Sunday 26 July 2020

My thoughts about us & horses

My thoughts about the importance of credible leadership in our relationships with horses..
I believe that, like your child, your horse likes to feel safe under your wing, but unlike your child, your horse needs to believe in you & you have to earn that position. If not, the horse may be your friend, but will trust his own decisions more..
& being your friend doesn't mean he will look after you, he may like you but he will like horseplay & wouldn't know safety boundaries where humans are concerned. Plus I think every horse has an instinct to try leadership that starts through play, or may start through reaching for grass when riding, or trying to turn for home, or stopping on your way out, speeding up on your way home. & all of these little challenges s/he sets for you will develop if s/he succeeds too often. S/He will see these successes as doubts in you. 
A horse is a herd animal, normally very happy just to follow advice, the alpha mare, or stallion will earn leadership through physical strength, we cannot do that, so we use our brains.
On the ground a horse must learn to respect human space, it doesn't know that to barge, bite or kick you, could do you serious harm. It doesn't know that to do you harm may result in, at the very least, you not being able to feed him/her that night, or worse still, selling him/her. 
Our experience & confidence with horses generally grows & with that develops an inner strength & certainty which a horse will read & respond to positively. Often this positivity in your own mind alone is enough to convince the horse. 
If we think about the decisions horses would make for themselves, they would be simple decisions with only the short term in mind, they do not know the consequences of their actions in our world, they would favour other horses, food, frolicking or just standing around, yes, I think they enjoy being ridden, alot of them love jumping & will choose to approach a fence, alot of them love a good gallop & I believe they do have a sense of oneness & feel the double sense of joy when you are united in action. Or indeed united in inaction. 
Yes we should listen to our horses & respond to their fears knowing when to push through a problem rather than indulge it. & When you have complete trust from your horse, it will happily hand the problem over to you. 
We mustn't forget horses instincts for fear & flight, but we know that flight in todays world isn't always the way to safety. It is in fact often the way to danger. We know there aren't any lions waiting behind a tree, so when we decide to get on board, we must be able to control that instinct, the best way to do that is before you have to pull on the reins. By desensitising your horse to everyday possible scary things & by earning their trust in you. 
They trust you if they feel you are the one who won't harm them & they trust you more if you are the one that makes things happen that always turn out OK. 
I'm writing this to kind of establish in my own mind, what it is I do & why, I think my purpose with horses & their humans is to help them to be safe & happy together in a practical way & furthermore to educate a horse in the universal language of humans so that they can live safely in this world wherever they are & whoever they're with, whilst educating humans to understand their horses & to be responsible owners. 
All of this is for the love of the most beautiful & most generous animal in this world. ❤️🐎

Thursday 28 March 2019

What happened next... (& this was a while ago!)


We've been back home for two weeks now & it is Wonderful !! - Even though it's raining like England & we're thoroughly destitute.
There's alot to catch you up on!

