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 !

Sunday 17 June 2018

After the rest

After the rest we've had a week or so riding the GR7 again, from Ontinient to Vallada was our best day yet, the route took us kindly through every sort of terrain, the horses were happy & lively with noticeable renewed comfort on their bare feet, though I would add that this aspect of their well being has been most challenging, it would have been impossible without their Scoot boots.
On this day we went over a small mountain, up on a mule path, then on to dirt tracks through the pine forest & down to join the old railway route, this was of course a lovely straight path, perfectly shaded with trees & ran right alongside the new railway, obscured most of the time, but the contrast of old & new was striking. We had to cross the new railway a couple of times, just by looking each way & listening for the hiss, before riding over the tracks ! We actually did this as kids with our ponies & it reminded me so much of my childhood days riding alongside the railway at Christs Hospital school, where we'd inevitably end up galloping next to the train, the scene resembling something out of a western hold up, though my pony by that time was probably riderless !
One or two trains did pass while we we're on this old path, but thankfully, at points when we weren't too close.
So we were happy to be in the wilds again, seeing miles of countryside, mountains & valleys, some so wide that you can see the country like a big 3D map and with several horizons, you can actually see visable progress across Spain as the closer hills pass by, other times you're so closed in that you can't see past the next corner & you think how this tiny path with us on it, is so insignificant & yet our lifeline - being the red & white stripes of the GR7 - when you know you're on it it's fantastic, but when you're not sure, its terribly daunting.
In the forests, sometimes we're riding by the tops of massive trees which are rooted far below on the steep mountainside, other times with the trees towering above us & the undegrowth busy with life, tiny bright butterflies.. vividly coloured little flowers of white, pink, yellow & blue, they're beautiful, like love in the mist, but there's no mist.

In the next days our path grew less distinct, narrow, steep & difficult, trees have fallen & in some areas have been cut clear of the path, even so it was tricky to pass between some trees with our wide loads & whilst some trees will bend away if you push as you go by, others are too big, but I watched Mark being the man infront of me as he was seemingly pushing the big trees away, when I finally realised he was doing it to move Tio over ! As Mark often says, there's more than one way to skin a cat, (where did that awful phrase come from !?)
As we passed into the next province the path became less maintained & finally we came to a point in the middle of the forest where we simply couldn't pass. The route back would be long & disheartening at best. We didn't have a signal for gps, & little power from the solar panels as we were out of the sun. Panic could have set in, but of course we were cool as cucumbers - Haha ! Only the horses were cool.
After some tense minutes waiting for just a tiny charge on a phone & moving to another spot for a signal, we thankfully found a way out.

Difficult......  But not impossible.

The size & beauty of the landscape is hard to absorb, the richness of it all, you feel saturated, in a good way..but leaving no space to remember the names of the towns we pass or are heading for ! This is also because the town names are weird, like 'Tirig' where we are now.. And when you travel like this, the spoken language changes gradually.. We're in Valencia, where Valenciano is most used & the further north we go, the stranger people sound, however & thankfully, everyone can still speak Castillano.

Now it's finally got hot ! & we just have to get up at 5.30 & do our k's before lunch. If we're not off the trail & in the shade by then, the horses will tire, they'll be thirsty, we'll be hungry & tempers will fray, or more often - Irvine !

Our 3rd Lavenderia stop over was the best ever ! this one in Ummm, what was it called ? More like a grand turkish bath with pillars & archways 3 pools like pools, I couldn't see a reason not to get in for a
proper bath (& swim) ! After all, other townspeople have even suggested we sleep in the lavanderia house & not bother with the tent !
Anyway directly beside this one was a gloriously lush riverbed where the horses happily browsed.. With big old trees for shade & a pretty archway under the bridge, it was delightful thankyou very much.

We do however have to have great caution with the chance of poisoned grass, in these rural areas where animals are no longer cropping the municipal areas of herbage, the councils will put poison on the land, it being a fire risk to have long dry grass around a town. Also farmers may poison land for the same reason & to make harvesting of trees easier.. Therefore we look for abandoned farms just outside of town, near some horse water, checking with anybody we see nearby.. Its quite a complicated process & can take some time.

