• Mood: relaxed

A Truly Autumn Ride

I was really lucky this morning as I had just walked into the stable with DJ when it started raining! So I was able to groom a damp horse, rather than a wet horse! He is slowly growing his winter coat - and as it is getting quite a cool wind that seems to be blowing across his fields it wont be long till he is looking quite shaggy! As the start of his winter living I cut 2 inches off his tail - another 3 or 4 will come off once the fields get muddy. I find it hard to do as I do love his long tail and mane, but if I don't cut it now the wet fields will damage it ... Split ends are a pain, whether you are horse or human!

Toni brought Smudge in soon after - but as he ended up having a full clip yesterday he is now rugged, so the rain didn't get him wet!

We went inland towards the forestry that Ros and I occasionally go to ... except we went the route anti-clockwise! So we cantered down the muddy road, and as there were some places where the verges had been cut we got some extra cantering in ... one lot in the pouring rain!

But, as I have said in the past - DJ is a Connemara which is an Irish native horse - I have never been to the country, but it is renowned for it's rain! So DJ doesn't worry about rain!

We then walked, trotted and cantered through the forest track. It is a managed pine forest - and after the rain it smelt absolutely amazing.

And so back home - wet but thoroughly relaxed. And no hot horse, so he could be fed and put back in his field almost immediately - so I could go home and get some dry clothes!! ... And thanks to spikereader James could accompany me home (although sadly only in my CD player!)