3 days after the wedding I discovered Rayo had strangles! It took a few days to confirm it with tests, but it was obvious, though I'd never seen it first hand before. It explained the coughing over the days since their arrival in England - Tio tested negative, but was treated all the same & did have a day or two of high temperature.
My first reaction was of horror & fear for Rayo's life, I knew strangles was serious & the abcess & swelling was horrific, but thanks to google I was able to allay my fears quickly - nevertheless it was to have a huge impact on our immediate future.
As some of you will know, it's a very contagious infection that requires time & cleanliness & alot of money.
Firstly, I can't thank Suzy (our horses host) enough for her absolute consistancy in kindness, unflappability & hugs - given freely throughout the whole affair along with timely offers of G & T, she remained firm in her hospitality, generosity & good humour! Even though unbeknown to us at the time, she had troubles of her own - What a lady! ❤
I can't go on with secondly, thirdly & all that - because everyone around us gave equally without question.
Darling Fenella & her magical woods gave us indefinate safe haven & we got to know more of the woodland folk, the gloriously demur Deedee, Tommy & her cute little doggy 'Rosebud' - who once suddenly leaped into the lorry (I screamed !) to give me a cuddle when I was in tears!
Pete the Log who gave Mark some much needed work & friendship..
Rayos treatment envolved a cycle of antibiotics, abcess squeezing, waiting, worrying & endoscopies - each time costing around 500 quid, Tio passed his first endoscopy, Rayo passed on his 2nd - two months after diagnosis.. Our vet Sally from Riegate, was really helpful & super efficient.
The landlady of our local pub the 8 bells in Bolney, Micky was a darling, once when we arrived after kitchen hours, she helped us order a chinese delivery & set up a table for us ! Clever lady ! We of course stayed for a few drinks !
Fortunately Sussex had a mild autumn with not alot of rain - though it was chilly in the lorry shaded amoungst the trees. I enjoyed making improvements to our living area, cleverly (if I may say so myself) removing an unlikely to be used wardrobe & thereby extending the kitchen surface area, I made a nifty hanging cutlery drainer from a cut off plastic bottle & shortened the curtains all round to fit rather than hang dangerously into the bed, cooker etc..
I also repainted the front panel of the lorry cab & tidied up some rusty bits. All the while I was apprehensively keen to actually try driving the collosal 7.5 tonner of which I had no previous experience but would have to drive us & our 2 precious horses all the way to Spain - my husband being a non-driver !
This brings me to mention my wonderful brother who provided us with all our forms of transport - bar the horses of course !
The car was fun ! An oldie but goodie wolf in sheeps clothing Ford mondeo 3 litre V6 - a taj juicy but worth it, I couldn't help myself having a few race offs at the Buck barn traffic lights.. I'd exchange a glance at other would be racers - who'd perhaps heard the gutsy engine rumble, lights change & we're off ! I hardly ever won of course, most modern vehicles can lick an old mondeo, but I beat a landrover or two !
We saw quite alot of Billy & Teresa, my old friends from a previous life & it was wonderful to renew & further this friendship with them. Mark & I helped them on their current house building project (for which we were paid genorously) & we had a truly beautiful time with them.
Our longtime friends Candy & Andy in hurstpierpoint had a couple of soirée's that were most enjoyable, all of us dancing wildly in their kitchen - something everyone should do regularly.
So the first day came for my attempt at a drive in the lorry & in my hurried anticipation I reversed it across the sink draining ground area & got it stuck in the mud - arghhh ! Can you imagine digging out such a beast ?? Me & mark had probably our first post marital domestic - and John Glider comes to our rescue purely by chance with a 4x4 fitted with a winch & a few beers.. We later made light work of releasing the lorry but my first proper drive would have to wait until another day.
The Butcher family - which almost includes my daughter, Joe Butcher being her long time partner, insisted we had showers when we were at their house - which was almost often enough to keep us clean ! -
Also gave Mark some roofing work, one of Brightons most successful roofing firms, the business having been passed down through Butch by name & butch by nature father & son.
So of course I enjoyed some priceless times with my beautiful daughter (The super shiney silver lining on our delay) Poppy lived with us in Spain throughout her childhood, speaks fluent Spanish & has since moving to England at 17 years of age, responsibly built & maintained a good life of which I am so proud. Our life in rural Spain is a boring one for a young adult so apart we must be, at least for the time being.. But our whatsapp conversational thread is probably the longest worldwide ! With maximum hearts.
I missed my younger sister Rachel as she had just moved from Sussex to Dorset, but saw my older sister Ruth quite alot, enjoying charity shops & lunch outings & feeling our sisterly bond renewing itself, such waves of emotion surprised and moved me, but it does seem to me that sibling love increases with age! I miss them all living abroad as I do.
So Julian came one day for my first lorry driving lesson - He couldn't be better qualified for this, having an HGV license, driving instructors license, a mechanic & talented body work specialist ! All potential disasters covered !
It was wierd - Being up there in the cab, looking down at the road & the cars.. My first maneuver out of the woodland gates into the tiny lane was a big start, missing the avenue of trees & hoping nothing comes the other way, then I felt pretty pleased with myself but I was only going about 10mph & Jules said ok now put your foot down a bit, I'm like - What ?!! But I did & we sailed on missing everything, negotiating the roundabout, pulling out of the T junction, down the A348 towards Buck barn - no racing this time !
I always find human beings ability to take additional space awareness into account with vehicles quite amazing, but of course it takes a little while & when you're on a medium sized two way road, lorries coming towards you seem awfully close ! 'Now dont be bullied Niki, hold your ground' said Jules, but at first it felt like a game of chicken ! Cluck cluck said she & I bumped the kerb.. It takes a brave passenger to calmly ask you to watch your positioning, use the mirrors & again, to put your foot down! - I was still going pretty slow & there was a big queue of cars behind me..
An hour & a half later Jules said congratulations Niki, you're a trucker ! I felt well proud !

Well, there's just too much more to write, so I won't get you home in this blog after all!

