hot hot hot

just cool enough to be nice when i arrived and started getting the tack out but time i'd done that the sun was out again ...

going out with rachel on her brandy - tbh, him and M have a lot in common when theyr'e on their own!

brandy got brave and led all the wy, which is pretty good for him, he had a spook 6 feet left when a very gentle breeze gently wafted some vegetation at the river's edge, whilst M stopped and looked at him wondering what was going on

we were round the 20 acre, which is in a dip next to the river, and we rather regretted it once we got down there as the temperature rafted up due to no breeze in the first half.  when we got to the end there's a narrow gate to go through.  brandy was spooking before we got to it, who knows why, but it turned out to be a rider coming through the ford on the right beyond the gate.  rider rode past, brandy went through, M and got just to gate when M started napping back round i could feel it coming and was ready for it - turned out to have been another rider coming through the ford.  you can't see, you can only hear, hence the spooking.  and i was lucky not to have been halfway through said gate or i'd be missing a kneecap...

then trotted back along the back drive to create our own breeze, partially successful in that

would't let M stop outside brandy's stable, which is the first one you come to going back in, and he's been getting into a habit of stopping there (my error of course!) so went on to my own before getting off - and he promptly put his head into the next door stable and i had to back him up before i could get off!