Following Horses

My old Dad used to tell people he followed the horses – what he didn’t tell them was that the horses he followed usually followed other horses!

Think about it and work it out. I suspect that sort of remark would have been totally inappropriate in the company I was keeping last weekend. I was allowed in to a hard working livery stables where there were just so many dedicated people who were busy all day looking after their animals.

“I’m a horse mum “admitted one lady as her youngster thundered past on what I called a pony. There was so much going on – mucking out the stables – by the barrow full, grooming the animal, cleaning the tack (notice the lad picked up a few terms) preparing the feed, leading to exercise. And so it went on all day.

A life of dedication by the riders, parents, grooms etc. This was a completely new industry for me and one which seemed incredibly costly in terms of time, finance and equipment.

I found myself wondering how I would have coped if our daughter had expressed an interest in learning to ride. I guess I would have failed at the first fence.

However the people I visited were terrific. They knew I was only there to take pictures and they pulled out all the stops. Whiterails Livery Stables outside Norwich if you should ever need one. They seemed to do everything.

My opening remark is in fact quite an interesting one because I asked about racehorses. People shook their heads – “different beasts,” I was told – “too highly strung.”

The implication was that they had to be handled “differently”  – maybe in the course of time I might learn what “differently” means in this context.

We’ll see!

Anyway, see you soon.