Hacking the Wonderhorse!

Charlie the Wonderhorse and I have finally done it. This morning we did the Hack from Hell in a nice chilled relaxed manner with our hacking buddy Robin and his owner Chris Massey.

Light contact,loose back pricked ears.

This ride goes across the field of monsters some know as the cows field it's hard to know if it is worse when the cows are there or when they are not and Charlie assumes they are hiding. It's a big field and is on the side of a hill.

Next we go through two gates and down Peak Lane. Peak lane is very steep I believe it is 1 in good grief or 1 in 4.

We then do a loop round the village of Coaley and return back up Peak lane and across the field of monsters.

This is the ride we did when I found he had a problem and later
Kissing Spines was diagnosed. He basically napped and reared so badly every time we had to stop for a car I considered throwing myself in the nearest hedge. And then mid feb I tried post op and had the wrong company (for him) and he was nearly as bad and I ended

I now understand the impact of pain memory which I had been warned about but light is shining in my tunnel and he was back to the lovely horse I originally had almost a years go now. It was March 29th last year.

Fast forward to the afternoon and I had my weekly lesson with Tori.
Oh whoops in detention for hacking on a school day.
Our lesson was excellent as ever working on getting Charlie properly into the contact and using that fat little arse to step under. This was working so well on the left rein but then we changed to the right rein.

Charlie decided we needed entertaining. The exercise was walk halt walk then walk trot walk between markers. Charlie was determined to demonstrate his prowess at his new found ability to canter as practised earlier in the week so every time I asked for trot he tried to canter. Having been told that wasn't wanted he then tried trotting in front and cantering behind and tossing his head to indicate his displeasure. So the remainder of the lesson was spent trying to show Charlie the pogo stick how to trot!

It may well be that I never ever teach this big pony flying changes!