Our trusty steeds are faring very well, they've both lost a taj of weight & muscled up, they cope easily with us & the load now that they're accustomed to it.
Everyone remarks on how well they look inspite of jaw dropping faces on hearing where we've ridden from.!
We've had foot inspections from helpful experts (for horses of course) all good.
The condition of our horses amaze us, hardly a mark of any stress, bar being away from home, which sadly is still with them, both would still prefer to turn south.
Without going too horsey on everyone, both me & Mark find ourselves emersed in their exsistance, being on this trail, you're side by side, pretty much all the time, relationships have soared ! My horse actually likes me ! He really trusts me, he knows I'm always making sure he's ok and I really like that. Tio is so 'like that' with Mark, he actually knickers & nieghs in comunication.. He also shoves us in disagreement & steels food from our bag.
Rayo is also quite opinionated, unlike the closed horse when I got him, he sees we can negotiate.
Yes, horses totally come first, so me & Mark are neglecting our needs - that came out wrong ! I mean food & sleep.
I'll be busy doing something & then It'll gradually dawn on me that I've got a churning tummy & my stomachs kindof eating itself & I'm like, oh yeah - food ! Goddam it, it gets in the way.
& enough sleep when you get up at 5.30 a.m. & you're not an accomplished siestarer !

So I'll admit, I've sobbed, but I'm still being bamboozled with happy feelings.

Monday 4 June 2018

Ramblngs on the ramble..

