Blotted his copybook!!

He’s blotted his copybook today!! I tried to load him into the lorry. I tested him first to see if he was ready by asking him to go in and out of the barn via the little door. Now everyone who has seen it will tell you that this is a very little door. They have to duck their heads and watch their sides to get through it. He didn’t even hestitate. I figured that meant he would trust me enough to get into the lorry for some food. But when I tried to put him in the lorry – no go. Two front feet on the ramp, but no more.

I fetched a whip and tickled him with it. No response. I slapped him with it - he picked me up and took me to the stable and there was absolutely nothing I could do to stop him :-0 I put a bridle on so I had a bit. He did the same again, back to the box. My goodness but he is STRONG! I blocked off one side of the ramp with a bench. No difference. I put Tia in the box and thought, right, no problems now, he’ll go straight in. Nope. Allan came home, so we had him tapping at the back and me leading at the front. Not having any of it.

Finally, I fed Tia a kilo of cubes a dozen at a time, telling her all the time what a lovely, lovely girl she was, and I left him to choose for himself whether he joined us for some food and strokes or not. He stepped up and stepped back again, stepped up and stepped back again, over and over and over……. Finally, he got so that his head was almost inside, his front feet were well up the ramp and his back feet were as close as it was possible to be. I decided that was enough for today and pushed him back off the ramp so it was my choice not his, and called it quits.

On the plus side, he doesn’t rear or plunge off the ramp. He doesn’t try and push me out of the way, he just calmly steps back off again. It’s very clear that you can’t make him do anything that he doesn’t want to do!!! I will leave this now until after my holiday. With another hour I think he would have got in, I just didn’t want to spend any more time outside. It was three o’clock before I got my lunch as it was :- ) I will choose a warm dry day and start at ten and we will finish when we finish. Superhubby says he’ll bring me tea, coffee, lunch and dinner :- )

Anyway, riding wise he was strong at times today, but I tried releasing the reins when he yanked at them and he put his head down near the floor. So do you think that’s a balance thing? I also discovered that, just like Tetley, less is more with Jazz. If you push him to do anything he turns into a leaden lump of a carthorse. If you release the bit and lighten the aid, he very often lightens with you and responds much better. He is stiffer to the left than the right, like Tetley. He got some shoulder in today and was bending really well from the leg. His leg yield is brilliant. His halt is getting better every day. The turn on the forehand was better today too. The walk away from the halt is now as sharp as I could ask for. I think he is already ready for a prelim, but we will have to load him first!!!!

Tia worked well too, with some good lateral work. She finds travers particularly difficult but she tried very hard today. She seems very happy with her new bloke!

They have been going further and further out into the field each day that Jazz has been here, and tonight they were out of sight when I went to get them in. That’s the first time. I saw them well down the field as we drove home, and I wondered if they would come when they were called. They did, which is great. Jazz now happily puts himself in his stable, morning and evening. And transfers himself from stable to barn and back again without being led. He’s a lovely boy!

C