Hacking Out and the Goat Adventure

Leading the way!

So tonight Soonie went on his first official hack down the road and was a STAR!! :)

Went down the nice country road with four other members of the barn.  We had a nice, lovely long walk, the majority of which Soon led the whole group and marched along on a long rein.  He tolerated cars, the new environment, and the accompanying dog like it was all old hat for him.  I was totally thrilled and impressed.  He got a little worked up on the way home, as one of the riders (who was very inexperienced and didn't know better) took off trotting right by us, and the rest of the group followed.  Soon and I quickly found ourselves at the back of the pack, and his inner racehorse came out  for a few minutes.  The trot was only a minute or two, and I allowed him to go along and move out.  While somewhat "up," he was still very easy to handle and I had a hold of him with just one hand for the majority.  He jigged for a bit afterward, but did eventually settle to a relaxed walk before we got back to the farm driveway. 

Overall, an extremely productive and FUN end to a pretty great Friday the 13th.  I love hacking out so much, and have missed that.  I can't stay in a ring for too long, because I get bored, as do the horses.  I am very happy with Soon's behavior out hacking, and I'm looking forward to getting him out there more.  I'd love for him to be a hunt horse at least part time, so the more he gets out on the roads, fields, and over different terrain and property, the better. He's going to need to learn to be just as comfortable in the back as he is in the front, but baby steps.  For his first outing, this was a great success and he seemed pretty happy out there!  :)








So last night, I got to the barn and discovered a roving herd of goats had invaded the farm.  We have some resident wild turkeys (whose nightly routine I have timed down to the minute), but no farm animals.  Apparently they belong to a neighbor and occasionally come over for social hour, but still...GOATS!?  Goats and I don't get along.  Back when I was a staff member at a summer horse camp, and had to drag the two goats (whom I referred to as Lunch and Dinner) out of my feed bins every morning, I decided goats were not my friends.  So imagine my amusement when I rolled up to the barn and found four large adults (with big horns) and their kids (kids are adorable, I won't lie).  Horses were snorting and kicking as the herd moved down the barn aisle (except for Soon, who couldn't be bothered to be distracted from his hay).  Thankfully the large male goat just wanted to be my friend and not impale me, so I ushered them out of the barn, and they wandered around for awhile before eventually departing.  But still.  Goats.  Random.  Goats.

Soonie thought they were toys