Post by janwilky on Aug 22, 2014 14:00:17 GMT 1
Following on from my post about riding with a dog, Ru helpfully came to open the top gate for me this morning when I was going out for a hack and took this:
I feel so lucky that this view is perhaps 50m from our cottage, looking out over the Corvedale towards Wenlock Edge. It's where I normally clamber aboard whilst trying to persuade the Pocket Rocket to stand still in a tractor rut, so I don't usually stop to appreciate it but we did this morning.
We had a lovely ride too after that, she gets better every time I ride her at the moment. We toddle along a bit, get off to do a rickety gate, trot up the edge of a wood to the right of the camera, past a pheasant release pen currently full of panicking birds - luckily Bambi and Meg are both pheasant-proof
- and then up a field of sheep (luckily Meg is sheep-proof too). Then I have to get off to go through two more tricky gates and over a narrow wooden footbridge. Climb on the last gate to get back on and we are on the top of the hill where there are two HUGE sloping fields. One is silage and the other wheat, and the farmer has helpfully cut the lines of a network of old footpaths into the crop so we can do a variety of different routes up and down, lots of lovely places to canter and fabulous views over towards the Long Mynd. When we've had enough we come back down through my neighbour's exceedingly steep orchard. It took ages for me to persuade Bambi to walk slowly enough down the steep hill for me to feel reasonably safe riding down, but we've pretty much cracked it now and she hardly ever tries to trot off with me down the bank. I like going fast, but not down a steep bank, I don't know how people do that as it scares me stupid!
And for Lisa - I shortened my stirrups a hole and voila! No more lost stirrups - thanks! They felt really short yesterday when I first changed them but today they felt just right, and I might even go up another hole next time we go on a fun ride. I have to ride the Bambster far shorter than I ever rode Lucas, I think it must be because she's so wide - believe it or not, slim as she is she's wider than the Monstercob!
I feel so lucky that this view is perhaps 50m from our cottage, looking out over the Corvedale towards Wenlock Edge. It's where I normally clamber aboard whilst trying to persuade the Pocket Rocket to stand still in a tractor rut, so I don't usually stop to appreciate it but we did this morning.
We had a lovely ride too after that, she gets better every time I ride her at the moment. We toddle along a bit, get off to do a rickety gate, trot up the edge of a wood to the right of the camera, past a pheasant release pen currently full of panicking birds - luckily Bambi and Meg are both pheasant-proof
- and then up a field of sheep (luckily Meg is sheep-proof too). Then I have to get off to go through two more tricky gates and over a narrow wooden footbridge. Climb on the last gate to get back on and we are on the top of the hill where there are two HUGE sloping fields. One is silage and the other wheat, and the farmer has helpfully cut the lines of a network of old footpaths into the crop so we can do a variety of different routes up and down, lots of lovely places to canter and fabulous views over towards the Long Mynd. When we've had enough we come back down through my neighbour's exceedingly steep orchard. It took ages for me to persuade Bambi to walk slowly enough down the steep hill for me to feel reasonably safe riding down, but we've pretty much cracked it now and she hardly ever tries to trot off with me down the bank. I like going fast, but not down a steep bank, I don't know how people do that as it scares me stupid!And for Lisa - I shortened my stirrups a hole and voila! No more lost stirrups - thanks! They felt really short yesterday when I first changed them but today they felt just right, and I might even go up another hole next time we go on a fun ride. I have to ride the Bambster far shorter than I ever rode Lucas, I think it must be because she's so wide - believe it or not, slim as she is she's wider than the Monstercob!
