It's been one of those days when everything seems more difficult than usual, I had a definite lack of enthusiasm, and I just wanted it to be an easy day. With this in mind, I decided to take Remy out for a hack, thinking that a nice relaxed ride was just what I needed. What did I say about him being jumpy yesterday, well, it hadn't even entered my mind. Am I stupid?
Anyway he seemed pretty calm as we set off, but as we neared our neighbours house he stopped to look at a car that isn't usually there and then stood snorting and trying to peer around the hedge to see if the dog that was there one time and startled him, was there today. As it happens, it wasn't.
I let him stand and gave him time to look and relax a little, but then when I asked, he wouldn't go past, and every time I put my leg on he just went backwards ( he's very good at reinback you know!). I was getting a little bit frustrated and impatient, and thought perhaps it just wasn't my day and I should turn back, but I really didn't want to give him that message, so thought , if he wants to back up then he can and I turned him around and backed him past the car and the empty garden with the dog that wasn't there. When I turned him around again, he just seemed to say 'ok then' and went on without a problem and was pretty relaxed for the rest of the ride. We went off down the track, round the bottom of the little fishing lake and then had a nice trot and canter back up the track towards home.
I feel bad for getting so frustrated and impatient with him, and I was a little firmer than I'd like. Was I unfair to him, I don't think so, but perhaps I was, I guess that I just wasn't in the right frame of mind to ride in the first place. I didn't hit him or pull him about, just made up my mind that we were going in the direction that I wanted to go. He was happy to go backwards, so I let him go backwards in my direction. The ride turned out ok though, we both came back more relaxed than when we set off, so perhaps that's justification enough?
1 comment:
i don't think that's unfair at all, he has to go where you want, not where he wants. sounds like a successful trip to me!
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