Today it was off to see Fern again and the good news is that she was absolutely fine with the long reins and later with some Army Landrovers despite her bad experience a couple of weeks ago. Today I took her and L out for a ride up the hill and along the plain where the Army have a range. Although they were on exercises, they were only on one side of the track. Fern took all the distant firing in her stride as well and even said hello to a rather beautifully camouflaged soldier. I am always interested in how and why nappiness occurs and there were only two slight sticky points on the ride and they occurred on the way out, when Fern slowed down noticeably, and on the way back when she got noticeably faster. Both of these points were equidistant from the field and from Susie, her companion that was neighing her head off. Whether it is the calling distance or just some sort of 'magnetic field', it is remarkable that once she was beyond this area she was confident and happy.
Taking Theoden to the Isle of Wight seemed to have taken him away from the pull of his magnetic field too and there was not a hint of nappiness the whole time we were away. However he has been so much better recently it is hard to know whether this is significant.
"I love to watch you and Fern together, I love the way she responds to your calm direction so she understands what's being asked, and doesn't she just know when she's got it right?
It was a long old stride out for you and Fern.You stayed so calm and as a consequence she seem to take it all in her stride." LRB
