JRFS Last Day

So the vet has just left. Mel is is foot sore and has a cut from a kick. and Liquorice has some bute to bring down the swelling on his sheath from all the fly bites. He is so swollen he looks like he's got a couple of testicles!. (Sorry if you're eating your tea while reading this.)



We can look back on another brilliant day. We started the day with only five minutes trotting (James must be getting soft) Then he asked Liz on Becks to canter a figure of eight around us without changing gait. I blithely thought "oh he is only going to ask Liz to do that because she is on Becks and she is a good rider." Then, when she stopped I thought I heard him say "OK, Lynne, when you're ready, tip him up to a canter." and I thought "Huh?" Then I realised that he really was talking to me and when James tells you to do something you don't think of not doing it - he's a kind of poor man's Pat Parelli and it is a £1 fine after all! So off we went and Liquorice cantered almost from a standstill three quarters of the way around the school! The most amazing thing was that for the very first time ever, Liquorice could do something that some of the other horses there couldn't do! We weren't at the botton of the class for once!


Then we all went out on a trail ride. When we got to the stubble field James said we were going to have a nice trot up the hill. Off we went and Liquorice offered a canter which I accepted as it would have been rude not to! Bella wasn't having any of Liquorice overtaking her so she joined in - they were fantastic!


Next we walked along the top of the field - the views are amazing! Then I spied a dropped wallet on the ground. Now here was a dilema. Do I admit to not keeping my focus on where I was going and get a £1 fine? I risked the fine and told about the wallet! It turned out to be James' wallet so, although I got fined £1 for not keeping my focus I got a £1 reward for finding his wallet!


We dropped down a bit to the top of another field and James suggested another trot but Liquorice had other ideas. He saw a line of horses, a wide open space and thought "Grand National  o'clock!" We'd really found his go button and I had to keep reining him back! When we got back we watched Smoke ridden again while James played some friendly game with a lasso rope.


So tonight we are going to gatecrash James' barbecue and get drunk and have a go on the bucking bronco. If we've got any teeth left in the morning I would be very surprised!
Read about my reflections of the week - http://carrotsinmypocket.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/jrfs-review-2012.html