Sunday 21 October 2018

Friday 28 September 2018

La Boda

Blasted into the modern world
Fast plane cars & people.
To the horses! Our gorgeous boys there in Englands green & pleasant lands (thoughb they were brownish!)
Then into the embrace of the woods, hugs, laughter, enthralment, excitement, comfort, security, talking & loads of energy!
Food, drinks & total pleasure.
A day of rushing, from one lovely thing to another - whisked off with my hens to an unknown location which beautifully turned out to be 'Pussy liqour' in concert in a wonderful dive miles away in Basingstoke! ...several tequilas later I'm invited on stage for the last number & I'm ok! I dance, I sing the one word chorus sharing Tallulahs microphone & totally hold my own on stage with the most explosive new young lesbian punk band on the music scene! I felt so right on & totally saciated - Can't tell you the lines of the song. But they're certainly cunting edge.
Luckily this was on the Wednesday night & I had time to recover.
Thursday Mark went panic wedding outfit shopping and surprisingly came back without notable stress.
Friday we all moved into Garstons Farmhouse, our 3 day airbnb mansion. Woah!
We rode the horses in & around the woods to accustom them to their surroundings & prepare them for their job on the big day. They both had a minor cough...
We loved the woods, Long wood, owned by the cutest wood nyphet you can imagine & managed like a man.. Fenella, our host Miss yes to everything & a laugh you just have to join in with.
Julian, my brother, my knight (Mark's the one with shining amor) arrived with a 7.5 ton lorry size present to be our honeymoonmobile.
My sister Rachel, her unbounding take it all in her stride energy & selfless giving.
Poppy my beautiful heart, my daughter & often my mother!
Suzy, who just like that said yes these complete strangers horses can stay at my place - a huge paddock vieled with trees, stables, tack room, the lot & alot more.
People, they can place you in such awe of their kindness. And when you're getting married, you can quite wallow in it.
I felt I might explode, so full of loveliness.
Does every bride cry the day before her wedding? It was a wierd day. It rained, which was horrifying. Everyone else was out being incredibly busy with preperations. Mark wasn't even there. Alone in a big house, no horses & a huge day lay ahead.
I did some bridey prep things, I brushed my hair, did my nails, stuck the sole on my boots with superglue, tried the dress on, sewed some final touches, even put face cream on.. Looked out of the window alot, cried a bit, mainly at the unfairness of rain after 3 months of reliable sun in England. The wind blew too, the floors creaked..
Then suddenly everyone came back & it was full on again, things bought in (mostly hidden). Places I could & couldn't go.
We all ate, we drank, but not too much - apart from the boys, currupted on Kraken rum by Andy K.
I went to bed after ironing the bridesmaids dresses, they had never ironed before & I having had some experience years ago, found it a brief novelty.
Mark came to bed & we memorised our vows in turns, I had to ignore his last minute attempt at changing the words - for richer for poorer - why mention money? I put this down to drunken ramble - I mean the reference is infact disregarding money & anyway we've been poor for so long whilst living richly.
Then I actually slept.
The day dawned & the sky was blue.
My betrothed on his great white steed arrived at 'The Bolney Stage' bridely late, at a trot with my bay beauty trotting beside them. It was love at first sight, in a bowler hat, suit & cowboy boots, he was perfectly turned out.
Our families met us there for early Prosseco toasts, hand shakes & hugs & we all looked glorious! Smiles on everyones faces!
Rayo had a white plume on his head & my dress (Thank you Niki Bee) hung perfectly over his rump & bellowed in the wind! We rode side by side my man & I, on the bridge over the flyover, down the lane & now avenued with thick trees, we turned into Long wood lane in a lone buzz of expectectation, just us & the horses...
Then we heard Taffy, saw Caitlins Maya approching, they flanked us to the gate, rushing for photo's & then we were greeted by the throng of guests at the entrance, given our bouquets precariously while the horses jiggled, mainly because they recognized the entrance of the place they had been before.. They pranced perfectly side by side up the first aisle, our guests in all their finery made way for us to pass, Wows cheers and happiness rang out!
At the wagons, we dismounted & prepared ourselves for the short walk to the floral bower (courtesy of Candy) waited for people to gather in the copse.. Ray charles 'Come rain or come Shine' serenaded us as my brother led me into the woodland wonderland while his grand daughter Zoe laid our path with petals, to my mother (the vicar) who stood infront of the bower, it was so personal, we all made it what it was, hugs, wiggles and giggles & holding hands.. Mum, so tiny, but so loudly & clearly, spoke the blessings & led the promises, the bridesmaids, Rachel, Alis, poppy & Tallulah, a heavenly row of beauties stood by, Alfie came with the rings set on an engraved slice of tree.
We weren't heard as well as my mother, but we said it all right - Mark reckons I said I'd serve him, but I don't remember that bit...Anyway Im sure he'd have to have said he'd serve me too & niether of us mind that too much!
We hugged mum & each other & kissed under the bower lit with twinkling fairy lights.. Oh my! It was wantonly romantic.
We were wed!
Then to the tables under the colourful morrocan tent (Thankyou Rachel) lined with wonderful bunting of photos of us over the years (courtesy David) & the fooood!! Julia heading the chefs team turned out a banquet!
People turning up infront of me that I hadn't seen for years! All looking just the same as ever! Moments between them, a few words, hugs & then we took our seats..
The food tasted as good as it looked, the spread was phenomenal.
The speeches were informal & spontaneous - mostly girls spoke actually & it all came out fine.. I think I remembered to thank everybody & that wasn't an easy undertaking! My darling big sister Ruth recounted an embarrassing childhood tale, the best man, lovely Matt produced some witty & genuine words - But the speech of the day by a country mile was made by our darling Poppy, she drew tears & smiles on all the listeners faces as she recounted her childhood dreams of our marriage.. I had announced earlier that Poppy too would officially become a Fray-Irvine & her speech was so perfect, our pride spilled over..
Weddings should definitely last a week, a day isn't long enough - even if you stay up half the night.. Towards evening, My husband & I, as had been demanded, produced the most amazing, seemingly corriagraphed opening dance performance & on my part I looked on with disbelief & wonder as Mark actually danced so cool. Phwoar!
Sadly nobody was really watching while I twistled & twirled swung the pole & met Mark for back bending embrace just like you see on Strictly..
Our gorgeous bar ladies Deb, Gerda, Sydney & Lisa kept the drinks flowing..
By then, I had tied my dress into an enormous bustle at my bottom because it picked up every twig & fallen leaf in it's fringed hem as I walked, slowing me down considerably.
Taffy said I should change my dress 'it looked like a nappy'. I changed my dress & she said that was boring. So I went to see Sydney who has every little number a girl could ever want & she supplied me with a selection of 5 (& looked herself like a goddess by the way..)
The first goldie frock stayed on all night. Taffy liked it.
I danced the night away, everyone did, there were lots of fabulous pole efforts on the centre rigging, though many fell in a heap on the ground, including me..
The next day dawned with torrential rain & those who hadn't quite made it inside their tents for the night, woke drenched & hungover!
We however, cosied up in our delicious bridal suite come woodmans hut, had a glorious lie in marital bliss.

