It's been a busy day!
I obviously made the right decision yesterday not to battle with either Jazz or Ace, because today both of them were in a delightful mood and worked really well. Jazz can only get his head around two changes at the moment, but they were 3-time and nicely balanced, so I was happy with that for today. The difference between getting 2 and 3 is that I can't get him balanced off the corner quickly enough for the first, so I run out of distance to get the third. When he is less excited about being asked to do them, we'll get 3 back again quite easily.
Radar and I went for a hack in the sunshine. It was windy but not too cold and we enjoyed ourselves. It was our hack where he trots back towards home up a full half mile of road which rises about 100 feet in the process. It's a really tough ask for a horse but he is so fit he did not even want to stop at the top. He was full of the joys of spring, or is the springs of joy? Both!
I am going to get you some pictures of Ace soon. When we bought him 15 months ago, we expected him to really blossom last spring. But he was terribly backward and at nearly five the vet thought he was three. I didn't push him physically last year because he was so weak for his age, and suddenly this spring he has done what we thought he would do last year. His neck has developed a crest so big I had a good feel to make sure that it is not due to him being a laminitis risk. It's definitely tendon and muscle, in all the right places. His chest is wide and square, a real man's chest! And the rest of him is beginning to match. When I watch his shadow as we work, he looks as if he is constantly climbing a hill. When his lovely dark, sleek coat is through he is going to look magnificent!
Meanwhile, his introvert character is changing too, and he is beginning to give away more of his feelings. It's taken an awfully long time, but he is now strarting to feel like he belongs to me and isn't just a lodger for a while. I'm looking forward to getting him out in public, he got some very big compliments last year, there should be even more this season.
C
Good work with Jazz, and a good assessment of the changes. It will take a little while for him to settle down and not be too "enthusiastic."
ReplyDeleteI love Radar's work ethic whenever he's out doing something he wants to do. He is quite a character.
And I'm looking forward to the Ace picture. I can almost picture him in my head, so it will be great to see if my imaginary conception matches reality. *S*
I've owned a couple of forward horses Jean, Tetley and another called Jack, but I have never had one with quite the gentle enthusiasm of Radar, who will literally bounce quietly up and down on the spot if we stop for some reason and he wants to get a move on.
DeleteC
I have always said that it takes a year to get to know a horse, perhaps longer for an introvert like Ace.
ReplyDeleteEvery day I drive by a field that has three big horses and a pony. The pony is always by himself - makes me think of Buttie.