Ziggy's hacking diary: all those hills!

Jane&Ziggy

Jane&Sid these days!
Apr 30, 2010
21,920
10,010
113
63
Surrey Hills
I don't know what I've done to deserve it. My mum shut me in this morning with a net of hay and I had barely finished it before she was there with the saddle and my boots and we were off.

I thought we were doing one of our usual circuits but instead we headed on up the little lane - you can see from my ear in the first picture that I think I should be turning right, but no! That brought us in to a little village with a busy road and we had to ride along the road a little way. The drain covers were scary but I trotted nicely when Mum asked me and stood to wait for my right turn off the main road with Mum sitting there with her arm stuck out like a numpty until a car stopped to let us over.

Then we went up another lane which went up hill, and up, and up. It was ok when it was tarmac but after a while it turned into those horrid stones about the size of mum's thumb, they hurt my poor feet like nothing else and I didn't want to go on them. Mum got off and led me but I kept trying to turn round and go home, I hated that road. In the end I followed Mum all the way up to the top though, what's a pony to do? And I had a quiet snicker at her puffing away walking up the hill, ha ha, she thought I was going to do the hard work!

At the top of the lane we turned off onto a lovely green track, there's a picture. I know about pictures because Mum stops me and says, "Ziggy, stand," and I stand, and then her pocket goes zzzzip and she fiddles around with this little shiny thing for a bit, then it goes cer-lick! and she says "Good boy Ziggy" and gives me a treat and zips up her pocket again. I start walking now when her pocket zip goes because I am a clever pony and learn quickly.

Anyway, Mum stopped at the start of the green path and gave me an apple and we had a little rest before she got on. Then we came out onto this huge green down and Mum let me canter as much as I wanted, I went really fast because it was so lovely to run on the grass, I only stopped when I got out of puff. It was fun and Mum didn't mind even when I skipped sideways because there was a wolf in the gorse bushes.

Mum had to lead me a bit on the way off the down because there were trees over the track and she couldn't fit underneath them and neither could I and we had to weave around through the woods, but then she got back on and we went up on nice soft sandy tracks through the woods and then up a big wide sandy track and we cantered but it was so steep I just cantered slower and slower and slower until I sort of ran into the sand, and then I was at the top of this HUGE hill and I am sure I could see my mates in the field if I looked hard enough. Mum gibbered about me being handsome and took lots of pictures but I was busy looking for my mates.

I knew the way home from there and it was nice, with no more horrid stones and more nice views. I was really hungry on the way back and I ate grass and plantains and Mum said she knew I shouldn't but she let me all the same.

I was so tired when we got home though, and Mum shut me in the shelter with just a little feed because I had eaten the grass. I thought I might die of exhaustion and starvation before feeding time but in fact I fell asleep and when I woke up my feed was there and it was time to go out in the paddock for a roll!

That was a fun hack. Apart from the stones.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1421.jpg
    IMG_1421.jpg
    52.1 KB · Views: 14
  • IMG_1422.jpg
    IMG_1422.jpg
    36.2 KB · Views: 15
  • IMG_1424.jpg
    IMG_1424.jpg
    63.7 KB · Views: 14
  • IMG_1429.jpg
    IMG_1429.jpg
    47.2 KB · Views: 14
  • IMG_1439.jpg
    IMG_1439.jpg
    50.1 KB · Views: 12
  • Like
Reactions: Jessey
Ziggy you are lucky to have such nice hacking near you, apart from the stones of course. I like the sandy bits and I love that picture of you standing in the shade on the sand at the top of the hill.

We don't have any hills round here but sometimes I take Raf in the box to a country park that is built on a hill so he can practice going up and down. He really doesn't know how to tackle hills, he's tried walking, trotting and cantering and they all seem difficult. What do you think is the easiest way?
 
Mum makes me walk up because she says it is good for my bottom. My myself I, I like to trot up until it gets really hard, and then I like to stop. Walking is OK I suppose. Going down I like trotting too but Mum doesn't!
 
newrider.com