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Spring has arrived! Everything’s growing, birds are singing, the sun is shining, and at last! The temperature is high enough for Rebel and I to get back on the roads!
Just as conditions favoured our return to work, The Husband engaged in more courses leading towards his Mountain Leadership qualification, and spent a fortnight getting cold and wet in the Pennines and Lakes. I promised faithfully to not attempt to take Rebel out without someone to “man base camp” (rescue us if needed!); and I complied!
We made a determined effort to meet our Drive500 challenge, but failed by 120.5 miles. And wore out another set of Equine Fusion hoof boots. I can’t complain, they have suffered through about 1000 miles of hard use, and we’ve been able to canter along the local loneys, which was one of the major reasons for investing in my HyperBike.
The rocky, bouldery surface certainly gives this vehicle a testing that the manufacturer probably fantasises about, with the pony cantering on the grassy midline.
We also encounter deep muddy puddles, exposed tree roots, and have had no mishaps to date – although the metal trace ring did bounce off the swingle tree, and! being on the HyperBike! I didn’t even have to dismount to slip it back on! In a traditional vehicle I suspect there might have been a very nasty consequence, but all I got was a startled look and immediate slow and stop from Rebel to alert me that things had gone awry. What a great little pony! Engineer-head husband to be employed!
For the first time ever, Rebel sustained pastern rubs from his (very badly worn) hoof boots, necessitating time off until the pink skin healed, and the hair grew back. I ordered new boots, just as another course, Devon this time, came up for Joe.
After intense discussions, I agreed to accompany him as his usual training buddy was unavailable, and Devon is a long way from Northern Ireland. We decided to visit as many relatives and friends as possible, culminating in an 11-day, 10-visit road trip from Downpatrick, Belfast ferry to Cairnryan, Linlithgow, Stockton on Tees, London, Winchester, Yeovil, Princetown, Tiverton, Brecon, (Barrow in Furness was aborted), and back to Cairnryan, Belfast, and home; 1700 miles in total! It was great to see everyone, and a fun trip, if exhausting! And I did keep a diary, of course!
We learned a lot about my new needs when travelling as this was our first trip since pandemic lockdowns, and with oxygen: gone are my days of filling the car, shoving a clean pair of knickers and a toothbrush in my pocket, and going!
Rule 32: Push the boundaries, you never know what you are capable of!
Keep an eye out for my next book, “Harmonious Horsemanship: How to use the Ridden Horse Ethogram to Optimise Potential, Partnership, and Performance”. This ground-breaking book is co-authored with Dr Sue Dyson, and will be available summer 2023. Sign up at www.harmonioushorsemanship.co.uk to be kept up to date with new information as it comes available. Watch a FREE 30-minute documentary on the Ridden Horse Ethogram here.
Here’s a FREE 30-minute presentation by Sue Palmer on how to be confident that your horse is comfortable.
Other books by Sue Palmer M.Sc. MCSP:
‘Horse Massage for Horse Owners’
‘Understanding Horse Performance: Brain, Pain or Training?’
© Sue Palmer, The Horse Physio, 2022
