Monster!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It’s official, I own a monster. I told you that five was the worst year for behaviour and boy oh boy Jazz is trying to prove me right. I took him out for a ride because I thought it would be good for him to see all the strange snow shapes and things. He was absolutely dreadful. He tried to turn twice before we’d got down the hill. The first car we met he turned and ran for home – only to find himself face to face with an even worse one with a trailer on with horrible stuff in. I carried on, insisting that he behave.

It wasn’t the snow, it was all an excuse. We passed the sump cover of a car which had been ripped off in a snowdrift and he was worried about it but he edged past it without trying to run home. The running home is napping, not fear. When he is genuinely afraid, he looks to me for advice. When he wants to go home, he ignores me totally.

Finally, we got to our bogey bridge. He would not cross it. Even in a pelham he was turning and running for home. Twice he managed to get to the top of the hill before I could stop him and turn him and take him back down again. The third time, he just would not stop. Up the hill, along the road until we were half a mile away from the bridge. We got to a triangle, left to home, right up a steep hill. He’s never had much sense of direction at that triangle and it was easy enough to make him go up the very, very steep hill away from home. He was breathing very hard and I could have stopped him at this point but I decided to make him carry on, to prove that I was in charge. You know "if you want to canter, then canter" .

Unfortunately, at the top of the hill he got a second wind and then would not stop again. By this time, the leather curb had snapped and I had no braking or steering whatsoever. He wasn’t galloping, just a strong canter, but he wasn’t stopping for anyone or anything. Thank goodness he has no shoes on.

He carried on another half a mile, passing a car coming the other way without slowing at all – they looked horrified :-0 !! Finally, he slowed for another car coming towards us and I managed to run him into a stone wall on top of a bank and stop him. Thank goodness, because I was going to have to get off if he hadn’t stopped – we were heading towards a blind exit onto a major A road.

We walked home, me with my heart in my mouth all the way, but he is an angel when he is on the homeward part of a ride. When we got home I put him in the barn and went and fetched a curb chain. End of the nice guys, it’s chain from now on. I tried it and adjusted it until it was definitely having an effect and that’s how it will be for hacking out for the foreseeable future.

I’m fine - he was a maniac but oddly not actually especially dangerous. But I have to crack this now or he will be impossible. I thank my lucky stars again and again that he does not buck or rear, he would be unrideable. It's a good job that I like challenges, isn't it? When I've got this cracked we'll be an unbeatable partnership. I wonder how long it's going to take. Should I measure in months or years do you reckon :-) :-) :-)

C.