Hacktastic
Remi and I have clocked up over 80 miles of roads and tracks
hacking in the last six weeks since he came home. 12 hacks in company and 12 hacks solo! Over 40 miles of solo
hacking.
Solo hacking has become a pleasure. Never thought I would
say that about Remi! Am touching wood frantically. But we have 12 lovely solo
hacks under our belt. Remi finally seems to enjoy hacking. He now seems to
think the purpose is for him to sightsee and be nosy! He hacks along with his
ears pricked, and bounds along cheerfully when the ground is soft and his feet
feel good, looking for permission to go faster.
He isnt bomb proof, but he is a 1000 times better than he
used to be. His solo hacking default used to be to spot something that he
didn’t like, spin and run away, and then throw a tantrum when asked to
turn and look at it. I have hacked him solo most of time during the last three
years but it was often hard work and not much fun. It used to be a battle of
wills and I used to keep having to try and out-wit him, and it used to take a
lot of will power to hack him solo. Part of the problem is that we hack in a very
populated area, where there are a high density of golfers, walkers, riders,
dogs, automatic golf trolleys, farming machinery, golfing machinery, and an
awful lot to see if you aren’t very brave or very sold on the idea of solo
hacking. Remi’s view on solo hacking used to be that his friends were in the
field without him, and that he would much rather be in his field!
We have had a few wobbles solo hacking. The terror of the NZ
rug on the floor in the field. This involved some snorting and eye bulging, but
no spinning or running backwards, and then calm walking past. The low loader that
was failing to get the digger on board, the people hiding behind the caravan.
But at no point yet, has Remi spun or reversed, or tried to go home. We have
calmly looked at things, discussed whether they are really terrifying and gone
past them. Huge progress. I am sure there will be some hiccups to come. But in the mean time, I am celebrating the current success.
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