27 Dec 2005
Ruby has a cheeky Christmas
I managed to find time out from the kitchen yesterday to go and drive. Ruby didn't mind. She prefers "out" to "in" any day, and work is "Out" so it's OK.
We wandered quietly down into the village, and I had my instant reward (quite apart from going driving) in the shape of a kingfisher who'd been perching in one of the bare alder trees by the river, who flashed away upstream in a streak of brilliant turquoise light.
Ruby set off to trot up the hill but decided halfway up that she just wasn't that fit, so we walked the rest. She'd been indoors quite a bit so I wasn't going to press her. She was a bit sneaky on the way out; finding grassy verges where she suggested we might turn round and go for home! Cheeky mare. I kept her going at "walk-March", watching the new/refurbished hames carefully; they work fine, as I thought they would, being the same size and fitting as the "good" pair I want to keep nice for showing. We did about a mile and a half, crossing the noisy motorway bridges just as an exercise to remind her about traffic, because we see very little at the farm.
When I turned her for home she got a bit strong - typical Fell! - she wanted to canter all the way home. When I checked her she bucked before going back into her 10mph power trot. We sailed home, she thinking very naughty thoughts, and I taking care not to disturb matters. Once she slackened speed I told her to keep right on going, which she did, with a little less fizz! At one point when she slackened I shook the whip to make a slight noise, and she gave another buck, cheeky woman, and shook her head at me. So I scolded her verbally and told her to get on, and she settled down and went on working... She's clever enough to try your control yet give in as soon as she knows you're still in charge. She so rarely shows any temper, and her head shake is so funny with her huge black mane and forelock flying, I can't get mad at her. I know it's just freshness, because nothing has changed since her last drive out except being stabled a good deal, AND she behaved with great decorum last time we were out, and that's just as well, because we had a BBC radio 4 presenter recording in the passenger seat!
She is going back into her kicking strap for the next few drives out though!
Sue