I'm really disappointed in Nicholls over this. If Clive Smith had been promising all along that Kauto would retire to Ditcheat and had suddenly reneged on that, I could understand the reaction but there's no suggestion of anything like that. It sounds as though Nicholls has assumed/hoped that Kauto would remain at the yard (maybe has made a few rash statements to his staff along those lines, hence the aggrieved tweets?) and now that Clive has announced his plan for Kauto, the toys are sailing out of the pram.
It's lovely to see that the Ditcheat team genuinely care about the old boy but some of the comments quoted in the RP come across as a bit over-proprietorial. Plus all that "we didn't even get to say goodbye" bleating, presumably meant to make Clive Smith look bad, seems to miss or overlook the fact that it was Nicholls himself who insisted on the early departure, presumably in a fit of pique that he didn't get his own way.
In simplistic terms dressage is like Pilates or yoga for horses; it keeps them supple, teaches them to carry themselves in the most biomechanically efficient way and stimulates the brain by teaching them new exercises and movements. In that regard, it's probably no bad thing for keeping Kauto fit and active into what will hopefully be a long and healthy retirement. Just a shame that what should have been a sad-but-proud moment has been overshadowed by Nicholls's ego.
- you might be right, Ardross! 