Monday 10 September 2018

Calm before the Crazy

We all gradually unfolded in Rasquera, we made the horses a temporary paddock on an upper terrace which was thick with trees giving day long shade, they became hay eaters again, a new variety called 'heno' similar to English hay, very nice - but lacking the forage seeds they so enjoy! they preferred the alfalfa, which we gave in the evenings along with their usual 'home'  feed of sugarbeat & a little grain..

Our living quarters were divine, so luxurious & spacious ! Though most would say a yurt is rather small, it's considerately more roomy than a two man dome tent! And you can stand up to dress! - You know how annoying it is to put trousers on in a sitting position for two & a half months?
During the day we hung out in the shade by the outside kitchen & had cold showers in the bathroom unit across the terrace, all built by Rob, who is clearly an expert carpenter with an eye for practical simplicity & a knack to create everything so pleasing to the eye.  
The compost toilet was built on the edge of an upper terrace - a common tactic - which allows a natural drop into a container below, the toilet itself was a modern clinical unit in which you can pee & poo in the same sitting! It cunningly divides the waste with an oversized she-wee frontal attachment in the bowl. The poo lands with a delayed audible thud way down below, which makes you jump at first! But is very satisfying once you get used to it! The design is brilliant, keeping all odours out of the bathroom & shower area. 
Lisa had left us a healthy vegetable patch with fruits ripe for picking, Mark enjoyed some idle weeding and I was finally able to match my leg to arm tan by sunbathing next to a little plunge pool..

This life was physically undemanding but mentally fraught! I had a linguistic conumdrum in planning the horses transport, having to pass on specific requirements from English to Spanish to Catalan.
Elena, the ministry vet from Mora de Ebro was a great help, but the detail of needing the actual ministry vet stamp on the health certificate was never properly understood and thankfully the vet Elena had appointed, went in his own time to get the stamp at the office on the morning the horses were due to be collected. 
Parkers had mis informed us on a definate collection date & we had to re book our flights at our own cost. 
We also had to get into wedding planning mode, though our dream team, Rachel, Julia & Candy, headed by my daughter Poppy had covered almost everything, there were inevitable questions re preferences of this & that and getting our heads into gear was difficult. Mark hadn't yet got his outfit sorted & struggled to shop online. I confidently ordered my special wedding Dr Martins Leona Temperley boots on a dodgy site & was ripped off for a hundred quid with no delivery. 

We got to know various locals as we were quickly recognised simply because we always went to town on horseback - on one occasion I impressed a crowd of old boys outside a bar by successfully drawing cash out of a cash machine without dismounting! Not many horses would stand so close to the wall inset with its bright lights, beeping and emerging money sounds! Rayo was just about still enough for me to tap in the pin number right and didn't run off before I got the money! - Good boy Rayo! He does me so proud!
We went on a couple of treks around the area, visiting new friends, punctuated with local bars of course! We met a beautiful young spanish couple, Esmerelda & Ishmail who have horses too & spent a night over, delicious food & lively conversation, whilst Mark deflated blow by blow as the massive TV (for the whole game) didn't connect well enough to the wifi for the quarter final of the world cup!
They had the most varied collection of laying birds out in the garden & some lush home grown veg.
Incredibly kind too, they drove us around to offices & feed shops (I mean for horses!) without us ever needing to ask.

