We Needed The Horse Whisperer

On an only slightly cooler morning with the sun coming in and out, after a trip to the pharmacy at Milford on Sea we took drive along the coast before continuing inland.

A slight haze lay across the Isle of Wight while choppy waves slid back and forth on the wet shingle; sunlight stars glinted from rocks;

and columnar spray rose from breakwaters.

Gulls basking in the carpark occasionally took off on the wing;

couples passed rows of benches that were casting long shadows.

A thatched lych gate has been blown down in Hordle. Because vehicles cannot enter the grounds of the house beyond, the owners have placed a POST bin for deliveries.

Along Barrows Lane a robin perched on a gate through which a field containing horses could be seen beneath a sloping arboreal landscape.

When I left the car to photograph ponies in front of a house on the outskirts of Brockenhurst we noticed that one of a pair had a stick stuck in its collar.

This was clearly very difficult to dislodge. Because of the difference in size between the animals, I discerned that the one with the unwanted appendage was probably the foal of the other who was already becoming a bit twitchy at my interest. I felt I didn’t know enough to make a calm extraction, and decided to leave the task for someone who would have more knowledge.

What we needed was a Horse Whisperer in the form of John Corden.

This evening we reprised Jackie’s flavoursome sausages in red wine with fresh vegetables, with which she drank Hoegaarden and I drank Cahors Malbec 2019

70 comments

  1. I do hope that that poor pony has managed to extricate itself from the stick.
    Your photos are always so gripping, and tell such a story, but I particularly love the shot of the couple walking – so much atmosphere… And that bench leg next to them… And the poor freezing seagull who looks so hunched up and chilly, despite his red tights…!

  2. I love the sea photos, so vibrant and beautiful, and the cute ponies too. I hope the stick will be removed from the pony’s collar soon!

  3. An eventful post. Hope someone was able to remove the stick. I had never heard of a lych gate before and had to look it up. Oh, the things I learn from my blogging friends.

  4. I wouldn’t have known the blown over gate was a gate.
    I hope someone removes the stick for that poor pony.

    So many beautiful photos. The couple on promenade and the robin stood out for me, but there’s something about that house with the ponies out front. I really want to know more about it. Are those crosses on the roof?

    1. Thanks very much, Merril. The house was built comparatively recently on the footprint of an old railway building – if you build in the new forest you must follow the earlier footprint. It is a traditional structure. On the roof the apparent crosses are roof finials – these are sold in a variety of designs – this one is fleur de lys.

  5. Interesting photos. I love the phrase and accompanying photo for “sloping arboreal landscape.” If you get a chance to follow up on the pony with the stick headdress, let us know.

  6. You are the chronicler of the neighbourhood too. The drive along the shoreline and the sloping arboured vistas dotted with ponies has yielded rich photographs.

  7. This is an interesting collection of photographs. Of course the robin stands out – because that’s what robins do. I like the power of the ‘columnar spray’ rising from the breakwaters.

  8. Your posts are always educational. I now know what a lych gate is, if I am ever asked to appear on The Chase, or Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

    As I scrolled to the last photo, I thought “Hello! That fellow looks familiar.” And it was our John from Ballarat.

  9. Those first 6 photos really show Mother Nature’s mood today! 🙂
    Love the B&W photos!
    I hope the pony is okay now. That someone helped with the pony’s problem.
    God bless people like The Horse Whisperer who helps the precious equine.
    The little robin perched on the gate made me smile SO BIG! 🙂
    ((((HUGS)))) 🙂

  10. The photo of the robin is gorgeous and outdoes any of the photos I use from Pexels. Also, the lovely photo of the house with the ponies is something one would see on a Christmas card.

  11. love the sky in so many of the images – and interesting the highlighted section – so nice to have a place with so much history (even if limits like without gas)

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