Phew.

I was actually feeling sick before I got on Ace this morning. And no, it wasn't because of anything I drank last night :-)  The thing is, once you've seen those xrays, you kind of don't believe that he won't be wanting just to dump you on the floor. Coupled with that, he is in the weaning off phase of the omeprazole, so I am keeping a wary eye on ulcer problems returning too. Some horses need two full treatments and his obvious discomfort before he does a poo makes me nervous too.

So, today I lunged and he bucked once, then pood. But in general he was more forward going than I have ever known him. He canters when asked to trot and is in no hurry to stop when I ask him to. This behaviour is different from how he has been in the past on the lunge.

I wore my air jacket to give me confidence and got on, and he was fine right from the start. He stood and waited for me to get my stirrups instead of wriggling or trying to move off, and he behaved himself the whole time. He asked to canter,  and I let him. He is unbelievably bouncy and forward, and very, very happy to work long and low and stay in that outline without any of the evasions he has been trying. His mouth is quiet, and his tail is a lot less active too. He did have a skip in a canter, but it was sheer joie de vivre and I felt confident enough just to push him on, and he just carried on in a lovely springing canter.

I need a few more days of this to completely restore my confidence, and then there will be no stopping us.  His next ride will be a short hack. I am very aware that he's using muscles that have not worked properly for a long time. As a result, they may well get a bit stiff or sore and I'm being careful not to do too much too soon. My aim is to have him really toned up for the operation, to give him the best chance of a quick recovery.

It's too hot to work Radar now; at least that's my excuse :-) ,  so I'll be hacking him up for Monday breakfast tomorrow morning.

C