Back to Basics

For those readers who are not horsey I suggest skipping the first paragraph!

Poor old Chandra picked up some bad habits in the last year, as he is only ridden with the tourist rides he's forgotten how to trot! So if I ask for a step up from walk he thinks gallop. We're making a lot of progress now as I've been doing groundwork with him and lunging him to try get him to bend right rather than go in a straight line all the time. The brushing boots have paid for themselves now with the number of knocks they've protected his legs from, even if there are a few nicks from over-reaching. His bucking is almost under control too now, as before he thought it was a fun way to let out his excess energy but now he's learning that this is only appropriate when mummy is on the ground. If I feel him tensing I do some bends and half-halts which gets his attention back on me. It's so different riding a stallion, I have to be a much more active rider in giving him the reassurance he needs to be able to trust me. If he can trust me he's fine, it's if the rider doesn't give the horse sound leadership they get anxious and troublesome. The bitless bridle works a treat, even when we had a buffalo try to pick a fight with us last week! I'm very very impressed.

Our route is planned now, with some more contacts on the way. I'll be covering much the same route as three years ago, with some detours as the tarmac encroaches on the dirt tracks of Rajasthani villages. My first day will be a ride to a village near Qatar where my old friend Daloo has a farm. I met him on my first trip to India in 2003 when he was one of 5 people working at Animal Aid. He's a fascinating character, from a poor low caste illiterate family he spends his free time reading political philosophy, classic novels and books on communism. Sadly as he can only read hindi his choice is somewhat limited and so I had to explain to him that yes, communism is a lovely idea but Stalin was not a good guy. Not much mention of World War 2 or concentration camps out here I guess. Daloo's wife just recently gave birth to their 3rd daughter-much to his mother's dismay. What kind of woman can't give her husband a male child?! Well Daloo doesn't care and he thinks it's nonsense to think like that so I'm sure his daughters will grow up to be well educated and loved every bit as much as any son would have been.

I've been taking photos on my camera, just need to use up my roll and I'll post them on here next week. For the ride I splashed out on a roll of Professional slide film which will be developed in Delhi in December.