Character building.

Jazz is relaxed, happy and flexible after his exertions of yesterday. He was doing effortless shoulder in and travers as a warm-up exercise this morning. I did a little faster/slower walk and called it quits. We did do a bit of in hand work too :-) - they had played with the tap overnight and it had dripped a bit. I dug it out at the bottom to turn it off at the stopcock, which left a bit of damp floor right in the track. It obviously smelt odd, from the noises he was making and the way he was snuffling at it, and it was ruining our schooling because he didn't want to stay on the track and walk over it. I got off and led him over it, keeping him against the wall by holding out the whip. I had to stand directly in front of him and walk backwards with him following me.

Now, don't play this at home folks! It's not a game I would play with Zippy, because he would simply run straight over the top of me to get away. But Jazz never pushes at a human, even in his worst moments loading he always pulled away and did not run people down. Anyway, it worked almost straight away.

Talking of loading, we had him on board and in his restraints yesterday when someone walked a horse past outside. Jazz jumped as if he was going out of the window - the lorry was rocking madly from side to side. The ropes held, and he was immediately quiet again. Every time we are just getting complacent and thinking that he doesn't need the ropes any more, he does something like this to remind us never to trust him!
It's months and months since he did it last!

Zippy's character is developing. I decided to try shoulder in and travers today, just in walk. The shoulder in was a piece of cake. As was the travers on the right rein. But on the left rein - no way! Outright refusal to even try. He is very different from Jazz in that respect. He does not try to work out what you might want, he just grinds to a halt, (together with grinding his teeth!) and then hops up and down with his front legs (not a rear, just an inch off the floor). I worked on it quietly and used the wall to block him and get the idea of some sideways stepping with his hind legs, then stopped when I felt that he had at least tried for me. It wasn't a travers, but it was enough for today.

When I came to put his rug on, Zippy had lost his manners today. He was standing in the doorway watching Jazz. I said "back", a command he knows perfectly well, and he ignored me. I said more sharply "Zippy, back" and he ignored me. I punched him lightly - in the side - with my knuckles and without me saying another word, guess what he did? Yup, he backed up - so he knew all the time what I wanted and was just waiting to see whether I was serious or not. On the quiet, he really is quite a dominant horse!


C.