During the whole time we stayed at Rob & Lisa's finca, we would often hear birds, they became a familiar sound, starting early evening, perhaps with squarks from the young, then louder and clearly adult and of the preying kind. We discussed what they could be with visitors & I imagined exactly where the flock were living, in a bunch of high trees between us & the main(ish) road. We rode nearby a couple of times & I listened & looked eagerly to see one.

The day finally came for leaving our hide away & facing the fantastic, impossible to imagine, so nice we daren't think of them, days before us, the reunion with family, friends old and new, and a celebration of our love in a magical woodland location in surpringly sunny Sussex.

On the way to meet the lorry, full packs on the horses, who are not so sure about leaving their new found home.. We're riding past the clump of trees to our right, the birds had begun, up close, they were really loud!
Rayo's ears were twitching, his head going up, speed increasing, then the bird screamed so loud as if amplified with a 2k sound system! We fully expected to see a huge pterodactyl approaching us from the trees & Im sure Rayo did too, Tio jumped out of his skin! Then it dawned on us & perhaps the farmer was even sitting there watching & turning up the volume on his recorded bird scaring machine!

Today I can barely speak of the ill fated departure of our 2 boys on the transport lorry.. though they travelled well & arrived safely.. Us bound by plane the next day.. Unbeknown to us all, it would radically change the fate of our marital adventure.

Saturday 4 August 2018

Comraderi

It only takes a few weeks to become fully fledged Outies, you can feel it in your skin at first, it feels rugged, not to the touch, it just feels different. After being out doors through all kinds of weather, you lose the need for being in doors, in doors seem strange, confined & unnecessary, and then, more profoundly you see how crazy it is that we've shut ourselves in with concrete, we've concereted out all sign of nature (visualise the film 'Inception' !) In the extreme, we've actually hidden the real earth from our city dwellers! Even driving from one to another by car, you only see what's beside the road, which is next to nothing as it flashes by.

These days we set off as early as possible in the morning, getting up with a cold coffee - bought as a take away the night before - we just can't use the cooker anymore, it's so dry now & the risk of fire is too high.  
One morning we stopped in a tiny bar at the top of a hill after our first leg of the day, it was about 9.30 am, we had a coffee & a copa each, enjoyed an argument over which was the highest town in Spain with the old boys having 'breakfast' around their cluster of empty glasses - apparently it's not Trevelez?? They insisted on getting us both another very large copa, which they poured themselves from a bottle on the bar - then the barman joined in & wouldn't let us go without another 'Chupito para la carretera' !!
The ongoing ride was super pleasant if not slightly over emotional as we were both gushing drunks.
We arrived in the next town before 2, first stop always water, then for grass & shade. While the horses ate & rested we snacked on anything we had left, dozed on benches under the trees & waited for the shops to open..
That evening, we had the treat of quite a large supermarket with actual food in it (sadly, most small town shops only stock cakes & pop!), then on towards the river end of town, via a bar where we met a throng of people..The ice was broken by Enrique, though he couldn't speak for a tracheotomy, he breathed & gestured that he'd like to hold the horses for us while we ordered drinks..There was silence for just a moment, my brain ticking, desperate to understand him, then I handed Rayo over with a smile and everybody started talking again, clearly all friends of Enrique & that was it, we were in the gang.
Leaving it late again because of all assurances of grass by the river, we fell into a similar nightmare I wrote about before. There was hardly any grass by the river !
Eventually we found an overgrown terrace with standing hay, just enough, but we desperately needed to rest a day and here wouldn't do.
But after a somewhat tragic night, in the morning, Rosa drove by, complimenting the horses, she mentioned she had her own if there's anything we needed? I nearly cried.
That evening while the horses munched contentedly on alfalfa we dined in luxury on Rosa & Paco's terrace! Such a lovely couple! We chatted about everything - I know I've said exactly that before - but the Spanish are so open, they will easily divulge into quite intimate subjects, feelings, fears & experiences.. There's nothing to hide, it's comforting.. It opens you up to talk about anything too and you quickly become friends.
We spent 2 days there, the horses nestled in the shade of the pine woods with plenty of fodder, lots of locals stopped to visit, other horse owners, a farrier popped by to check the horses feet, this being the third farrier to have shown an interest in their shoe-less-ness! One lad even brought his entire donkey along to see us! (not just some of it 😂), which was very well behaved.

The next day we moved on refreshed & jolly, which was good because it was a long stretch to the next town, but we're a fine tuned machine now and bouyed by the fact that we were approaching the Valencia/Cataluña border! - This was a big thing for me because that meant our horses would be on legal territory! (Our local horse official couldn't get the computor to accept a journey of more than 10 days - so we were overdue!).

The border towns were so picturesque! Approaching on horseback you get time to soak up the views & a chance to see the layout -The river splits the two regions and the two towns, we were in Cataluña - Valencia - Cataluña - Valencia, looking for our grassy watery shady spot.  We struck lucky, under the shade of a wooden pedestrian bridge, just next to the river was a perfect area with long green grass.
- And the choice of provinces.

