Creative Clara wanted to provide a little update on Grotty Groom's ride this morning. As she mentioned yesterday, today was to be her first hack out without Wesley's safety-blanket, Joey. Instead, they were to ride out with Rex (an ex-racehorse), and his mum Kaylie, who is a groom (and another livery-owner) at the yard. This was Pauline's suggestion, to get Grotty to push herself to the next level in her confidence building. Yes Baggees, Pauline is much more than your "usual" yard manager!
Freda Fretter was ridiculously nervous, so in order to assess the horses' reactions to each other, they all pootled down to the indoor school first. This went swimmingly, so they headed off into the big wide world. Now, even though Baggy is twice Kayley's age, Kayley is probably the more experienced rider, and certainly the more confident, so she told Grotty to choose a route she was happy with.
As they headed off through the working farmyard, Clever Bird couldn't quite believe how relaxed Wesley was; a little too relaxed in fact - Grotty was struggling to get him to walk out. After maybe forty minutes of walking through the stunning Suffolk countryside, Baggy realised that Kaylie and Rex were taking them on a new route - a much longer one than Grotty or Wesley had done before. No problem, as Wesley and Grotty were totally chilled.
"I'm really proud of Wessles, Kaylie. I really wasn't sure how he'd be away from his brother. Usually when he goes out with a new horse, he's a bit of a numpty, but today he hasn't whinnied once. I remember a ride when he called out to Joey for literally the whole forty-five...
"Neighhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."
"Oh no! I shouldn't have spok..."
"Whinnyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy."
As Kaylie laughed, Baggy repositioned Grotty on the now shaking Wesley, as he continuously called out to his brother. Grotty's legs were now merely resting on Wesley's sides, as he constantly whinnied in his high-pitched way, and thought about taking off to get back to Joey. The rest of the ride was more like the one that Freda Fretter had been expecting from the start - constant whinnying, a bit of jogging, lots of tripping as Wesley paid no attention to where he was putting his feet, and Baggy's nerves beginning to fray a tad. As they got closer to the yard, even Baggy could hear Joey calling back to an increasingly hysterical Wesley; then a few other horses joined in. Closer still, Baggy could hear Joey hurtling around his paddock; his paddock that is adjacent to the road that they were about to go on.
"Would you rather get off and walk him past?"
"Nope! We're good thanks," said Grotty, while Freda Fretter wondered what planet she was living on, and prayed she'd get off the numpty-horse, who was now calling like a demented child and setting off pretty much every horse on the yard.
As Grotty finally dismounted outside the stables, Wesley continued to whinny to his brother, and Psychic Ploppo realised her error. Ploppo has always been able to communicate with horses and dogs. Not all of them - just ones who have needed her help. It seems to work in a visual way, combined with "thoughts" that arrive in her head. Very much like the "visual thoughts" that Baggy conjured up as she remembered the ride when Wesley called and spun around trying to get back to his brother, for an entire forty-five minute hack. Hmmmm!
Lesson (probably not) learnt.
Despite this numtyness, it was a wonderful ride, helped no end by the fact that Rex was a model horse and ignored all of Wesley's shenanigans, and Grotty now knows a new route - well at least she does if Hormonal Hannah allows her to remember it...
Note to readers: For the avoidance of any doubt, every character in this blog is Baggy! No was harmed in its writing, although some of them get pretty confused!
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