Week 6 & 7 of Our Adventure

Week 6 and 7 of our adventure

Can you believe it, we are now in our seventh week in Mauritius – just over half way. These past two weeks were quite eventful.

On the 24th October, we were moving to the next quarantine station, and what a move that was. Kayla and I packed up everything and loaded it all into a little Kia Picanto (that Letitia was kind enough to lend us), at the crack of dawn, and were at the stables by 7am, to get all the horses ready for their move. All the horses were groomed, fed and ready to go. The trucks were supposed to be there at 12 noon, but you guessed it, they were late, and only got there at 2pm. The first truck was a twelve berth, and we were told to load the little horses first, but by the time we got to the truck, the 7 berth had arrived, and the little horses were loaded in that one. I was quite upset, as I wanted Peri and Bailie on the smaller truck, as the stalls were bigger, and the truck had more air. The little truck left and now we had to load Peri, Bailie and the other problem horses, in the bigger truck with a very steep ramp. This all was happening in the road, outside a brick factory, where trucks, cars and people are making a noise, just to add a little bit of a challenge to loading the horses.

It was now time to load our horses, for some reason the truck driver wanted Bailie in before Peri, but Bailie was having none of that, and put on all his brakes, and so they agreed we load Peri instead. Peri was not keen on boxing, but after a few minutes he gave up, and loaded, needless to say Bailie was right on his heels. I was not happy with the truck at all, my poor boy was squashed, and his head was wedged against the one side of the truck and his butt on the other, he could not even move his head. At last the horses were loaded and away they went. We followed the truck, so we did not get lost. Just before we arrived at the quarantine station, we met the smaller truck, which had gone around the corner too sharp, and ripped out the one axle of the trailer, on the rocks at the side of the road. So I guess God had a plan, if Peri and Bailie were in the broken truck we would have had bigger problems, because Peri starts rocking the boxes when he can’t get out, and I shudder to know what would have happened then. Our truck delivered the horses to the quarantine station, and then went back to fetch the other trucks horses. At about 7pm everybody was settled in, the horses in their stables and us humans in our cottage, for a good night’s sleep.

Our cottage is on the quarantine station, so we can see our boys all the time, which is really great, that is one of the things we missed so much while staying in Quatre Bornes.

The next morning we were up at the crack of dawn to get ready for the beach. Stables were mucked, and by 8am we were ready for the sea. I took Peri and Kayla took Bailie, and another 6 grooms each with a horse in hand headed for the sea. Peri went in without any problems, until he felt the current and the waves (little ones – but waves none the less) hitting his tummy, then he went running out, with me skiing behind, it must have looked very funny. After doing this a few times, Peri decided that the sea was actually really nice and he just went to stand next to Bailie and relaxed.

The walk back was quite something, all the horses, our two included, left their manners in the sea. All you saw were humans being pulled and pushed in all directions, and horses going in all directions. When we got back we were told that was quite normal for the first time at the sea for horses, and they should fetch their manners the next time. I must also just mention that all this is done by the humans, us and the grooms, in slops or barefoot, and nobody got stood on.

On the 27th & 28th October, Kayla and I got up early and went for a ride on the beach at 6am – Man!!!!! It was beautiful. We had now completed our dream of riding our horses in the sea and on the beach, and were blessed enough to do it in another country, and twice in a row.

It is absolutely stunning here, and Kayla and I are making the best of the beach and sea. From next week, we are in full quarantine again, so the horses are not allowed out before 7.30, and they have to be back in their stables by 4pm, so riding on the beach might be difficult, as, if there are lots of people the horses are not allowed to go on the beach, but they can still have their swims. We still have the bush behind the quarantine station to explore, and apparently it is all soft beach sand, so our boys will not get sore feet.