It was another naturally closed in space and we were able to pop out, soon alerted to the local fiesta in Valencia, we popped into Cataluña for shopping, Valencia for drinks, then home just in time for a mammoth firework display infront of the horses eyes!!
They were swinging on the end of their tethers as we arrived & though they did calm, stare & deal with it themselves, we were so glad to have arrived at that moment - Tio had nieghed with relief for Mark as we approached..Then in the last spectacular moments of the display, we were all in a line watching together in awe and I think the horses actually enjoyed it!
So we rested there, it was getting terribly hot & we found 3 days on deserved 2 days off.
The grass was especially good too, so why not..

The town on the Cataluña side was pretty big & it took us a while to find our way out of it! It was early Sunday morning, post fiesta, so nobody out bar late party goers who stared at us in the town centre with disbelief.

There's a saying that horses must be allowed to be horses and ours haven't had much time for that! When we can, we still put them both free inside a pretend electric fence, but only when we're there watching them, as we were, one day in a lovely abandoned farm just outside Mas de Barberosa.. Lounging in the shade eating apricots and plums from 'our' trees.. Tio was being very suspicious, we spied him trying to push Rayo towards the fence and he'd been teasing us by pinging the tape with his nose..they were both restless..
Then he swung his head in his frustrated kind of way & just as we ran to stop them at the gate area, Tio galloped at the fence & jumped it, swiftly followed by Rayo!
Mark ran after them! I ran! (kindof) inspite of my leg, towards the road. Then watched them, ready to head them off if they came my way.. Bucking & farting, galloping and jumping dry stone walls into ploughed areas, rolling, jumping up with another twisty buck, to & fro until they couldn't figure out where to run to & ran out of steam, where Mark finally got hold of Tio's halter.
Oooops!
But thankfully niether were hurt and nobody witnessed it but us!
And the horses had some horsey time!

As some of you know, the plan this 2nd attempt was to ride as far as pleasantly possible - hopefully into France, and then my brother would come with our lorry to take us the rest of the way to Sussex..It was about now that we got the news that the lorry had deteriorated in the year sitting in a wet field in sussex.. It wasn't going to make it to pick us up! This was a big blow, but having come this far, we weren't going back home now!
I've sent a few horses on transport to the Uk in the past so I made some enquiries & got a reasonable quote.. Thankfully I know something of the rules & regulations for moving horses in Spain & though at first it was all No! In the end it was accepted that we could legally travel from anywhere within the Cataluña region. The official vet here bent over backwards to help, unlike our local man in Orgiva who doesn't bend atall.

Fortunately our friends Robin & Lisa, were expecting us to visit their finca in Rasquera & this seemed like the ideal base for us and the horses to plan & execute our departure.
We were all ready for it to be honest, Mark & I were exhausted, the horses were fine because we made sure they were, but the heat changes everything.
So began our last few days trekking on this leg of our adventure.

The river Ebro was looming, we predicted swimming & grass, and we found it. It was glorious! It's a massive river, wide and dreamy.. Banks lush! We swam, they grazed, we unpacked, started putting the tent up, then noticed the horses we're agitated, it was dusk & the flies had come, tiny little black ones, thousands of them. We found we couldn't stay still, they flew direct into your eyes & mouth, up your nose too, so we were all snorting! The horses were going bonkers, all we could think of was to load up again and carry on, not easy, but absolutely necessary.
It was no wonder we had this beautiful place to ourselves!
So at 9pm we set off again, riding beside the canal, it was lovely actually, cool & pleasantly darkening, a beautiful sunset - and we knew we would be able to follow the Via Verda where no cars were allowed.
The Via Verda is the old railway track and some of the old stations still exist, now used as cafe's for walkers, cyclists etc..
Earlier in the day we had stopped for lunch at such a Station, it was so welcome! We'd met a lovely couple cycling the route & joined them for a natter, she American, he Italian, all of us had broken some part of our left legs in the past year and we compared scars & recuperation times! Haha!
So continuing on in the dark, quite spooky, with many tunnels, some illuminated from a few metres inside which startled the horses when they suddenly lit up, but were welcome of course.
The next Station was shut. It was 2am now so quite understandable, but lights were on and we set about finding water for the horses.. We weren't greeted well, the horses weren't welcomed and no sympathy to our plight, but we did get water.
That night we found some grass on a track off the road, but though the horses could eat & relax, me & mark couldn't manage the tent & slept (badly) cowboy style with saddles as pillows.
We maybe got an hour before daylight & immediately packed & tacked as the dawn flies grew in number.
We knew the next bit would be on a big main road as the bridge was the only way to get over the Ebro.
We donned our Hi Viz's and set off, it was about 6am.
Arriving safely in Benefallet, the village before Rasquera, we noticed that rather than bottles of booze on their bar tables, they had Revlon honey flavour skin softener & a couple of lads on seeing the horses fidgeting went straight over & smothered them with it, and Wow! They were still, they relaxed, not a fly landed on them while we had coffee & toast.
Later in the local shop we tried to buy the stuff but they'd sold out! - and one can't help but notice the soft clear and spot less complexion on the locals!
The next 6 k's to Rasquera were very difficult because we were so tired, the horses too now, & they were hungry, you can't tell them we're nearly there, but you can say 'come along now, lets get it done'. I was drip feeding Rayo carobs! Leaning forward, popping one in every now & then, which cheered him.

