Gentle Flint

 Today we had friends coming over for the afternoon and in the past, their 2 young boys had expressed an interest in horses. They're building a house on a property where ponies are living the life and recently their youngest son served up delicious apples to the well-fed ponies before going to toast marshmallows on their small fire.

I wondered how the horses would go as I hadn't seen them around small children. I grabbed Flint's halter and lead rope and led the entourage past the dam, over the hill of dry grass and into the shade of native trees and scrub. I kept.an eye out for snakes sunbaking in the gorgeous sunshine as I heard the crunching of the grass underfoot. 

The horses were in the hidden part of their paddock but when Flint heard me call, he ventured half way up the hill and watched us approaching. I walked down to him, gave him a pat and walked back to where the others were waiting. Flint followed and Jasper, thinking there might be treats in pockets, came close behind.

Flint stood still while hands stroked his neck and side. He lowered his head so the.youngest one could reach and the blokes stood talking and patting. Jasper let himself be patted and when he figured out there were no treats, he left Flint to enjoy the attention.

The horses followed us back to the gate and Flint hung his head over so the patting could continue. We went and made up his feed and he watched carefully, reaching for a succulent plant to munch on. The food was tipped.into his dish and he licked the bowl clean.

As our friends got ready to go, the youngest son ran to Flint.who was standing at the gate. Flint lowered his head and the boy said, "I love you. I don't want to go. I will miss you."

Building the Bond

 We've moved to a new place and have Flint with us, as well as a friend's horse, Jasper. Jasper and Flint love the new place and are so relaxed. We've started bringing in hay for them and they discovered, with their hooves, where the opening is underneath. 

Anyway,  as my friend won't be able to ride with me for a few weeks, I wondered what I should do about it. The hoof trimmer was out on Monday and she remarked about how far Flint and I have come in 6 months. She suggested that while my friend is away, I continue to work with Flint. When I expressed concern about separation anxiety between the horses, she said to practise going down the (long) driveway and increasing the distance each time etc.

I started today. As we left the paddock, Jasper called out to him over the gate and although Flint heard him, he was focused on me. The 2 little yappy dogs came running out and he ignored them. The agisted horses on the other side called out to ask him where he was going, but he kept walking alongside me and didn't bother to reply.

We went down the stony hill/ driveway and he mostly kept his space alongside me. A couple times, he came too close and I turned him around and he resumed walking properly beside me. At the bottom of the hill, I let him have some juicy, green grass as a reward.

He would have stayed and feasted longer, despite the horses calling him back, but I didn't want to push him too far. On our way back, 2 cars were coming towards us and I moved him to the side of the driveway, facing them and he stood still. The noisier car stopped and waited and we returned to the gate, where Jasper was hanging over the fence impatiently. 

He's a good boy! (Flint)

First Ride in Four Months

 It's been almost 6 months to the day since the first time I rode Flint and it was time to ride him for the first time since we had moved. I was nervous leading up to the ride, after all, we hadn't ridden for about 4 months and I've read so many 'horror' stories about riding on a horse that hadn't been ridden in a while. Horses that are restless, gallop away without their rider, pig-rooting and all sorts of other crazy things. We don't have access to a yard where we can lunge the horses before a ride so it was saddle up and go. It was a bright sunny day and I enlisted Andy's help as the photographer to mark this wondrous occasion. 

Inside the paddock, we brushed our horses down and saddled them up. I asked Heather a couple times to check the girth and when we took them out and I was about to mount, she stood in front of Flint, 'just in case'. He stood still and we moved out of the way so Heather could get on Jasper. We went for a little walk behind our home and the boys were great! A big expanse of paddocks were on the horizon and we could just make out the cattle further down the track.

We turned them around and headed back down the driveway. The horses being agisted on the other side of the road, wanted to join in the fun, calling out and walking alongside the fence, yet Jasper kept walking. Flint hesitated and after a bit of cajoling, he decided he didn't want to be left behind either and quickly moved to join Jasper. They both walked past their paddock without a sideways look which I took as a good sign that they were happy to be out on this adventure. 

Further down the driveway, we kept going, mostly staying in the grass alongside the driveway which is softer on their feet. We walked up a steep hill, although I allowed Flint to canter a few steps just to see how he went. He was lovely! At the top of the hill, we sat and admired the view and then zig-zagged our way back down. In Heather's words, "I don't feel like doing a "Man from Snowy River" ride this afternoon.

On the way back, we allowed the horses to walk on the grass alongside the driveway and when we got back to our place, we dismounted and headed back into the paddock again to untack them. They hadn't even worked up a sweat!

For horses that hadn't been ridden in 4 months, they didn't put a hoof wrong. I was so pleased with Flint and I look forward to the next ride when we plan to go out of the property and up the road a bit. We want to increase the length of the ride each time. 

Bring on daylight savings when the days are longer and warmer!