Nearly a month now down the aisle and it's mostly heaven and sometimes hell.
It also comes highly recommended as a positive impact physiotherapy program for an ex broken leg.
Heaven is being on horseback pretty much everyday, it's being as free as you could be, it's the countryside & the lovely people we encounter along the way. It's Mark cooking, us laughing, a cold beer after a day in the sun, it's just looking at the horses & knowing they're fine. It's heavenly finding a perfect night spot & finally getting into our cosy bed, we've come to love our tiny tent and food tastes glorious because we're so hungry!
We've had little or no problems camping each night, if it's near a town, almost everybody is welcoming & helpful.
Kids flock around the horses, we often reach a town at 2, just missing the shops - doh! but catching the kids coming out of school to rings of 'Caballo Caballo!' People want to take pictures of them beside the horses, sometimes we sit kids on top, but often we want to save the horses & don't offer.
Kids are great! They will hang around & be honoured to fill the horses water containers from the fuente, delight in just touching them & in awe of their size, feeling proud to have come so close. Strange how in some of these very rural areas there are hardly any horses and often the kids have never touched one.
Heaven is the simple way of life.. as in things like this, now sitting under the bridge in the shade by the river for the horses to graze and drink, chatting to passers by, improving my spanish no end!
Some of our night spots are so perfect, you feel like it's a miracle, there has to be water nearby for the horses and plentiful grass, but often there's a natural boundary or even fencing, where we are now, there's loads of grass next to the track going under the bridge on the edge of Bicorp town. There's a lavandería here, an old washing house, they still exsist in alot of small towns, so our clothes and the saddle pads are now drying on the fence.
The other day, just as it started to rain, we came to an abandoned mansion with a beautiful & very handy portch we could all get under to keep dry, it was an amazing place, gone to ruin, as many have in Spain, obviously wealthy & luxurious in it's day, but times changed, in this case, perhaps a slump of the silk textile industry in the area.
There at the mansion was a perfectly fenced area waist high with grass! As we led them to their night spot (forsaking our preference to put up our tent in the beautiful portchway) I saw a nasty hole in the ground ahead of Mark & Tio, said 'mind the hole! ' & Mark said 'there's a toad in it' and sure enough there was a toad in the hole.
Later we ate dinner beside the old ruined swimming pool. Stir fried noodles - yummy! 😂
Going back a couple of weeks, we've enjoyed various hospitalities.. That of Julia & Ian, such a lovely over night stop while Tio saw the dentist, (wonderful vet called Rocio). Apart from having her own horse too, Julia has a lovely husband &
Beautiful house with a playboy back terrace, swim up to the bar pool, fluffy headed chickens & very lucky cats. we had such a fun time, ate out (chinese!), showered & slept in a bed in a room!
Then realising we could actually plan ahead & get some more luxuries, we have since booked in to a couple of campsites, both of which have been totally horsey friendly..Villa Carmen in Bocairent, with Roger & Nina, a really nice dutch couple.. Beautiful place & we got a pitch with the best view of the old town and castle. Then an oasis in the midst of the pine hills & valleys from hell - for horses! The paths were at the max you could expect a horse to do, it was slow going, their boots on & off, some of it like a deep rock staircase!
Yes, we had realised it was a long and barren stretch, so had booked into Las casas de Benali, thank heavens! A lovely vegy dinner, great attentive staff & a friday night (the next day) party with a band who were jolly good!
Off at dawn which was difficult! But since then we've taken the forest pistas & C roads that are generally very quiet, but loads of cyclists & motorbikes, Rayo sees the roaring motorbike speeding by as a challenge, he hears them coming & really seems to want to race!
So we've pepped up their grain rations to give them the energy they need (not to race motorcycles of course!) but Rayo, even with the work he's doing, the grain soups him up like a turbo.. I'm going to have to give him little & often.. Yesterday he was manic. He couldn't settle to eat grass, he pooped everything one by one, spinning around a tree in the shade insensed by flies & watching for any scary/exciting things that could be coming towards him, I had to put the bit back in (after goung bitless for a couple of days) because I thought he might leap the armco of the bridge if a bike came by. This is a horse that isn't normally spooky. Yesterday was a really difficult day and this is where the hell bit comes in.. We had been drenched in the evening before, no sleep because Tio doesn't stay inside his pretend electric fence anymore and is now tethered, we had a piece of elastic tied to his tether rope, which if Mark felt stretch, whilst tied round his hand whilst sleeping, he would run out to the rescue.. Hmmm, that didn't work! In the end we filled a hay net with alfalfa from a nearby field & left him the rest of the night tied short with the alfalfa.
He was fine, we were exhausted ed. The day passed with exploding tempers, everything was so hard.
It rained throughout the day, but gloriously as it does here in Spain the sun came out in the evening, we found a lovely bar, then walked 500 metres late at 8pm & found heaven again!
Last night Tio was tethered and stayed on it happily with no problems, he was tied firmly on the long rope, but with string that would break AND he was inside a fence..
Another fab night was spent in Ontiyent with Manolo no problemo & family.. Manolo drove up beside us on the road outside the town & literally ordered us to come to his brothers house! You go to my brothers, he has horse he has stable he has picadero he has english friend with horse, your horses, no problem, you no problem! So we followed him there and met his whole family who were visiting because his brother Paco had just broken his hip! What a great family! Full of fun & character! Paco was super genourous & funny & really looked like Steve Buscemi..we met their English horsey friend Suzanne who has a stunning palomino arab & kindly gave us some alfalfa for the boys.
It was a good thing Manolo did order us there as the next day we headed on up to the pine forests & there was no grass or water (apart fom puddles - thanks to the rain!).
Today we left our lovely riverside camp and our new friends in Bicorp, as we came up the hill looking down on the village you could see the old houses nestled in the valley so perfectly, pastel coloured, not ugly & out of place but like they've always been there.
The road was empty, we had 25 kilometres feeling like kings on fresh & happy horses, Rayo calm & bitless again, maybe 5 cars passed us and out of those, 1 man stopped, waited for us, directed us on to a shortcut (saving 10 k) & told us of a great camping spot by the river here in Millares.
You know those happy feelings you get from time to time ? They happen alot here.

So this brings us up to date & I hope to continue with shorter, more in the moment updates..

Extra photo accompaniment on the facebook post..

Sending love to you all !  

Thursday 24 May 2018

Horses.. My observations


So if you're not that into horses, this one might be dull, but I'd like to comment on things from their point of view.
I try to think in a horsey way, limit (& open) myself to their understanding of what's going on - see things from their point of view.
For the first few days they want to go home, they know direction, they're used to doing a long circular ride & getting home at some point, but home is changing now, home represents food, water, security & that now happens at each stop, they like to have some expectation & know roughly whats going on.
Rayo is learning to eat whenever possible & I'm showing him how to snack on route!
As the end of the day comes & we're looking for a stop, Rayo might try a dash into a grassy terrace saying that'll do! He knows if I'm relaxed or dispondant about our night spot..
But there must be water.

The horses are beginning to enjoy the nomadic life, our herd moving on from grass to grass, water to water, they get grain in the mornings when we plan to move, not stay, this gives them energy & with this habit, expectation.
Like having a baby, life is almost simplified, as long as the horses are fine.. Nothing much else matters..

