Another really pleasant afternoon with the New Forest Carriage Driving for the Disabled group and their three horses Daisy, Jerry and Mollie. Today I learned the importance of having a shaft-holder when people are mounting and alighting from the vehicle. Other than that I was photographer and litter-picker and general chatterer.
I recognised one of the cyclist who goes out with the horses who told me that after the one occasion I had been out to help load her pony, the pony has never refused to load again. I remembered the visit well as we had to park the side-loading lorry on the pavement as there was nowhere else to load and just as we had got to the critica point of loading, the congregation from the nearby church had come out after a service and weren't very pleased that they couldn't use this side of the road. Luckily Molly was never a problem after that.
I also recognised a man I knew from Mopley Riding Club who I had always thought was gentle and kind to his horses. Sadly he has no horses anymore and now comes to the group to get his weekly horse fix.
