Because... Funny. :)
This morning we had a lesson with Jacel. And she came to the house today to teach, which was nice. We ended up postponing it by 30 minutes AND not riding at Ashland like originally planned so I suddenly had more time than I expected. Which meant... I overbooked and was then running later than I wanted. I went out to catch her at 8:10 and they were up by the arena. Ugh. I caught her and headed back to the barn. The other kids stayed up by the arena. Well... I guess Funny got mad about that because halfway home she reared up and spun and took off. I wasn't expecting it. Sigh... dammit! I went and caught her easily enough and got a few steps and she tried to balk. So I growled at her and we carried on. And she did it again and got loose again. UGHHHHH. And then Lyric got riled up and took off and then of course Dan did too. No Dan.. you're not supposed to be stupid!!! Luckily it was short lived and he looked somewhat decent. (no faceplanting at least). Funny let me catch her again so this time I was serious. I kept her close and made her stop and do her pillar stuff. I made her move her feet instead of letting her decide. And I guess it worked because she dropped her head and walked politely to the trailer.
We tacked up kind of quick because now I was running a bit behind. But somehow we managed to get into the arena right on time. We talked for a bit while we walked around and she stopped and balked a tiny little bit but some bumps got her moving. She did stop and snuggle with Jacel. Everyone thinks she's so sweet... and she is... but she's also in your bubble. So I need to be aware of that and the whole dominance thing.
We picked up the trot and she had me slow the tempo a hair. We were doing a circle to the left and I mentioned how it's so hard for me to not try to cross my left hand over the neck because she was falling in. So we stopped and talked and she reminded me that she needed to bend around my inside leg and stretch the outside (right) side of her body. She is tight there... probably because I am tight there and creating it, but.. So we broke it down... theory talk for me and then Jacel grabbed Funny and we learned "follow your nose". Which I remember doing with Lyric now, but I don't think I did it with Funny. And... basically... if you turn their nose in a nice bend... their body should follow. So inside leg... OPENING inside rein... and follow your nose. And while she was stiffer to the left, she got the hang of it and developed a nice full body bend. We talked about how straight lines with babies is actually not great because they aren't using their bodies effectively.
So then we went to centerline and she had me walk half circle figure 8's all down centerline in 10ish meter circles... Follow your nose... now change the bend and follow your nose... now change the bend and follow your nose. And it worked! But I also had to work on my body. Open that left rein and bring my elbow back. Keep contact... don't throw away the outside rein either though. Sit with my left hip and left shoulder back. I want to twist the left side of my body so far forward, so no wonder she can't bend left. But... we got it. And it was haphazardous and tenous because... she's young. But she got the hang of it!
We gave her a breather and then picked up the trot and tried it again. But with larger circles. And again, over time... she settled into it and it got smoother and better. And she started to relax.... and her anxious chomping just turned into chomping.... and then chewing. Her mouth never got quiet but at least it wasn't so violent. And she got softer in the connection.. and my reins got longer because I wasn't feeling like I needed a death grip. I relaxed because she relaxed and vice versa. And she got more upright and straight.. and stopped falling in on me as much. And she got softer in her bend and body. We are "gymnastizing" her body.. stretching both the right and left side. It was a great exercise!
After another rest we picked up the canter. And we just cantered a circle. But I rode it the same as if I was still doing my serpentines (in my body position) and it was awesome. We had the best canters we've gotten yet. I was able to start to sit a bit. And she relaxed. The first time we went left she picked up the right lead and then swapped clean to the correct lead! Whooo hoo!! However... ha! She's so roly poly that at one point she was throwing her shoulder out to go "back home to her friends" and I was having to really focus on my body position and I guess sit to the outside... and my saddle started tipping. It probably slid a few inches off to the side. ugh... Funny.... I'm sorry! We resituated and went back to it, but... I'm going to have to figure out a girth for her that helps her saddle stay in place better!
After we cantered a few times we took another breather and then trotted a tiny vertical with two placing poles. And she was lovely. She had fun. And she hasn't bucked/bene naughty on landing yet! We quit with that.
Good girl!!! It was definitely one of our best rides yet and we have another tool in the tool box. Plus I am really starting to be cognizant and thus, fixing, my body position and that awful twist a bit better! Yay!
No photos because we were running a little late and then working hard.
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