze quietly together, groom each other etc. We've had a few attempts at getting Raf into a herd, the first one ended with him attacking another gelding and breaking through two rows of electric fence into a mare's field, another with him never being able to rest because he had to constantly move the other horses around and keep them away from the gate, eventually becoming ill and getting a good kicking. So really, I'm pretty glad that the YO allows us to stay on the yard at all! It's still my hope that we'll manage to get him socialised, but just not sure how to go about it.

So yes, possibly his issues are partly due to his lack of social skills but he does hack out with other horses and is generally well behaved. He would kick an unknown horse that went right up his backside, but I don't think that's unusual.

But thanks for the nice comments. I wish I could take some credit but Raf is really just an easy little horse. I read with interest your post on Dragonfarmgirl's thread about 'sharp' horses and it made me realise how much Raf has changed in the last 2 years. He isn't a naturally sharp horse, unlike your lovely spotty boy. It must be nice for you to have both types to ride.
 
It's been my dream since I got him to get him out in a little herd - I've always believed that horses should live with other horses - but I can't blame the YO for wanting to keep him separated. She can't risk injury to the other liveries and Jack is much happier with the other gelding he lives with now - they graze quietly together, groom each other etc. It's still my hope that we'll manage to get him socialised, but just not sure how to go about it.

But thanks for the nice comments. I wish I could take some credit but Raf is really just an easy little horse. I read with interest your post on Dragonfarmgirl's thread about 'sharp' horses and it made me realise how much Raf has changed in the last 2 years. He isn't a naturally sharp horse, unlike your lovely spotty boy. It must be nice for you to have both types to ride.

Don't beat yourself up about the individual turnout thing,you are totally doing the right thing for now where there is a real risk of injury.I found with my lad it just came with time and age,and picking the right herd to initially turn him out with (small herd of geldings with one very established and dominant leader),he now happily lives with others and I believe is much happier and more settled because of it,(although still happily stays on his own so I do think there are some benefits to having to cope alone).
Keeping them all safe is the main thing,and of course your others horse's mental well being has to be taken into account.

Not an easy situation and it may even mean moving yards to find the right companion and place for Raf in a herd,but am sure it will happen and he will be able to live with others eventually.Just keep trying him with others every now and again would be my advice,one day it will click.Might just take longer than some due to the amount of time he spent uncut and in solitary conditions before you had him.
I think putting him with one other that's very non threatening would be the ideal and then introduce them both into a small and quiet herd.Or maybe the opposite and put him on with one other very dominant gelding (this is the scenario I have now,my cob is not at all aggressive but he's very dominant and grumpy and let's Marb know in no uncertain terms where his place in the herd is lol),let him get put in his place and then again introduce to a small but established herd.
Not easy I'm guessing at your yard or would have already done it,but may be worth thinking about even if it means moving Raf for a while to teach him how to be a horse.

As for the last bit stop selling yourself short!! Raf may have been a fairly easy horse,but you still played a major part,and I'm willing to bet he's not always easy,youngsters never are,we just forget the difficult bits when it goes right for a while.Another human invention,rose tinted glasses:wink::tongue:

My spotty boy is not as sharp as he once was thankfully,but it will always be who he is,and there waiting to jump out when I least expect it lol
As for having both types to ride,well don't tell anyone but I quite dislike riding slow cob now,he's just too dull and easy.My spotty boy can be a twit to ride,but he's always fun:biggrin:
Probably just some sort of mid life crisis on my part,turning into some kind of semi decrepid adrenaline junkie:redface:
I even took him into a stubble field the other day with mad ideas of having a bit of a blast,him attempting to leap from walk to gallop soon put paid to that idea,but am still rather concerned that I even had the notion to do it lol

Anyway enough waffle,chin up with Raf,he's a fabby little horse and you have done a grand job.All these trials and tribulations will one day be a distant memory and you will be glad you had them as a learning curve.He's a credit to you already,and will be even more so as the years go by,I am sure of it.
 
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