Definitely a heated seat kind of morning
BRRRR, it’s cold out there! With Beast from the East ‘Take Two’ pulling down the temperatures to sub-zero, thank goodness for my heated seat.
Ah no, not that kind. We’re talking stirrups rather than seatbelts. Gaits not gears. Can be temperamental to start at times. But, I can assure you that this particular model still has plenty of horsepower left under the (hairy) bonnet, despite many miles on the clock.
When you have animals to look after, what the weather’s like outside becomes somewhat irrelevant. Just like your dog at home or a farmers’ herd of dairy cows, horses too are sticklers for routine. So with a bitter wind chill of minus four to five, according to the Met Office, out we went first thing yesterday morning for one of our usual pre-work hacks. The things we do for our pets!
Whilst I may have been unable to feel my face, fingers or toes, I could smile in the knowledge that I was making an old horse very happy. If Ollie was asked to choose between a hot summer’s afternoon and a crisp winter’s morning, he would pick the latter everytime. The fresher it is, the livelier he becomes.
It’s common knowledge among the horsey community that when the weather turns cold, it’s wise to sit a bit deeper in the saddle as, going back to the previously mentioned car references, the ‘suspension’ can get a little jumpy and unpredictable! As long as you hold on tight, it works wonders for stoking up that onboard heated seating system!
At the grand age of 26, estimated to be roughly equal to 75 human years, Ollie’s interpretation of ‘fresh’ would be slightly more reserved than his younger counterparts - favouring the classic head toss and jig-jog (a sort of trot on the spot) rather than bucking which now requires way too much physical effort.
I’ve heard some people describe their fresh horses as ‘fire-breathing dragons’. Well to avoid embarrassing Ollie too much, when he gets excited most of his ‘snorting’ certainly isn’t coming from the front end!