Well we're back safe and sound! In fact we were back on Friday but things at home are so busy this is the first chance I have had to do a proper write up. Sorry for those of you that were waiting (and reminded me)
For those who just prefer edited highlights here's a link to the Photobucket album complete with captions:
http://s754.photobucket.com/albums/xx188/jane_heritage/New%20Forest%20riding%20holiday%202011/
For those who prefer to read all about it, here goes.
Catherine and I don't have transport so we hired Hampshire Horse Taxis to take us down and back. They did a very good job, including coaxing Ziggy on. He didn't fight but he stuck, and the nice man walked him up the ramp a hoof at a time. Once he was on he was as cool as a cucumber and came off the other end not even sweaty.
We unloaded the boys into a really nice paddock in Anna Bruce's yard in Sway. They had a starvation side and a grassy side. Here they are in the side they preferred, 5 minutes after unloading:
I think Ziggy thought he was being sold again, because when he saw me coming back an hour later after checking in at the B&B etc he gave the most enormous whinny and ran over to me - he doesn't usually. It was very sweet and I felt that the whole experience was really bonding for us.
We gave them time to recover from the trip then went out for a short hack with Anna on one of her eventers. It was 30 mins to get to the forest along quiet lanes - uneventful though both boys were on edge. Then we got onto open heathland dotted with wild ponies (and foals, soooooo cute) - and Romeo, who lived wild for 4 years, turned into a snorting monster. Ziggy was wild eyed too, so Catherine and I got off and led them. I think Anna thought we were nuts but it seemed like the safe option!
We returned to the forest by a variety of routes for the next 3 days. The road work proved useful in getting the ponies to relax, and on our first unaccompanied hack we let them spend ages sniffing poo and orienting themselves, which really helped to calm them down. We learned a lot about them. Ziggy seems to have come from an urban/agricultural background and I doubt he has ever lived in a wild herd, he was calm with absolutely everything we met on the lanes and in the villages but seemed all at sea with the wild ponies and didn't really care much about them. Romeo on the other hand just wanted to hurry off and join them - here he is towing Catherine towards a herd:
In particular Romeo was anxious about the stallions, who were out on the forest for their 4 week spring stint running with the mares. If he got a smell of one he exhibited very dramatic flehmen response ("tasting" a smell with top lip curled back) and made it clear that he wanted to be out of there RIGHT NOW before he got into trouble.
The weather was good and once the boys felt a bit more at home we had some really nice rides, though only at walk with the occasional trot because of the mares and foals and because we were cautious wooses. The scariest thing we saw was a pond with model sailing boats - Ziggy's eyes were on stalks:
Ziggy learned about saddlebags (though there's a bit of reinforcement to do there). For those of you that have this make, they're supposed to go behind the saddle, but the Zigmeister made it quite clear that he strongly preferred them in front!
Both of them enjoyed their pub lunches:
and Catherine and Romeo got quite nifty at gates (we don't have any round our way):
Some of the hacking was lovely. The boys preferred the woods, which are more what they are used to:
And next time we plan to canter on the open forest:
but we both really liked the streams where the boys could cool their feet and chill while we had a picnic. Note wet feet (him not me):
Our rides were only medium length, between 8 and 12 miles, partly because of our fitness and partly because Catherine was concerned about Romeo's stamina. As it was he was fine, and Ziggy could clearly have gone all day - he never showed any sign of effort or sweated up, even when it was warm.
It was great doing this with two ponies, as they are good friends (though not field mates) and provided a lot of comfort and support for each other.
What about the down sides?
Well, the going was very hard and stony, much harder than Surrey sand, and by the last of the four days the boys were both feeling it a bit on their back feet (they are both shod only in front). Romeo got a bit nappy (towards the mares and foals, naturally) and Ziggy started his head-for-home-at-sewing-machine-walk again, so I came back with sore shoulders.
Plus crab flies are really, really vile. Romeo seemed to recognise them and after the first swish he just accepted them (the poor wild ponies are covered in them) but Ziggy hated them with a passion and would walk along doing little skips and half bucks to try and get them off, or try to trot away from them (pointless as they stick like glue). On bad areas I was jumping off him every ten minutes or so to de-fly him.
Overall though it feels like a huge achievement and we were both proud of the boys and even a bit of ourselves! Our ambition now is to get them used to going away so that in a few years we can try a point-to-point ride like the Pennine Way or whatever.