My relationship with Rayo is deepening & this is inevitable but particularly special as Rayo isn't a particularly human-loving horse. It's wonderful to notice some appreciation, respect, comradary & even love from him.
Of course one imagines the horses are also reading & learning about us.

You know, with a bit in their mouths, horses salivate, so whilst Rayo can be a difficult (very lively) ride in normal circumstances & requires a bit, on this journey, alot of the time he doesn't need it & I've noticed he needs to drink less.

On this trip so far
our boys have surpassed themselves - & most of us, in heart courage trust & generosity.
Oh! and there's lots of giving of carrots & apples which certainly help! 😋

❤❤❤

Tuesday 22 May 2018

Guerra de las Avejas!

Yesterday we found a great area of grass near the riverbed in Elda, so today gives us a well earned rest.. It hasn't been so easy this time around finding good grazing with water, so poor Mark is having to fetch and carry while we're here.
I can't walk that far yet, let alone carry 20 litres of water.
Lo & behold here comes Mark already with some water & telling me there's a lake just over there! - and we're leaving tomorrow! Doh!
Tomorrow is exciting! For us more than for Tio who may have a tooth ache - we've been invited to the house of a very kind co horse owner in Spain, 6ks north of here for the night, but our alterior motive is for Tio to see the dentist! He has been gurning on & off for a few days, as if he has toothache.. Can't let him suffer & though he does seem to be eating normally, we can't let him be under par on such a trip as this.
We have naughtily been inside another house with a fenced in paddock recently, by invitation of course, lovely man called Trevor throwing a bbq! We certainly have some luck!
We have endured some harrowing experiences though! & no exaggeration! Passing between two rows of bee hives  (right on the GR7 route!!)  was terrifying, we were swarmed! stung on our faces & heads riding through at an increasing speed, panicking, swearing, Marks most sentimental & ingeniously repaired cowboy hat falling to the ground amidst the hives...
He had to go back of course, wearing a full (rain) cape with hood, it was a tense few minutes as me & the horses waited at a 'safe' distance for his return, Rayo was stung on the nose!
I pulled a sting out of my cheek which gave me a chubby cheeky look for a few days which Mark found endearing.
He thankfully returned unharmed & with his hat on.

There's plenty of time in this mode of travel to wonder about the glory of nature, most of our daily routes go over mountains (smallish ones) between towns. So the terrain changes, lush grassy plains, planted, not to be eaten! Then stoney climbs (very hard on the horses feet) amongst the pines, through high gorges, eagle country, bandit country, always wondering whats over the next hill or round the next corner.
Sometimes as we enter towns you can almost hear the eerie whistle of 'The good the bad & the ugly', the tumble weed blows across the dusty track blowing up a cloud & there's not a soul in sight.

Now at dusk, sitting next to Mark as he cooks just outside the woods, I'm looking up at the orange lit town and I can hear kids playing & one in particular, a girl, singing flamenco, sounds amazing, dogs are barking, all very Spanish. I hope no one walks by, as I think it's embarrassing sitting here cooking our dinner on the track! But as Mark says quite rightly, it's too dangerous to cook in the woods, even though it's been a wet spring, the undergrowth is tinder dry.
We had a lovely sighting of a family of wild boar! Animals aren't so disturbed by the sound of hooves approaching, so we could watch them for a bit, none of them were large & the babies were so cute with little stripey bodies.
One night a lone adult boar wandered quite calmly around our camp, it came quite close to us & almost seemed tame, the horses were interested & a little nervous, but actually Rayo lunged forward at the boar to see it off!
Down to the lake now with the horses for a drink, beats a walk to fill bottles at the garage!

Sunday 20 May 2018

Non stop to the border

So here we are in Los Ramanos just over the border from Murcia into Alicante ..next week we'll leave Alicante and enter Valencia province ...it took us about 11 months to get out of Andalucia ..but just a week to get through Murcia ..so we're on the good foot finally!!
  And now about a week later we're at a ruined mansion in ontinyment , Valencia ..
  It's been a long year since that car ride to Baza hospital to see my bionic woman. A year of treading water , a sense of waiting a year to have that year you where gonna have last year...And now it's this year again. .
   This year the boots on the other foot, I've managed to work and walk my way to 90per cent recovery on my ankle . Nikkis recovery is obviously less advanced but being stalwart and stoic she's making a fist of it and is now able to just about mount from the ground..
   However not to be outdone I decided to drop a speaker on my big toe , left of course ,3 days before we left , see attached photo ...will the nail fall off or not? Answers on a postcard to 2000mileaisle. ..
   My understanding of life is that bad luck comes in threes so that's an end to that. ..
   Good luck to all...m

Friday 18 May 2018

The horse console..

