Erica and Domingo
Hi Dawn
I have been meaning to write to you this week. We have been having great fun as I took him to Trec training camp over Easter. The terrain was pretty rough as it was on the Long Mynd in Shropshire. It was a great discovery time as we realise that there is a great deal of trust between us. We passed wild pony herds with stallions within metres, as there was a drop off on one side and a fence on the other, with no issues what so ever. Riding in company and the other horse can canter off and vanish and he doesn’t get upset at all. Likewise I can canter in open country with another horse a few hundred yards ahead and he doesn’t rush off or pull, he is also very easy to stop. He was corralled for 5 nights at this event which he took completely in his stride. There was some arena work as well with various different obstacles most of which would be new to him and he did really well.
Around the village at home there is lots of building work going on and he is generally very interested to see if there is anything in the skips to take home. He seems particularly keen on the road cones!!! The road flooded so I took him down to see what he’d make of it. He had his head under the water blowing bubbles and made sure that we both got soaked when he was pawing the water. There is a little footbridge over the ford which is just wide enough for him and the stirrups, he had a good look at it and walked quietly over it. We accidentally got the Spanish Walk last Tuesday – he got bored while I was talking to someone and started fidgeting and progressed to Spanish Walk. Will have to try and figure out what the signals were.
He has settled in with the herd really well. He seems very attached to the mare I put him with initially but loves a good play session with the gelding every now and again. When I re plait his mane there is no need to tie I’m up, he will stand quietly in the yard with the others (all of them are loose) whilst I undo and redo all his plaits, I figure that will give you an idea of how settled he is.
I have never been great at photos but will aim to get some over the bank holiday weekend for you. If you could please thank his previous owner for all the training and patience he had with Domingo as I have got the horse that I spent a long time looking for and we are going to our first competition at the end of May with a view to the Welsh Championships.