Well, I think we can all agree this has been a horrible, miserable, wet (very, very wet) winter and for that reason until yesterday I had not been out hunting.
After a few dry days, however, and an overwhelming urge of wanting to get out, I decided to go, and a lovely day was had by all.
I decided to head out with the Readyfield bloodhounds. They had a meet on over in Leicester, about an hour away from me, and this specific meet was suitable for “Novices and newcomers”. Although Arlo is neither when it comes to hunting, I did want to give him a steady go for his first one of the season.
Bathed and plaited the night before, with only a few poo stains to remove in the morning (why do I buy greys?), we headed off at a reasonable time of about 10:30. Arlo really is such a good boy on the ground, almost dog-like, and so it’s so easy to take him out and about on my own.
I got him tacked up on arrival and then got straight on for a little walk around. All in all he’s very easy to hunt, but he can be tense and impatient at the beginning, and I try to keep him as near to the front as possible. If he has to wait for a jump or to get through a gap, he will rear, or threaten to, until it’s his turn – but this is his only “quirk”. Other than that, he’s just a joy. He always looks after me, will walk buckle end on the slower parts and jump anything you place in front of him.
On this day, however, I was feeling a little wimpy and, although we did jump a few jumps and got a little braver towards the end with a couple of bigger hedges (after my port, of course), I didn’t go wild on the jumping front. I must note that it was still really, really muddy and I am very cautious with Arlo and his legs (I’m the type that likes to look behind a jump to see what the ground is like before I jump it with him), but there were some smaller fences and we enjoyed the ones we were brave enough to do.
We went at a lovely pace throughout the day, with a good amount of road work which suited us with the deep mud in places. And to top it off, I stayed on, Arlo didn’t buck me off (after some pleading with him at the beginning) and we had a safe and enjoyable time out. There were quite a few spills on this outing, lots of muddy riders to be seen about, but in good hunting fashion everyone was still having a great time. Of course now I’ve done it once, I want to do it again. So I’m sure we’ll be back out over the coming weeks (if the rain stays at bay).
Until the next one…
With things getting off to a rocky start – I think I read this is the worst rainfall in over 50 years! – what better pick-me-up than the “Fred & Rowena Cook: A Life After Racing” rehoming service contacting me about the most precious four-year-old gelding, who was looking for a new home straight from the British Racing School (BRS)?
The trio have been keeping me busy these past few weeks: Freya has had a saddle fitting, Bob’s had a lesson and Autumn’s been out with a new friend exploring lanes not too far from our yard.
Diva (Melland Queen of Scots) usually gets her summer coat quite early compared to other horses and ponies, but this year she has been holding onto hers for a lot longer.
Is it spring yet? It’s been teasing us the last few days, going from a few dry days when I could walk across most of the field and it felt like spring, to heavy downpours, including hail, which reverted the field back to a quagmire. I didn’t let it put me off too much, though, and I’ve now managed to get all three horses back into work! Eek!