Well - the excitement is building up..... We went to Cheltenham yesterday and the reality hit somewhat, and for the first time I felt seriously nervous - not so much about Jake's ability, as we know he loves the track, the fences and the big occasion, but the fact that there will be 23 other horses in the same race, and all going out to win at any cost. Exciting but scary stuff. After Cheltenham we were invited to supper with Jake's breeder, Chubb Castle and his lovely wife, Sally, they also had some friends who come every year to Cheltenham and stay with them and have done for forty years. They were great fun and all very excited about watching Jake run on Friday.
However, on Monday night we thought that "the dream was over" (to quote Doug), when Jake had a bout of colic and was lying down in his stable groaning. We called the vet, and were told that the only thing they could give him to make him better would probably show up in the blood if he raced. It was terribly stressful and our only hope was to walk him around in the hope that he would get better, otherwise he would have to be treated and we wouldn't have been able to run him. We think the reason why he got colic was because it was such a bitterly cold day and he had been clipped and had a visit from the chiropractor, so had spent some time without his rugs on and got cold. Also it was the first day for the entire season that he hadn't been turned out so that could have been a contributing factor as he has never had colic before - As luck would have it he got better on his own with lots of walking but it was fairly stressful at the time!
Jay came back from New Zealand today - great to have her back and to have an extra hand around the yard.
We also had two more contributions to the drop pot on Monday when Rosie, who was feeling very well, bucked Pete off and then Mickey who was riding Eeyore also got dumped. Rosie cantered off to graze in a quiet corner but Eeyore looked horrified at what he had done and just stood there looking down at his stricken pilot. All fine though and Rosie was as good as gold today.
However, on Monday night we thought that "the dream was over" (to quote Doug), when Jake had a bout of colic and was lying down in his stable groaning. We called the vet, and were told that the only thing they could give him to make him better would probably show up in the blood if he raced. It was terribly stressful and our only hope was to walk him around in the hope that he would get better, otherwise he would have to be treated and we wouldn't have been able to run him. We think the reason why he got colic was because it was such a bitterly cold day and he had been clipped and had a visit from the chiropractor, so had spent some time without his rugs on and got cold. Also it was the first day for the entire season that he hadn't been turned out so that could have been a contributing factor as he has never had colic before - As luck would have it he got better on his own with lots of walking but it was fairly stressful at the time!
Jay came back from New Zealand today - great to have her back and to have an extra hand around the yard.
We also had two more contributions to the drop pot on Monday when Rosie, who was feeling very well, bucked Pete off and then Mickey who was riding Eeyore also got dumped. Rosie cantered off to graze in a quiet corner but Eeyore looked horrified at what he had done and just stood there looking down at his stricken pilot. All fine though and Rosie was as good as gold today.
