I took Toffee for a short ride, round the block tonight, and I think it's fair to say that 'That boy is fat!' I didn't bother with a saddle as the lanes that run around the field are quite short and the ride is usually only 10-15mins, so not really worth all the bother of tacking up (I am lazy!). But Toffee is pretty large in the shoulder and as we trotted he made my legs swing so much that I felt like I was running! I shall get fit in double quick time at this rate :)
The boys are only on the good grass for an hour or two a day otherwise I dread to think how fat they would be, not to mention at risk of going down with laminitis. Poor mites, they think I'm so cruel to restrict their grazing, but already the grass is so lush and I just won't risk it.
Lets hope the weather carries on as it is, with a little sun and rain during each week, and then we won't have the problems we had when we first moved to the field. At first it was so wet that everything turned to a muddy bog, and then a long hot spell baked the ground like cement and the grass couldn't break through. I spent days trying to break it up with a garden rake, and then sowed new grass seed that was quickly eaten by the pheasants! The pasture did finally recover, but it's made us very aware of how quickly things can go very wrong and so now we err on the side of caution.
2 comments:
I know the being lazy feeling. Sometimes I just want to hop on My Boy and ride bareback because I don't feel like lugging the saddle out. I have done it a couple of times and found it to be a great lesson in balance!
You're right there, Pony girl, my balance is pretty good now, he,he! For a long time I couldn't afford a good saddle as Toffee was such a funny shape that I would have needed to have one made. I rode for miles bareback and actually enjoyed it a lot. I haven't the nerve to canter bareback though, so in the end I found a treeless saddle to be the only answer.
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