It's hard to describe how we felt on arrival at the land in Rasquera, it was a massive relief on one hand, to unload the saddlebags for perhaps the last time, not to have to put the tent up, to be able to cook & wash up, standing up, to sit about in chairs, lounge on loungers, sleep in a bed!
But on the other hand, this was the end of the simple life - not easy - but simple. A daily goal that is met and renewed. The road that constantly changes, igniting all your senses. This was end of the road of freedom, the freedom that comes from being self contained & nomadic.

It's amazing that you can get to know each other better, even after 20+ years together!
Do I recommend this kind of thing as a pre-marital compatability test? Not generally, no! Alot of couples would shelf it.
But after 20 years you know what to ignore about each other and there's always more to learn - I would say one of the most important things to nurture in a relationship is comradeship. I guess it can help if you're both facing something difficult together, but don't we often we blame the other for something going wrong? for their mistake, we argue over who's fault it is, we want our beloved to feel incompetent? to suffer the guilt? Crazy huh?! We are all human & we will all inevitably make mistakes! Far better to move on, just resolve it in a practical way and move onwards & upwards!
I do however recommend it as a 'Live in the now' therapy - as a journey of self discovery and as a fast fitness regime!
My betrothed has been my constant hero - he did everything he could possibly do to help me, to help us, because he doesn't want me to break again. He walked quite alot, even though his foot isn't 100 percent. I couldn't walk any distance at horse pace, so I'd sometimes ride Tio, then Rayo could get a break and Rayo carried less pack wieght too as he would inevitably be ridden more.
So like I say we were a fine tuned machine & we got it right, the horses look wonderful tonight relaxing in their wooded paddock here in Rasquera. After generously giving us 750 kilometres without ever complaining it's no less than they deserve.

Saturday 23 June 2018

The Merry go round !

So the virtues of living on the trail.. Patience ! One must wait - if the other has to stop get off & adjust their load, one must be patient & then Tolerance ! - when this happens time & time again.. & humour ! - when whilst one is waiting you think, well I might as well put my so & so in the thingamy & the other says Ok I'm ready & you say hang on ! & we dont get anywhere !
But once were in the zone & the horses have taken to a comfortable jog, heads down, us in our own dream lands..we can lap up the K's. The track & road routes we've moved onto instead of the GR7 obstacle course are wonderful at first... you know Spanish mountain/countryside roads are all like that opening scene in The Italian job (where he gets blown up in the tunnel) long winding & picturesque, like gliding, with no other cars on the road... But now we kind of miss the wilderness.
Our next stop was near the town of Millares, where
we became quickly famous, having hidden our packs in undergrowth & riding free of saddlebags up to find the local bar (an exciting new development in tactics !) every single person - and I'm talking about maybe 10 of them, as they arrived at their daily local said ' Wow ! Horses, we haven't seen horses here for, let me see, at least 10 years ! Not kidding, they all said exactly that. In Spanish of course.. But we were like, astonished - incredulous! But it had to be true, cars stopped, people got out, phones, photos etc etc, but hardly anyone dared to actually touch the horses - one woman stood nearby ish holding her dog which by facial expression was clearly petrified !!
As we rode away through town after coffee in the same bar next morning, the streets were lined with smiling faces in doorways.. Wierdly royal type feelings again, but it's nice to bring something different along !!

