In which I go out for a stroll and catch a small horse
We're down in Sussex for a few days visiting the family, it's been ages since we've been back and with the weather so glorious, Eddie's been making all sorts of plans for outings for us. It's a beautiful county and great to get out and about.
Yesterday we went for lunch at The Hatch followed by a walk on the Ashdown Forest. Then it was off out to see Sue and Jim's new house and enjoy a Mexican feast with the family. My great-nephew Oliver who is seven, loves the new house, and offered to show the boys and I some of the horses that lived down the track. We all set off to go and say hello.
Having stroked the two horses in the field nearby, we walked down into some pretty woodland, following the stream there down to another gate with two shetlands and a larger pony in it (me picking my way along in heels and my new tea dress that I'd brought to wear for the supper).
The boys had great fun crossing the little stream to see the horses in the field on the opposite bank when suddenly there was a scream of "The pony's got out!" At the same time, a tubby, caramel coloured shetland pony bolted through a gap in the gate posts, skidded down the bank, cantered through the water and scrambled up the other side towards me. I watched events unfold in slow motion, my sluggish mind trying to come up with solutions, but basically thinking what the hell do we do now?
There was nothing else for it, as the pony approached I kicked off my shoes, launched myself at it and wrapped my arms around its neck, digging my heels into the mud to slow it down. Incredibly, it stopped. Great! Now what? We needed a lead because I couldn't hold it if it decided to go. That's when I spotted two halters by the gate on the other side of the stream.
"JAMES GET THE HALTER. NOW.' I commanded. James scuttled off and brought back the world's biggest head collar, which obviously belonged to the larger of the three horses. It would do. I held it round the escapee's head and managed to coax it back across the stream and up the bank to the field where its two friends were making a right fuss.
Worrying the creature would try another break for freedom, we swapped head collars so he was wearing the right size and finally, after shooing the companions away from the gate (if they all got out....well, it didn't bear thinking about), we finally released the pony back into his field.
"WOW!" Yelled Oliver from the far bank, eyes on stalks. "That was AMAZING." I guess for a Great-Aunt I didn't do too badly.
Yesterday we went for lunch at The Hatch followed by a walk on the Ashdown Forest. Then it was off out to see Sue and Jim's new house and enjoy a Mexican feast with the family. My great-nephew Oliver who is seven, loves the new house, and offered to show the boys and I some of the horses that lived down the track. We all set off to go and say hello.
Having stroked the two horses in the field nearby, we walked down into some pretty woodland, following the stream there down to another gate with two shetlands and a larger pony in it (me picking my way along in heels and my new tea dress that I'd brought to wear for the supper).
The boys had great fun crossing the little stream to see the horses in the field on the opposite bank when suddenly there was a scream of "The pony's got out!" At the same time, a tubby, caramel coloured shetland pony bolted through a gap in the gate posts, skidded down the bank, cantered through the water and scrambled up the other side towards me. I watched events unfold in slow motion, my sluggish mind trying to come up with solutions, but basically thinking what the hell do we do now?
There was nothing else for it, as the pony approached I kicked off my shoes, launched myself at it and wrapped my arms around its neck, digging my heels into the mud to slow it down. Incredibly, it stopped. Great! Now what? We needed a lead because I couldn't hold it if it decided to go. That's when I spotted two halters by the gate on the other side of the stream.
"JAMES GET THE HALTER. NOW.' I commanded. James scuttled off and brought back the world's biggest head collar, which obviously belonged to the larger of the three horses. It would do. I held it round the escapee's head and managed to coax it back across the stream and up the bank to the field where its two friends were making a right fuss.
Worrying the creature would try another break for freedom, we swapped head collars so he was wearing the right size and finally, after shooing the companions away from the gate (if they all got out....well, it didn't bear thinking about), we finally released the pony back into his field.
"WOW!" Yelled Oliver from the far bank, eyes on stalks. "That was AMAZING." I guess for a Great-Aunt I didn't do too badly.
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