There is a cold damp front coming in and all the animals are a bit odd. Ace rotated his tail when I tacked him up, then flashed it so hard I decided to tell him off, which quieted him down a lot.I fiddled with the girth and stirrups until he stopped reacting to it as well. I took him out to the arena and got up, but I had forgotten to tighten the girth and the saddle slipped. I was lucky that he only shuffled a bit instead of doing something dangerous.
I got off and tightened the girth, then got back on. This time he stamped his back feet and backed up, so I clipped on th air jacket and sent him forwards. He was looking for things to spook at today and he did a big one with some hops and skips quite early on. That was worrying but I tried to carry on as if it had not happened.
He was fine with some large walk figures of eight and some serpentine, so I asked for trot, and he was quite silly, skipping up his bum and jumping about. So I went back to walk for a while, and then when I tried trot again a few minutes later he was fine.
We trotted big circles and big figures of eight and he was holding himself tight waiting for pain. After a little while he realised it wasn't there and freed the trot. The transitions that he did then were so forward and up that I thought he was exploding each time. When I have managed to get used to them, they will be wonderful.
Next time I ride on the arena, I hope to gain more confidence that a hop and a skip is just joie de vivre, and not him about to explode.
Radar meanwhile is completely sound, and if I raise enough energy I may ride him this afternoon.
C
A little scary there, but as you say, it sounds more like a reaction to the brisk air and just being silly. As long as he accepts your corrections and doesn't overreact, you'll be fine.
ReplyDeleteMight be now that a little lungeing before you get on would be worth it. He can get rid of some of the excess energy and discover even more that his back doesn't hurt any more. I know you'd prefer to ride, but he is now a "new" horse and might need a slightly different approach--at least when it's cold/windy and he's feeling a little silly.
Yes I need to be a little more cautious with winter setting in, Jean.
ReplyDeleteC