Down to earth with a bump.

Literally! I rode Ace yesterday without putting him under the lights, because he had been lovely and warm in the barn all day. He made it clear that he was going to spook really big time at the barrels, so I stayed away from them.  He was not very fluent, but he wasn't behaving badly, until I started to chivvy him with taps with the whip to get him to go forwards, after about 25 minutes. He responded OK to start with, then he refused to bend around a corner and as I went to tap him, he exploded  into a series of very nasty bucks around in a tight circle. He meant me to come off, and there really was no option! Thankfully I didn't hurt myself.

I got back on again and made him do some quiet walk and then put him away with both of us feeling less than happy.  I was kicking myself for not warming him up with the lights.

So this morning I gave him a good twenty minutes before even putting on the saddle cloth. But it did not  help - he was more explosive than yesterday and all we did was walk circles and serpentines and then call it a day.

So it wasn't his back, which leaves the other obvious weak spot, his stomach.  We had rain on Friday, followed by two days of glorious sunshine and temperatures  in the high teens. That brought the grass on with a vengeance and Ace simple can't tolerate it.

I have been to Tesco and bought the entire shelf full of ranitidine. They must think that I have the worst indigestion anyone has ever seen :-)  Hoperfully that will see him over this sharp spell and then we will have to consider putting him on omeprazole, because I can't ride him like this even if he would let me.

I'm so pleased that I understand his two separate issues now his back and his stomach. And I knew he had issues with his stomach before I bought him, you could see it in his feet.

It would be very easy to blame his temperament, or  his back for this current spell of poor performance when I am certain that it is neither. Though of course he is an extremely sensitive beast to react quite as badly as he does, I also  know now that he is actually the gentlest creature when he is not in pain, and that as soon as I calm his gut down, he will be back to normal.

Radar was  not amused to have to do a decent walk session this morning, but he did it, and with far less fuss than last time.

I was going to compete Ace on Wednesday but the weather forecast and the stomach problem have put that on hold for this week.  Radar will probably get a hack instead and he'll love that.

C