Oh JAZZ!!!!!

I'm trying to work out what is the best way of telling you today's story, but I guess I should just start with the test itself. It was a huge improvment. He stayed in the arena, except for one foot outside when I was concentrating on a downwards transition to walk at A and lost the direction. He wasn't trying to leave the arena at all, it was just a mis-step. He did all the transitions right where he was told, up and down. He did all the circles and turns and he halted at G, not square, but he halted. He was very excited and he didn't bend at all or produce his best paces and he scored 52% The judge said that his tension made him "appear to lack balance and bend" - ie she understood that he didn't normally lack either. Also "will improve with experience" so she knew he was young. And I was particularly pleased with "Quietly ridden" because I was actually working away like mad and it didn't show. I was out of breath when we finished and it wasn't through not breathing!!

All in all, we couldn't ask a lot more of the test itself, or the calm and forward way he warmed up. It was the bit in between that was the problem!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's set the scene. There is an arena where about ten horses are warming up at a time. 200 yards away is another arena where 3 test dressage arenas are laid out. In between the two are six barns housing 150 horses and a massive concrete yard. Jazz left the warm up arena, got half way to the test arena - froze, turned, and bolted back towards the warm-up. I managed to stop him actually getting back there, but I could not get him to the test arena and in the end Allan had to lead me there, which was fine.

After the test, I took him back to the warm-up so that I could practice leaving it. He would not. He got maybe 1/3 of the way, then he turned and bolted. The second time, he got away from me and belted across the yard, down the drive past the indoor school and straight into the warm-up arena scattering horses in all directions :-0 He didn't stop when he got in there either, he ran around madly threatening to jump the fence into the next arena over, and then when I managed to turn him away from that I seriously thought he was going to jump the five foot post and rail out onto the track to the cross country course :-0 :-0 :-0 Embarassing, frightening and absolutely %$£^%^%$ annoying behaviour. I had to ask a steward to go and fetch Allan to lead me back to the lorry, when again he was fine.

He's obviously got a terrible problem with leaving other horses, and the only thing we can do is to keep doing more of it until he gets over it. I will be hacking out as much as the weather allows, because that sets him off too, and if we can cure it at home it will certainly help.

To end on another good note, I travelled both outwards and home sat up in the cab. I still have a long rope attached to the chifney and I twitch it to stop him pawing, but he is getting better and better. Also on an up note, I turned the other two out before we asked Jazz to load. That's the first time I've tried that. He loaded brilliantly, even though he was screaming for the other two. He also loaded brilliantly to come home, and I used the headcollar but not the chifney, another first.

I know I have a lot to be pleased with but he really has upset me today. He's been to that place before and never done anything like that. I can't help being worried about him throwing in new bits of appalling behaviour like this. What will he come up with when we've cured this one!?!? And yet on the other hand I know that it is abslutely exceptional for a horse of his age and experience to warm up as calmly as he does, even when other horses are threatening to explode around him. I must focus on the good stuff, but I'm sure you'll excuse me if I'm a bit annoyed for the rest of today :-)

ps Liz, I'll check the louse powder when I go outside in an hour or so and give you the brand name in a comment. It certainly worked.