A round tooit

I finally got a round tooit, and did some riding today :-)

First Jazz, who warmed up nicely in walk to the right, with his lumpy hock on the outside. Shoulder in, travers, half pass all very nice. I turned him around to the other rein and he got in a right strop - refusing to walk smoothly forward and yanking hard at my hands. He was marching and tipping onto his forehand instead of using his back and bending on the corners. I was just about to give him the benefit of the doubt with the hock and tried him with shoulder in, which should have made him a lot worse. But he was much better, and kept the improvement for travers, 10 metre circles and half pass too.

So we tried a few left to right flying changes, after warming up the canter. The first one, on the diagonal, he changed behind but not in front. The second, again on the diagonal, he changed in front but not behind. The third, from counter canter around the short side he did beautifully but several strides after I asked for it. The fourth, counter canter again, he nailed on the aid. I never ask him for more than two with any one method now, I have found that it stops him tensing up to keep changing from diagonal to counter cantering the bend to counter canter a circle.

The lump on his hock now as a tiny bit of hair missing right on the front corner - it's a dreadful place to have been kicked, guaranteed to cause maximum inflammation. It's a wonder it never made him lame, but it certainly did scare us all.

Radar and I went out for a hack. He is carrying himself so much better these days, with his one-sidedness almost gone and no more walking into walls and ditches. He's also getting lovely and fit, which is just as well as our first hunt, the pre-season meet, is this Saturday coming. I can hardly wait.

C

ps I had a dead pony in the barn this morning - flat on his side, dreaming away, with the topmost eye wide open!