More fireworks

November the 5th is early. More fireworks from Ace today. He is obviously very upset at the moment, and he shows it by exploding when asked to work. I am giving him the benefit of the doubt because he's had two weeks of terrible disruption while the work was done, including 5 days when I disappeared off the planet.

Now I am asking him to work in a new place which is also changing every time he goes onto it. Today the new fence posts were laid out in place to be hammered in, and some white arena boards (five 4 metre lengths of white square guttering from Wickes!) had also arrived. On top of that, there was an extremely high wind which was whipping his tail this way and that.

He threw his toys right out of his pram. He was rearing, spinning (and wow can he spin!!!) and would not even trot without bucking. I managed to stay on (just) and keep him in walk for 25 minutes until he would agree to trot. I had to keep him bent to the outside because as soon as he got straight he bucked. Eventually I got a very nice canter on each rein and breathed a sigh of relief and stopped.

I will give him a week or two to settle, and if he does not calm down I will start investigating other things. He is still on ulcer preventatives, but they may need to be increased if all the disruption has really set his stomach acid off.

By contrast Jazz was an angel, although he too is very rattled by all the changes. He did some wonderful trot with changes to medium today though, and the surface is clearly suiting him by the way he is bouncing along on it.

I do realise, of course, that by building an all weather arena I have made sure that none of us have any weather all winter that is fit to ride outside in. Starting tomorrow with hail I believe.  I can only apologise :-(


C