It was awesome and refreshed my memory on how much I love long rides! Especially when you have an aim and you're going somewhere new.
We didn't finish it this time, though, and I learned the importance of equipment. On Saturday I lost a boot to wear and tear (new wires and a blog are one their way) so I had no other choice than trying to use a pair of old boots I had lying around. They have been too small but his feet are a lot smaller so they appeared to fit yesterday. Turned out they didn't so I had to take them off and put the renegades on his fronts leaving his backs bare. This completely ruined my plan of trotting whenever I could and we ended up going at a speed of 3-5kms/h rather than 10.
Also, I haven't got proper saddle bags yet and as I had to take more stuff than I could squeeze in there I had to have a huge back pack pushing me slightly forwards. For next long ride I'll have saddle bags and boots sorted - first priority! =p
Luckily Anna has that van of hers so she sent her husband to our rescue when it got too dark to ride safely on those small Postman Pat roads. We were picked up at a pub and Juniblest didn't really want to be loaded - I'll take that as a sign he'd rather keep going! ;)
Picture time!
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| Early morning in Southampton - no one's awake yet |
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| Sun's coming up over the fields |
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| 'Let me out!!' |
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| Someone's used his poo as a pillow... |
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| Good to go! |
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| The old railway track |
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| We were lost for a while but we found the right way in the end! |
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| Muddy bridleway =) |
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| One of the reasons good walking shoes are really important on long rides! Sometimes you have to climb over and crawl under fallen trees, swim through mud or just stretch your legs. |
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We encountered 'devil clay' again but this time the boots stayed on! |
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| Juniblest got a bit dirty, though.. |
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| Crossing an A road was interesting.... |
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| Do make sure you socialise your horse to anything! Articulated lorries on narrow roads for instance. |
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| Looks as if he's going very fast but the driver did slow down a lot. |
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| We're not exactly speeding.... |
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| Merry Christmas to you from us! |
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| A little fella who decided to join us for lunch |
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| P.I.G.s - lots of them! |
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| ...? |
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| Final destination - almost. The Fisherman's Horn (pub) |
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| Safely in the field with Rosie and Cassie! |
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| Notice his shoulder sticking out from the rug =) It used to be invisible covered by a lump of fat in front of it... |
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| Happy Holidays, Juniblest! |
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