And I'm thinking about endurance for me and Zigs... One day...
For those who just prefer edited highlights here's a link to the Photobucket album complete with captions:
http://s754.photobucket.com/albums/xx188/jane_heritage/New%20Forest%20riding%20holiday%202011/
For those who prefer to read all about it, here goes.
Catherine and I don't have transport so we hired Hampshire Horse Taxis to take us down and back. They did a very good job, including coaxing Ziggy on. He didn't fight but he stuck, and the nice man walked him up the ramp a hoof at a time. Once he was on he was as cool as a cucumber and came off the other end not even sweaty.
We unloaded the boys into a really nice paddock in Anna Bruce's yard in Sway. They had a starvation side and a grassy side. Here they are in the side they preferred, 5 minutes after unloading:
I think Ziggy thought he was being sold again, because when he saw me coming back an hour later after checking in at the B&B etc he gave the most enormous whinny and ran over to me - he doesn't usually. It was very sweet and I felt that the whole experience was really bonding for us.
We gave them time to recover from the trip then went out for a short hack with Anna on one of her eventers. It was 30 mins to get to the forest along quiet lanes - uneventful though both boys were on edge. Then we got onto open heathland dotted with wild ponies (and foals, soooooo cute) - and Romeo, who lived wild for 4 years, turned into a snorting monster. Ziggy was wild eyed too, so Catherine and I got off and led them. I think Anna thought we were nuts but it seemed like the safe option!
We returned to the forest by a variety of routes for the next 3 days. The road work proved useful in getting the ponies to relax, and on our first unaccompanied hack we let them spend ages sniffing poo and orienting themselves, which really helped to calm them down. We learned a lot about them. Ziggy seems to have come from an urban/agricultural background and I doubt he has ever lived in a wild herd, he was calm with absolutely everything we met on the lanes and in the villages but seemed all at sea with the wild ponies and didn't really care much about them. Romeo on the other hand just wanted to hurry off and join them - here he is towing Catherine towards a herd:
In particular Romeo was anxious about the stallions, who were out on the forest for their 4 week spring stint running with the mares. If he got a smell of one he exhibited very dramatic flehmen response ("tasting" a smell with top lip curled back) and made it clear that he wanted to be out of there RIGHT NOW before he got into trouble.
The weather was good and once the boys felt a bit more at home we had some really nice rides, though only at walk with the occasional trot because of the mares and foals and because we were cautious wooses. The scariest thing we saw was a pond with model sailing boats - Ziggy's eyes were on stalks:
Ziggy learned about saddlebags (though there's a bit of reinforcement to do there). For those of you that have this make, they're supposed to go behind the saddle, but the Zigmeister made it quite clear that he strongly preferred them in front!
Both of them enjoyed their pub lunches:
and Catherine and Romeo got quite nifty at gates (we don't have any round our way):
Some of the hacking was lovely. The boys preferred the woods, which are more what they are used to:
And next time we plan to canter on the open forest:
but we both really liked the streams where the boys could cool their feet and chill while we had a picnic. Note wet feet (him not me):
Our rides were only medium length, between 8 and 12 miles, partly because of our fitness and partly because Catherine was concerned about Romeo's stamina. As it was he was fine, and Ziggy could clearly have gone all day - he never showed any sign of effort or sweated up, even when it was warm.
It was great doing this with two ponies, as they are good friends (though not field mates) and provided a lot of comfort and support for each other.
What about the down sides?
Well, the going was very hard and stony, much harder than Surrey sand, and by the last of the four days the boys were both feeling it a bit on their back feet (they are both shod only in front). Romeo got a bit nappy (towards the mares and foals, naturally) and Ziggy started his head-for-home-at-sewing-machine-walk again, so I came back with sore shoulders.
Plus crab flies are really, really vile. Romeo seemed to recognise them and after the first swish he just accepted them (the poor wild ponies are covered in them) but Ziggy hated them with a passion and would walk along doing little skips and half bucks to try and get them off, or try to trot away from them (pointless as they stick like glue). On bad areas I was jumping off him every ten minutes or so to de-fly him.
Overall though it feels like a huge achievement and we were both proud of the boys and even a bit of ourselves! Our ambition now is to get them used to going away so that in a few years we can try a point-to-point ride like the Pennine Way or whatever.
And I'm thinking about endurance for me and Zigs... One day...