Hours of roaming the glorious Spanish countryside what's a cowgirl to do?
Snacks, suncream, make up, power bank & data... Not to mention the hip fask.. 😀😀

Monday 7 May 2018

Start of the 2000mileaisle part 2

Nikki striding past the site of last years disaster and hence striding onto the 2000mileaisle part 2 .. looking strong brave and lovely .....

Sunday 6 May 2018

Back to the future!

On the road! Right now with the horses on tow - tentative, but ok, always so admire horses for allowing us to put them on a big square tin, overcoming their fear & trusting us.
So this is the last stressy bit (haha!), getting them safely there & then it's just us & them..
A few days on and us & them, we, have become the herd. After several nights of watching the stress/comfort signals of the horses, we've established a good dynamic for tent/horse/fence positioning.. Tethering is our only certain method of keeping the horses overnight, but Tio isn't an experienced tetherer, so for now, at night he's in a pretend electric fence, by day he's in supervised tether training & doing very well.
Both horses are coping brilliantly with the change & with the work.
We're coping too, amazing how one becomes adjusted to outdoor life so quickly - I'm blotting out a few days of stormy weather & tempers - but yes, even with the rain, we have coped & really enjoyed ourselves.. Infact I have felt guitily glutenous - the scenery has been so wonderful! Gorges so high & so deep, colours vivid with flowers everywhere.. (Please look to facebook for more photos).
Today is our first 2 night stop, we haven't done many kilometres yet, as we plan to increase work gradually for the horses & their packs are heavy.
It's us that are exhausted! My back, my knee where the pin gives pressure both suffering, mainly from damp & mounting which is frequent & difficult.
However! I do say that the kind of exercise needed here for survival, bending over getting things in & out of bags, putting the tent up & lots of core muscle exersion, in the saddle & otherwise, are all in favour of fitness & in that I feel well on the way.
Supplies around here, here being Murcia - at last! Are not easy to come by, at each stop we lack something but thankfully water & grass have not eluded us. We have noted a distinct bit of luck in the last hours of the day, finding a good place after passing barren & dry areas for miles.
It's no accident though I suppose as we always have a mapped aim for the day which has a town within reach if nothing is found.
Right now this is lovely, we've got both horses free in a big one-tape-wrapped-round-trees paddock with an unlikely cliff exit to the back...Mark's cooking breakfast, It's sunny but not too hot, we're next to a lake made by Presa la Risca & will take the horses down to the shore later on.
I'm very much enjoying being gadget girl - might have been the only badge I got in the guides. Some of my bespoke equipment is worth talking about all you horsey people out there! 2 short pieces of a hang glider wing skeleton, joined by slotting into a section of Hep20 plumbing pipe, make perfect fence posts in no time, small & light & portable.
Though I guess most people would have trouble finding a bit of hang gliding wing bone 😂!!
Eggs & coffee just landed beside me.. Thanks to my betrothed.
The rest of this afternoon was spent meeting (out of perhaps 4 cars in 24 hrs, she happened to pass by!!) the lovely maryrosemolenaar.com horse analyst would you believe?! She bought knowledge, understanding, total encouragement & Gin & Tonic!!
What we don't manage to drink we leave under a tree.
Serendipity or what?!

Hopefully this one will post properly unlike the last one of which only a quarter of it was published.. Only 2 photos allowed on here, so do look out for more on our facebook page.
I'll leave you with a Spanish ditty 'Si Mayo te moja, te seca' Thankfully this seems to be true..
Love from us to you all..

Wednesday 14 March 2018

Here we go again...

