Memory of an elephant.

Thank goodness he does not move like one as well :-)   I have schooled Ace for 15 minutes in - the sunshine! - and he does not seem to have forgotten a thing. He was forward and free, and totally sound of course or I would have stopped.

I did have a little trouble persuading him to interrupt an afternoon snooze in the warm and dry barn and get to his feet so that we could do some work. I put the headcollar on him while he was still on the floor, the lazy toad. I popped him on the lunge with his tack on because I have not ridden for four days because of the weather but he was feeling very laid back and it was clear after two circuits on each rein that he was going to be sensible. I did use my air jacket, but that was just "better safe than sorry" and not because I felt that I would need it. 
 
We did walk, trot and canter to warm up, then some trot/walk transitions, then some trot lengthening, some fantastic free walk on a long rein to finish with a lovely square halt. Lengthening is  clearly going to be one of his specialties, he is a natural lengthener without hurrying. It is so nice, after Jazz being such a struggle to teach to lengthen, to be riding a horse who simple lengthens his stride when asked to move forward in the pace.  Ace's trot was also lovely and "punchy" today and full of vim and vigour :-)   I have done an entry for a competition on Wednesday because there just doesn't seem to be any reason why he shouldn't go and do  20 minutes of warm-up and two 5 minute tests.

radaR? Oh don't ask. OK then, ask. He would not be told where to walk or at what speed in a snaffle today and was just horrible. So I put him back in a pelham with roundings and he was better but still a problem. So I put the rounding down onto just the curb, tightened the chain and then he realised that I really did have control and finally did some really decent walk. By that time we had been working 45 minutes and I was due to go out and he was dripping sweat from head to toe. We'd only walked!!  I gave him a bath, which he loved, and let them both out.

Thank goodness I have Ace back in work, so that I can laugh at Radar's antics when anyone suggests to him that he might make a dressage horse.  He could be in a burger bun by a now if he wasn't such a grrrrrrrrrrrrrreat jumper :-)

C