Belated Paul update

Paul's owner came to see him on Sunday and check how he was progressing. She rode Paul and I took Charlie (who was popping out of his socks in an "I'm-hunting fit-but-oh-dear-there-hasn't-been-any-hunting-for-nearly-3-weeks" kind of way).

Paul was striding out nicely on the road and behaving like the perfect gentleman he is, and then we hit a long grassy track and some sloping fields which were surprisingly well-drained. Charlie couldn't help but canter - mentally trotting wasn't an option for him so we compromised on a very slow canter :-) Well-mannered Paul was happy to trot alongside, looking very smart and much more like a little dressage horse than a navicular write-off.

After crossing one field like this, I decided Charlie had earned a proper canter, and off we went - except that Charlie really wanted a proper gallop at this point - fair enough, and I thought Paul could catch us up at the end. Paul however had abandoned his dressage impression and had moved onto his racehorse impersonation, so the pair of them amused themselves no end by going up the field neck and neck :-) Clare's expression was a picture, especially when Paul didn't break but instead went all the way home with an extremely smug look on his face!