Sonny's visit to Greenholme (9)

More blustery, showery weather this morning. In contrast to yesterday, both ponies were sharp and eager to go: Ruby clattering about and not wanting to wait for Sonny, Sonny swinging about and not wanting to wait for Jen to mount. Maybe two hours of spring grass is more than they need. Jen walked off and left Sonny tied to his tree (they must be well acquainted by now), and when she came back he stood ok for her to get up.

We walked from Daw Bank to the electricity substation past Selsmire farm, a distance of about two miles, and back. The idea was to get Sonny quietly across the two motorway bridges, and past a field of young horses whose curiosity can be upsetting as they trot, splash and canter along their side of the field fence.

We met a good deal of traffic, a couple of 4-wheeler wagons, couple of tractors, lots of cars. Everything very circumspect, unusually so, which was fine of course. Sonny was less fidgety once we got going. He was very nosey this morning, wanting to watch the men rebuilding part of Brown Bank barn, and Jen reported that he was fascinated by the idea of the traffic disappearing under his feet on the motorway bridge, and had to stop and watch it reappear - "ooh LOOK" - on the other side. He thought it was the strangest thing he'd seen in ages. Passing the young horses he just quivered, and didn't do anything silly, as the newest of them, a bay filly, trotted alongside Ruby in the carriage.

We trotted a little distance of the homeward journey and Sonny behaved well. He even stood to watch a big heavy goods train chugging up the railway line, and one of the aforementioned wagons creeping past us at Bridge End with its air brakes hissing. He was more bothered by the fact that Ruby was keen to go and was doing some backing, hence squeezing the amount of space poor Sonny had behind us. He led happily as we trotted up the brow to home and Mum hammered after him in racing mode.

As the field is getting a bit wet after all this rain, both ponies are back indoors. It will be interesting to see how they behave tomorrow with no fresh grass inside them.

PS Ruby trod on the back heel of me OTHER Ariat boot with her damn great steel clog, so now I have a slightly ruined PAIR. Do you suppose - like live items - Ariat boots have a Time To Die?

In the late afternoon the weather changed from blustery and wet to blustery and sunny, so I put the two beasties out in the little paddock while I mucked out and did-up for the night. I tied Sammy up short so he couldn't nip any heels as we passed by.

When I came back for them Sonny had a dicky fit because he didn't hear me coming for the wind and I "just appeared" round the end of the field shelter. However, he didn't go anywhere, just leapt a foot in the air. I caught Ruby and Graham looked after the gate while I walked her in, not realising I'd closed the yard gate onto the road so it didn't really matter if Sonny went walkabout. Sonny came out and went back in through the gate, so I walked in and called him and turned sideways so I wasn't threatening him, and he came up to be caught quietly.

Ruby is looking like a racing snake in her summer coat, and Sonny is beginning to shine too, and continuing to lose fat off his neck and belly, so he is starting to look like the pony he ought to be.