Strangers in the day.

My brother's girlfriend has ridden Jazz today. She's an experienced now-and-then rider but she certainly has an electric bottom. He was twitchy but she said he felt very safe. I got to see what he looks like now and he is turning into a super looking fellow with his lovely shiny black coat. He'll be a picture in his summer gear.

He was silly with me with the haynet again. It was only on the right hand side though, as it was last time. It suddenly occurred to me that it was not the haynet that was a problem, it was raising my right arm near his head. I think it's possible that someone right-handed has walloped him around the head when they were sat in the saddle. Why they should, I have no idea, but that's what the symptoms fit. In the end I took him away from the net and kept raising my right arm until he stopped flinching. Then we went back to the net and he did it with no fuss at all.

I rode Zip, and he was superb. He was showing off how he turns with only a weight aid and no rein aid. I ran him round loose and he showed off his fabulous trot too - pretty, pretty boy!!

The weather was too foul to go out for a ride, the wind is ferocious. So Bungle got no work today because more work in the tiny barn isn't going to help him one bit. Let's hope for something a little calmer tomorrow!

C