We had to plan a delivery of Scoot boots, timing our arrival in Buñol to collect them & we got here too early ! We are camped just across the river from the town, lots of grass here for the horses, a few friendly passers by..
Yesterday I was invited into our temporary nieghbours house by the lovely Harmonia, she wanted to show me the house & share a coffee with her - first her patio with natural waterfall & beautiful plants, then through a door & a massive function room, another door another huge room (I mean hanger size) up a level, a massive pool, half empty & green - giving me a flashback feeling to my childhood where Nana lived at Copthorne house.
I followed as she beckoned me all over the incredibly decieving massive property - she was quick & agile along an open asequia in a dark tunnel with a slippery edge, up & down steep metal stairways - whilst I struggled to keep up (still slightly lame).
All the while at every far point before we turned around she was calling 'Copi  wohoo Copi !' with no reply, a dog ? a husband ? She hadn't said. She didn't stop saying all sorts of other things though & repeating herself so it was hard to get a word in ! Until she said 'How old do you think I am ?' to which I thought quicky how to reply with a compliment & said '65? '..She's 78! Over did it slightly ! ..But an amazingly youthful & stunning old lady she is. Still no Copi & I was beginning to wonder if there was one.
Finally, after seeing every corner & running out of spanish words for saying 'Wow !', a shout came from the far end of the olive terrace & a while later Copurnicus appeared, husband of 85 yrs..
Mark was invited down & we sat together in their courtyard discussing almost everything over a very strong shot of coffee with loads of sugar.
They offered their Olive terrace for the horses as it's completely fenced in, but on inspection I pointed out that they'd eat the grape vines - 'Oh sod the grapevines' Copi replied !
Still we've left the horses where they are, which is a lovely big grassy paddock with 3 natural borders & a double line of pretend electric fence.
In the corner there's a small shed belonging to a nice hunter man.. Every night he's been out to shoot wild boar & come back empty handed 😉. Last night we heard the shot & then galloping hooves ! Too light for a horse, so I guess it was the lucky boar. He keeps rabbits in the shed, stinks to high heaven, but even so, he invited me in & put a cute baby rabbit in my arms, how long until it's dinner I asked ?.. 6 months.
So we've found ourselves stuck here for 4 days waiting for the boots & after being a bit annoyed at the hold up, we now see it as perfect for the horses - nearly half way up the aisle, its a great time to stop & properly rest & fill up with grass.
We are mostly cleaning & repairing things.. We've got a lovely set up, tent & tarp under a wide fig tree on the terrace above the horses. It's raining on & off, but when off, it returns to full sun, so kind of perfect really !
As is usual here, none of our temporary nieghbours actually live in their farmhouses, they just come daily to tend to the land & trees.. They tell us to let the horses eat all the grass & where best to get the water, they have offered us much more than we could accept.
Copi bought us a loaf of bread this Sunday morning, just as we were serving up our omelette !
Last night we actually left horses & camp and went to town where they were having a Medieval market & fiesta with bands etc.. Alas we couldn't stay out long (which means you miss everything, as here nothing starts til midnight) & returned to find all was well & just as we sat under our tarp it began to rain.
Our luck this time around is (almost !) as good as it was bad last time.
- After riding away from Bicorp a few days ago we pushed on to make it here for the boot collection, finding ourselves out in the open as far as the eye could see & a storm was coming.. It was getting late & we were looking to stop - rounded a corner to find a picnic area with fuente, grass & a shelter big enough for all of us !
Finally we left Buñol without the boots ! We tipped the post office gal to send them three towns onward because we had to get on.
But we had such fun there ! Had a laugh with Copi & Harmonia over more cafe & sugar, extra funny when 80 year olds surprise you with a naughty joke about the only instrument Copi plays is the Harmoni(c)a..In Spanish you tocar to touch & you tocar to play an instrument.
Haha !
Hey on Sunday we just went for a ride ! No packs light as feathers happy bouncy horses, naughty horses - Rayo making fun of everything & lets gallop all the way back to Las Alpujarras! But what a place we rode to ! La cueva de Turche with a natural clear lake infront of a cave below a greeny grey rock face, the water aqua-marine. A few people were there to swim & some climbers/absailers were starting off from the cliff top, following the line of the waterfall & splashing down into the lake.
I decided I'd take Rayo in, the lake was big & clear, so you could see the depth, but it was going to be a bit of a show whether I liked it or not & I sat there worrying about doing it.. Then stripped off Rayos tack & my lower half & took centre stage riding in for a swim. People stood up, cameras clicked & there was even clapping!  I shrieked when he first launched into a swim ! It took me by surprise, a whole new thing to ride, like being on the merry go round ! - Next time, the sea ! - and Mark & Tio are coming in too.

Last night however, having left our comfortable place in Buñol, we were late & complacent finding a good overnight stop - the locals in told us there was grass at at the Vista Alegre above town, so we had another beer, but when we got there, there wasn't a blade ! And the fuente wasn't running. We went on past as it grew dark finding next to nothing, infact we were on rocks & gorse.. We stopped & I walked off to scout - found a Santiago walking home & then a Vincente, the boss, who more than happily let us stay on a small terrace where the only cover of green grass exsisted, he told us the rest had been poisoned. They gave us more water & we muddled on through in the dark. Can't tell you how difficult & tiring this can be, we're tired upon tired, but I'll tell you what..It is worth it !
Here in this region it's all Carob trees, the ground is littered with dark brown chocolaty treats & the branches are heavy with fat green runner bean looking things, beautiful trees ! I looked them up as a horse fodder (fearing Rayo getting another sugar rush) & they are sugary but high fibre..I kept him from eating too many..they were a god send for Tio on the small terrace, but he kept me awake crunching.
The next morning we had coffee in a bar on the edge of town, we arrived at 10am & all the tables outside were full & had eaten meals & bottles of wine on them ! At 10 in the morning ! Needless to say everyone was very friendly..

Roll on the good times !