The best view in the world.

I stepped outside full of the joys of spring this morning to find this:

It’s not as straight as it was :-) The barn door (ten feet tall and eight feet wide) was hanging off its runners and this bar, which should have been straight, was just about holding the horses inside the barn. I have no idea who did it (except that it certainly wasn’t Ms Tia) – Jazz has been happy in there for over 3 months with no trouble, but he did test his stable door today for the first time in many, many weeks. Zip, on the other hand, has been breasting that bar ever since he arrived. Tonight they get a solid steel one, and the door bolted to the floor.

When SH had helped me break them free (the bar wouldn’t slide back, of course, so I couldn’t get them out!) I did Zip’s feet. He let me do one front one with no trouble, in the stable and not tied up. It was clear that it wasn’t going to work for any more, so I tied him up in the barn as the yard was too icy. I did both back feet with no trouble (I don’t keep them on the stand for more than a few seconds – I want it to be my choice when he puts his foot back down, so I catch him before he tries to do it for himself.) But the off fore was a completely different kettle of fish.

He was having none of it. He broke free and went back to the other two in the yard and when I went to catch him he was dragging me about and refused to leave them. I stuck the chifney on him and he reared - once – and then thought better of it and came back into the barn as meek as a lamb. He refused again to pick up the last foot and knocked me flying. He was tied with the headcollar, but also had the chifney on still, with another rope. I gave that a strong twitch, and immediately he changed. He offered the foot, put it on the stand and left it there for as long as I wanted. He’s clearly a very dominant horse (he buries the other’s poo – that’s a stallion dominance thing – my smell is more important than yours!) but he’s also quite prepared to be told how to behave. I don’t think he’s had much discipline, but he takes to it very well, which is something of a relief because he’ll be too big to manage any other way soon :-)

I took Jazz out for a ride then. It took 5 minutes to get past our bogey bridge, and in order to avoid a fight on an icy road I got him to back down most of the way. It surprised me that he fell for that trick, but it worked a treat :- ) Other than that he was a very good boy and we have done our first full "grown-up ride" all the way up to Jenkin Chapel and back.

Then I went out on Tia as well (and got the photo above), because it was just so gorgeous out there. She was fine. I hope we get more of this tomorrow. If I can get an arena, we’re taking Jazz showjump training.

C