Summer?

Something odd happened today. This afternoon the wind dropped, the rain stopped, and miracle of miracles, the sun shone!!! I could hardly believe it as Radar and I had a wonderful hack on a warm sunny evening. He needed his feet trimmed, so I took him on the roughest roads that we have around here for an hour and that did the trick nicely.

I have mused about his great schooling session yesterday and come to the conclusion that he really was upset by me trying to school him in a snaffle. Before his layoff he was schooling quite well in his hunting mikmar, but the lack of control that I have in a snaffle seems to make him very anxious. It's only taken a couple of sessions in a pelham to improve his work until it's unrecognisable as the same horse. Silly me, I'll never try that again, I'll just teach him elementary and compete him in a double if Ace isn't going out one week.

Talking of whom, unaffiliated tests have suddenly been added to the schedule for Wednesday so we will be out again. P7, which we know well, and N24, which will be the first time he has ever tried a novice test. I have no option, if we want to do two tests, there is only one prelim running this week. (for anyone not in possession of the test sheets, a neat wrinkle is to look on youtube under the test name - you can find loads of video of people doing the test.) 

So today, after warming Ace up with some walk, trot, canter circles and a little lengthening and shortening of the trot, we practised Novice 24. He was good, and he easily got the 20m trot circle followed immediately by two 10m half circles in trot, which I had expected him to find very hard. He also go the give and retake in canter, which I have never tried before. And I thought the "show some steps of medium trot" was pretty good too, and we have only been practising that for a short time.

I went to try the test one more time and he started by anticipating in the first trot up the centre line, and cantering. I got that under control only to find that towards the end of the first canter, when we were near the path back to the stables, he was doing a flying change and trying to turn for the path! I don't think flying changes are going to be difficult for him!!

He was bucking and plunging when I held him to the circle in the counter canter, partly because he had put himself out of balance with the change of leg, but mostly, I got the impression, out of being in a bit of a strop and trying to tell me we had done enough.  I made him come round again and for another three times he was just as naughty. I smacked him each time, but only by flicking the whip without taking my hands off the reins. Then he suddenly cottoned on that it was going to get him nowhere except to do even more work than he wanted to, and did the canter  really nicely, changed rein, stayed in the outline through the give and retake and trotted  at the corner. Fantastic, I walked him to the exit and got off and gave him a shower, which he really enjoyed.

I think he is about ready to do this novice test. It's going to be very interesting to see how he scores in it compared to a prelim.

C