Share your best horsey memories!

[Lopsidale]

I'll start - mine are getting offered my second apprenticeship, and backing a 7 year old Irish sports X tb by myself!

X

Awww, sorry no one has replied to your op, OP! What a lovely idea. My best horsey memory was in India, galloping hell for leather up the Himalayan foothills on an amazingly clear sunny day. Took my breath away. I can't remember the breed name now but the horses were a type of very hardy little native horse which they don't allow to be exported, or I'd be looking for one in the UK!

Just being with my boy! I miss him so much

Well, mine is slightly more sedate - my ID/TB is like a big Labrador. We owned a house with an inner walled garden, paddocks outside. Stables inside at the far end of the walled garden.

One day, I came home from a ride and let her off in the actual garden (pre DD!). My best friend and her husband turned up and I warmed up a ciabatta type loaf and we sat outside to eat lunch.

My pig of a horse came up to the table - snaffled the bread and trotted off to her stable. loaf in mouth. Obviously we wouldn't have wanted it after it had been in her mouth so I cooked another one!

I have had a horse for 40 years and that memory is probably my fondest one!

Riding holidays as a kid. Having only ridden in a very sanitised school and had nothing to do with grooming etc. These were dirty little ponies that lived out, and we were just let loose to ride, groom, feed, sniff and cuddle them. We lived off corned beef sarnies and Orange squash, slept in our clothes, often in the field with the ponies. Elf n safety and probably modern safeguarding teams would be horrified.

I have many!

Hacking home after a long day hunting with my soul mate on a beautiful November day.

Flying over the hugest Leicestershire country on a 5 year old I had produced from scratch.
Seeing one of the horses I'd started going round his first advanced.
Getting back on for the first time after breaking my back.

The most recent would probably be the least impressive ever! After my accident (6 years ago next week) I had a baby and returned to my job as a freelance groom. I have NO jumping nerve left at all, and my horse is a relatively new one and himself hasn't jumped for 9 years. 3 weeks ago I took him to the local school and actually jumped about 10 fences. The most pathetically small (we're talking 1 1/2 foot crosspoles here!) fences! It was complete bliss, he was wonderful. I had to stop and burst into tears, I was round his neck and hugging him! I will never ever forget that feeling.

I have been very lucky to work all my career with some astonishingly talented, beautiful and expensive horses, but I so strongly believe that the same pleasure and bond is forged just as well with a 30 year old companion. They are such gracious, giving animals and I thank God every day I have them in my life.

That is lovely bonzo, yes, I think today's world is sadly very different.

Fantastic Bonzo! I remember drinking out of the water trough and going out on the ponies in the woods all day with a pack up.

It wasn't even long ago, 25 years. Those ponies were for the most part saints. The adults consisted of some teenaged girls who chain smoked, and a man who I realise now was pissed the whole time. Including when he drove us (7 unrestrained in the back seat and boot of an estate car) to swim in a reservoir!! No one had costumes so we swam in our clothes.

Me too horsey - four or five of us going out all day on scruffy ponies who lived on fresh air and bikes with sandwiches and a piece of fruit - venturing into the wood that had caves (we were banned from that wood).

Wasn't a long time ago for me either - I'm only 31! Everything has changed in the last 15 ish years quite dramatically I think. Shame.