Wheeeeeeee!

We have five weeks to go before Jazz's possible first event, so I thought it was time to sharpen up his fitness a bit. I went up onto a neighbour's fairly big fairly flat field and did a four minute canter to the left. When we stopped he was hardly out of breath, and not breathing very fast either. I was going to walk for five minutes but he only needed three, if that, and we set off again to the right for another four minutes. That'll have done his breathing and fitness a lot of good - and he was jolly happy about it too! He doesn't pull, he just sets into a rythmn and keeps on and on going. Not like Tetley , who once had the entire bit ring in his mouth because I was having to haul him away from the five foot high stone wall that he had set his heart on jumping :-00000 !!

I rasped his front feet after that, and they are looking very nice. The horn that developed after the operation has reached the floor at his heels, so they are now much stronger than they were. As they provide even more support, I expect the concavity, which has been steadily increasing over the winter, to go up another notch. His feet are already lovely, they will end up absolutely superb.

I took Zippy onto the outdoor arena and we had our first canter out there, after a warm-up. He struck off correctly to the right and we cantered nicely. Then it started to rain really nasty sharp drops of rain. He was a very good boy, and carried on working and was only slightly distracted. I asked him to canter left and he did an almighty kick-back that nearly got me off! I never punish a kick-back on a canter transition, because they usually only do it because they are unbalanced. I brought him back and asked again and he got it nicely, correct leg. We cantered one side and then stopped because the rain was painful; needle sharp and cold.

George let me pick his feet out this morning in the barn - the first time since he arrived so he's getting the idea. He's had a well deserved day off. He's done so much in a week, but he seemed to really enjoy himself. I am seriously thinking of hunting him half way through March. We'd have such fun!

C