At last, a normalish day. I rode Jazz indoors this morning and have just got in from taking Ace up the fields between spells of rain.
Ace is sweet but he really does not have a clue where to put his feet on any surface which is not flat. And horror of horrors it wasn't even firm underfoot either! Panic! Panic! He let me guide him, though, which is great. He is getting easier and easier to ride now he trusts me. We did some huge trot circles and a couple of 200 yard canters, first time in an open field. Then we concentrated on walking squares until he worked out just how to keep all his feet underneath him. And talking of feet, he was much less tentative on the concrete today and is walking well. He even stayed out there on it when the food was all gone, instead of lying down like he has so far.
Jazz was lovely and we had a really nice walk session. We also did some 10m trot circles to the left with slack in the left rein. This was to prove to ourselves that that silly woman Jo Graham was wrong when she said he did not bend to the left. He was beautifully bent, into my right hand, responding to half halts by increasing the bounce and bend, with no contact whatsoever on the left rein. I was very happy with him and he was VERY happy to be working again.
Clockwork Hubby's heart is still beating regularly and he is already feeling better after finishing the drugs yesterday.
A good day!
C
A great day!! Have to laugh a bit about Ace. When PJ first came to me from the racetrack, he was a bit puzzled about varied terrain too. He figured it out pretty quickly, but you could tell it was a surprise to him that the entire world was not flat.
ReplyDeleteOnce he got the hang of it, he used to walk all the way down the hill in the pasture to the far back and then come galloping back up, just for the fun of it.
Of course Jazz bends!! What a pain when a "teacher" makes assumptions based upon on single incident or moment in a ride. Glad you reassured yourself. Sometimes we just need to reconfirm what we know is true after someone tries to undermine us. Good going.
And Allan's recovery is certainly going well. Bet he's already feeling better than he has for years.
Well clockwork hubby isn't the only one sleeping better. I had a "20 minute" doze before riding Jazz this afternoon and I've woken up too late to ride at all! CH is yet to wake up. He'd better hurry or he'll miss Talent!
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catnaps do tend to stretch out...
ReplyDeletei imagine i won't have too much trouble on different terrain with Monf, as his last home was in the north yorkshire dales, with lots of hills to be exercised on..
It's going to take the two of you a bit of time to get those sleep patterns under control. The worry before and the hospital stay really gave you a huge chunk of "jet lag" to overcome. Don't beat yourself up over it. Just take the sleep when it comes for now and gradually try to establish a better schedule as your bodies allow. You've had a hard several months.
ReplyDeleteGreat news about Allan's recovery! And two horses today - life as you knew it is finally returning.
ReplyDeleteGood thing Ace doesn't have six legs like the horse like creatures in Avatar!
Glad Allan is still doing so well.
ReplyDeleteWhat sort of grazing muzzles do you use for your horses Caroline? I've just got one for my big mare who is far too porky and I'm trying to introduce her to it gradually but she gets quite upset and just can't seem to work out how to eat! Any tips? They obviously work well for you.
L
REmind me of your blog address Claire, I must catch up with Monf!
ReplyDeleteWe slept well last night Jean, both of us.
Crumbs, yes, Ace is finding four legs enough to cope with ML :-)
C
Liz I use Shires type muzzles, with one hole about an inch across in the middle of the bottom. I tried a greenguard once and it wasn't that good and they are now about £57 !!!! I had Scooby in a hard bucket type one, which was fine too. You can easily put more holes in that one without weakening it too much, which you can't in the soft rubber ones.
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Scooby used to simply refuse to eat and stand looking miserable. I'm not sure you can do anything but keep them in when they are like that, which is what I ended up doing with him, I remember now.
ReplyDeleteButtie and Ace just pick happily through the hole.