27 March 2005
Well, I just got back from Ruby's first drive with another pony pulling a carriage. I have found out (confirmed) what I already suspected - that outside of her relationship with Mr T, where he is the boss because he was here first and he's black and feisty like her very bossy previous stablemate - she wants to be in charge.
She WILL drive behind another pony, and since this was our first trip of any distance with another turnout, we took turns to lead. When we were behind, I insisted she kept a polite distance; but she definitely gets more wound up that way and my young groom, Christopher, had several "wipe off the slobber" sessions as foam blew off her lips and back to us! Yet I wasn't holding her hard. (The need for that came later <vbg>).
When we were in front she delighted in zooming off at a fast trot and leaving the other pony behind. When we walked, she walked a little slower than usual and let him catch up. He has a good walk - and although hers is good, she wasn't really using it till we were on the homeward stretch :-). She behaved well, standing at gates, and on lay- bys for the cars we met, without fussing. However we did have a few whoopsies! She is not "boringly perfect" yet!
She objected to the noise of an overtaking tractor which was heavily laden with trailer and bale spike and several tons of silage bales and so was revving hard like a large motorbike. Her "objection" consists of a burst of canter, slamming into the collar then bouncing nearly on the spot. It takes very little stopping, but it makes a great impression on the passing car-driver because it is so spectacular, knees and feather flying, head tucked in and neck arched! We had another of these, of startling vigour, when passing the field of the Shetland ponies, who were trotting down to the fence in their usual twinkle-toes fashion to see the day's excitement go by. I checked her silliness and settled her into her trot again. Not long after, she thought she would slow down and I didn't let her, saying "If you have energy to be silly you have energy to work, so get on." Christopher thought that was exactly what his teachers would say in class :-) and then observed that we must be teaching Ruby to be good! He also said, "It's just as well she has shoes on or she would have worn her feet out by now!" - because when she is feeling a little stroppy she lifts her knees amazingly high and you can really hear a crash as her feet hit the ground.
When we got back to the yard it was beginning to rain, so i whisked off all the harness and popped her into the horsebox straight away to get her out of the cold wind. She thought that was fine, especially when I nipped off and got her a carrot. All good practice for tomorrow's drive 15 miles away. (Going into the horsebox, she thinks, is A Good Thing. After an exercise in using the space within, on Saturday, involving a feed and some time standing in there with the gates shut, she made two excellent attempts to get in by herself yesterday: halfway through being harnessed, and again after the drive. So of course, once all the gear was off, I let her get in and she got another feed. I don't think I shall have a lot of trouble with loading her tomorrow.)
Then I took her into the stable to brush her off and she really enjoyed that because she had got herself quite sweaty - mostly she wanted her jaw brushed underneath, between the branches where she can't scratch for herself. Her beard is still 6" long (startlingly black in contrast with her bright bay face). The coat is starting to shed but she is still pretty well insulated. I shall take a sheet to put over her tomorrow for the journey home, as I am sure she will be even more sweaty after a drive with MORE "other horses and carriages".
More tomorrow - God willing, and if the horsebox starts!