Yes ! Here we go again ! I've now actually ridden my SuperRayo 4 times & we're off in about 7 weeks.. (theoretically !)
In those four rides we've been mainly walking with a few cantering-on-the-spots.
We've slid down steep muddy tractor tracks (with sqealing accompaniment ), we've teetered along on the edge of narrow cliff edged paths, which is unavoidable around these parts, so I've been thouroughly tested & Mark says I've passed with flying colours !
It's been a long and varied recovery, but I'm not going into all that, thankfully we've managed to keep both horses fit and my (though intermittent) ground work with Rayo has paid off in preparing him for the wieght of me & later saddlebags on his back.
I think our relationship has pulled through into a higher understanding & friendship, he seems so happy that things are getting back to normal, that we're getting out and about together again !
Exactly the same could be said for me & Mark. Haha !

Sunday 14 January 2018

One step forward. Two steps back.

Early November and I'm able to shuffle around without crutches. It's a great thing, but painful, my whole body hurts, my right hip hurts more than my left leg, using one crutch has strained a side muscle so I just have to walk now.
Shuffling means I can do some things, so I'm building a new seating area on the roof terrace & I'm kind of lunging Rayo. I've been having such fun with him! I say kind of lunging because what I'm actually doing is asking him to bend evenly on both sides if his body, and to keep his head low, I begin my session with flexing his head to each side and encouraging him to really stretch by holding carrots just out of reach..he always gets the carrot of course! And he gets what I'm asking him to do as the session goes on.. They're only short sessions because I stop when he gets it, which is pretty quick & this is perfect because I can only do a hobbly shuffle (which is all you really need to do in the centre of his small circle). This is all done really calm and really easy.. I probably look ridiculous bending my own body, calming my own self, willing him to match me, but he does it, he looks at me out of the corner of his eye, cocks his ear towards me and drops his nose then you see his back come up, his pace goes suddenly elevated and perfect & he says oh! I'm doing it! He feels great, I feel great, because we know we understand each other & we stop then, so he realises that's all I want.
I'm trying to help him to be relaxed, soft, supple and strong, ready for riding.

The roof terrace seating is looking nice & feels very comfortable, we've all been lounging out there for hours in the late summer sun, between work sessions I should add!

Our long ride next year is still the focus of our intentions, but please forgive us! We made a sad but practical decision to sell our Golden girl.. No! I hear you saying.. But she's only gone down the road to our friends small riding centre & is in a very happy herd there. Meanwhile Rayo is overjoyed to have Tio back to himself!

So we are going with just our boys & a lot less equipment! Remember it took us 3 hours minimum to pack up & leave each day? Well next time we'll be a lot quicker!

Mark is pretty much better, though still limps occasionally.. I really can't believe how much time has gone by with both injuries.
He takes Tio out regularly & usually takes Rayo by lead rein. So both horses are gaining a bit of fitness after their restful summer.
Its rained at last so winter coats are coming, grass too in places..

Today I got on Tio! Walked him around a bit & got off again feeling elated! I look elated in the photo, though Tio doesn't look so happy, perhaps sensing the occasion by the tightness of the reins!
Also, today I drove my car! At last I can depress the clutch!
So that's two forms of transport within my reach, 'shanks pony' is going to take a bit longer as it's terribly slow & still a bit painful.

Crikey! I can't believe I wrote that in November & here I am not much further on.
Didn't realise I had left it unposted, so here you get a double whammy.

It's now 14th January.
Tomorrow I'm going to try to ride Tio again and yesterday I drove the car back from Cadiar without too much trouble (trouble being pain).
You see, my knee has been a problem, the pin and screws have caused alot of pain when under pressure, my hip and back have been problematic due to the effects of compensation.
The last time I rode Tio, I tried a trot & the jolting was unbearable. I cried.
Not through pain but through feeling totally deflated and dis-empowered.
It's just so awful not being capable if something that you have always been not just good at, but it's like second nature to me, being in the saddle, moving with the horse, able to deal with anything the horse might do.
Tio shied at something, he was playing to my weakness, he would have liked to gallop home and was looking for an excuse!
The feeling of helplessness got to me & obviously got to him!
Inspite of my insecurity I rode him home (WALKING TIO!) but haven't tried again since.

Rayo remains my prize, I can't trust him to just walk, especially after all this time not being ridden. When Mark takes the two out, I usually groom & prepare Rayo & he's desperate for me to get on! He nudges me to say it, come on! Let's go!
I can't wait! But waiting is what I have been doing now, since 30th of May - last year!

Oh Happy New year! In which we will make it to England with our horses & get hitched!
I'll tell you what, to be on the trail again, to be just us on our two boys in the wilderness, come hell or high water! That's where I'm gonna be!