loads of photos - and a battle won

well.... and this will be long, i expect, as well as full of pictures.

The usual suspects didn't turn up. i asked to if they'd wait for me but they said they were only going for a walk and didn't. went for a help to get on in the barn, and rode out of their with paul and liz but they were going for a fast hack. that left me to myself. i thought, I'd try and get round the 20 acre, since we'd been down the hill yesterday that shouldn't be a problem. it wasn't the first time, but we only got a 3rd of the way round when she decided to turn round and come back and there was no telling her otherwise. in one way that was funny, cos at the top nearly back to the yard she decided she didn't like that either (the way was apparently blocked by a large builders van that she'd had to come past to get down .... duh...).

anyway, here's a shot of the 20 acre in the distance, looking across the mare's field where molly usually lives...



it's the dusty field in the distance, we have to ride round the outside.

so i took her back down, which was fine, but we barely got through the gate, maybe 100 yards into the field when she was back round again ... ggrrhh..

so i went through the yard, with a view to going up the side of the geldings field or up the drive. here's a shot of the willow tree at the beginning of the track that leads to the ford -she won't go under there on her own in this direction yet...



i think it could be that it looks too dark and uninviting, i don't know.

so that didn't work. i tried it a few times.

then we went and stood at the top of the hill down to the 20 acre



but her head wasnt' in it and her ears were back to the yard



- as was her body in due course. we did stand there for ages, right at the top of the hill, me thinking forwards and not letting her turn, but eventually a fisherman with his rod started climbing the hill so we had to go back


so we went back and forwrd through the yard. by this time everyone else was back, untacked, and leaving; i was well hacked off, i can tell you. but i thought, one last try. partly i was feeling stuck to the saddle which helps a lot, and secondly i was so t'd off with her messing me about (which was all it was ) i really got after her with the ends of the reins. that seemed to do the trick, downthe hill we went again, through and round the field. That got very scary at the end, as there was a huge roller at the other end of the field AND as we approached it a tractor was driving down from my right, the other side of the hedge - round she went again .. but i WAS NOT going all the way back. the tractor driver realised i was there and backed up and switched off, and molly sidled past the roller and through, we turned left to go back and the tractor was on our right at the ford ....

so this left brings us to the track that she won't go on from the yard



you can see that it would look like a black hole from the other direction, I think. and this was taken whilst she was walking not standing, as were the next two - a view of the willow from this direction and finally molly virtually under the willow





So as you can imagine, i was very pleased indeed!!!

it took forever, i was probably on her about 1 1/2 hours if not 2 (left my watch at home!) and she had to be washed off when we got back.

but that is a major success!

and i felt really secure. don't think i could have done that if i'd been slipping about!!!!

I really don't think it's a trust issue with her at all, i think it's a "i'm going to try you out" and always have been - and with the proviso that i don't want her to start throwing herself to the ground again like she did last summer, I think we might have less of that from now on!!!!