Ace has an upset stomach with the grass today. I could tell before I even got on. He was reluctant to stand at the block and kept moving to an angle where I could not safely get my foot in the stirrup and swing onto his back. After bringing him back quietly to the block several times, I did put my foot in the stirrup and my toe touched his side and he jumped as if I'd kicked him. I took him away from the block again and touched his sides everywhere with my hands to make sure he wasn't going to explode when he felt my leg on him. Then I got up cautiously, and he humped his back, grunted, and swung around to face the stables. I just sat light and still until he was prepared to move off and we warmed up easily enough with a lot of walk before any trot or canter.
He wasn't very fluent in his work and became a bit flustered at how quickly the movements were required. I eventually put him into a jog because it was the only way to keep his back soft. The part of the test I was doing is trot up the centre line, leg yield to the track, circle 10m, down to walk 2-5 strides and up to trot and canter at C.
After a couple of tries on each rein he then set his back in the jog and was setting on my hands and trying to flick his head up. I was about to lose my cool when I decided to send him on and hang the consequences, and it was exactly the right timing. He was immediately more fluent and once he realised that I was no longer going to balance him, he pulled himself together and finished on a very good attempt on each rein.
This was a session which could have ended on a very bad note for us both. Instead, I feel as if I have learned more about Ace's psyche and how to manage him in a competition environment.
I gave him a few pony cubes in a soup of acid calming chemicals, and the boys are now in during the day for the rest of the summer, until the grass has lost its dangers.
C
Glad you were able to work through the issues. Needless to say, an upset tummy is always a worry.
ReplyDeleteIt always amazes me how many "trainers" fail to take into account the horse's physical condition when they have training problems. We all need to be more sensitive to any issues our horses may have before we expect them to perform at their best. Ace is a challenge for you, but you certainly seem up to meeting it.
Too bad he can't enjoy the grass, but it's better not to take any chances.
He has always been exceptionally sensitive to the grass. I'm sure he'll develop Cushings as he gets older. He has pulses today too, so off the daytime grass is the only option now.
DeleteI rode Radar this afternoon, which is the nice thing about them being in during the day, that they are available whenever I want to ride. It's quite a bonus. He was like a blancmange, I'll explain tomorrow :-)
C
Claire I deleted an email from you by mistake, and I don't have your email address on this machine.can you send it again, ta. C
ReplyDelete