LEARNING ON THE HOOF
they will often use the opportunity to step up their errant behaviour. It’s a well-known fact that often the smaller the pony, the tougher the character it has (witness the Shetland pony – is any creature anywhere of a more thrawn disposition?) and it is unfortunate that these are usually ridden by the smallest and youngest children. Danny, my youngest son Luke’s pony, is the smallest of the three horses in our yard, yet he dominates everyone, reducing my own horse to a quivering wreck with the merest flattening of his ears. Where humans are concerned, however, he’s a positive angel – he has figured out that to ensure top quality care and attention, the best policy is to be (or at least act) utterly adorable.
Saddle sore Managing horses is very largely a psychological game – after all, there’s no doubt who is the stronger between a horse and its rider. Unfortunately, ponies are masters at detecting psychological weakness, and once they’ve discovered that, it’s not long till they realise their physical superiority too. My wife Juliet’s first mount, a rotund Dartmoor pony named Roly, bought when she was seven, caused her no end of pain in the early years. His speciality was bucking her off and leaving her miles from home, not to mention biting, kicking, refusing to be caught and – particularly evil – choosing the precise moment when she was hopping around trying to mount to stand heavily upon her foot. The scales tipped only after their mutual hatred had grown to a seemingly irreversible point, when from somewhere Juliet found the reserves of anger and determination needed to overcome him. After a series of epic battles they went on to build a long and happy relationship. These battles between ponies and children
have been going on as long as people have been riding horses, and it makes fascinating viewing. Across every horse-riding culture, from the Comanche to Genghis Khan, generations of children have been through the same cycles of pain and despair, becoming tougher and more resilient as a result. We watch from the sidelines as through a veil
of tears our children have to override their very natural desire to run crying to their parents and instead trudge after the miscreants, catch them (if they’re lucky) and hold the testy individuals still as they climb back into the saddle. The ancient adage that you must immediately re- mount after falling off tests our youngsters to their limits. ‘Why would I want to?’ you can almost hear them thinking after they’ve been summarily humiliated or even wounded. But this is how character is built – by facing
up to genuine fears and real challenges, and overcoming them. Unfortunately, our own boys’ interest in
riding has become more half-hearted as rugby and video games have intruded. By and large, on Mull it is the girls who ride, which means that boys miss out on these vital life lessons. Unlike almost every other horse culture in the world, ours does not acknowledge or celebrate the sheer grit and determination that is needed to become a proficient rider. Of course, the boys’ reluctance may have
something to do with the work involved. Certainly our two expect a whole level of service when it comes to riding that isn’t part of the deal. Mucking-out, grooming, cleaning tack – none of that’s for them; but if someone leads the pony up to the front door ready to go, they might deign to join us. There’s also a focus on grooming and presentation in horse culture here which is completely at odds with the workmanlike attitude to horses in many other countries, and doesn’t appeal to boys. Mostly though, the problem is the
dominance of the petrol engine, as absurdly motorbiking and quad-biking are regarded as more fitting male pursuits. This, despite the fact that riding a motorbike or tinkering with an engine requires, in my opinion, near zero cojones when compared with the guts needed to get on a horse weighing nearly a thousand pounds and make it do your bidding. But this gender imbalance has demonstrated
just how tough girls can be. We have witnessed them grappling with and finally overcoming their fears to become expert young riders, and they are also more willing to do the dirty work too – the mucking-out, feeding and grooming, the early rising, suffering through mud, rain and midges. I harbour a hope that when the boys are older they might come back round to horses – a process that will no doubt be accelerated when they finally realise that riding stands them in far better stead when it comes to the great game of chasing girls than does hanging about with all the monosyllabs with their motorbikes and greasy engines.
WWW.SCOTTISHFIELD.CO.UK 91
‘This is how character is built – facing up to real fears and challenges, and over- coming them’
Opposite: Pony Club is a great place to learn to face your fears, as Oscar Grieve found. Above: Guy Grieve on Erin, his much-loved horse.
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