I need to remember that Funny was quick and running and sassy before the ulcer/angry ovary, so... the fact that she's not planting/bucking/rearing/kicking out/squealing is a fabulous sign. And the fact that she's still quick and runny and not wanting to be slow and steady... is normal. For her. Although there is part of me that wonders now.... is it because she hurts? But... everyone who has watched her go says no. Kelli said her hocks and stifles were articulating wonderfully and making her jealous. Jacel said she's jumping even and great. Laura didn't see anything. So I think I'm just paranoid. I think she's just a sassy teenager who wants to go fast and do it her way. And quite frankly, that's exactly how Dan was. And kind of still is. :) As am I. BUT... I will definitely keep it in the back of my mind.
Today we rode at home because I wanted to do ground work. I figured that maybe I have been slacking and part of her struggles is that she's not as developed in her thoracic sling as I wanted. And I thought about bribing her with cookies and rewarding good behavior. I honestly also thought that maybe I could come up with some sort of plan to encourage her to lift and go slow under saddle without having to resort to my usual tactics, but I couldn't quite come up with anything. But, I definitely think I need to do some more groundwork. I think it was hard because I couldn't ride Dan or Lyric, so Funny got bumped up too quickly and our groundwork fell by the wayside. So.. back to it!
We walked up to the arena and did some pillar walking. And then we did turn on the forehand and turn on the haunches. And... she sat back and did it lovely. So she got cookies. And then, I probably should have done more, but I didn't. I got on. And we had a good ride. She was squirrely once but then she settled. I tried very hard to be soft and quiet and out of her face. Oh, and I put the maria bit back in, vs the oskar, just in case the oskar was pinching her still. We did our square turns and we did some of the pole exercises. And if she got too fast and I couldn't get her to slow down nicely, I just came down to a walk or a halt. And when she was super good, she got a cookie. She was still a bit stressed and chompy, like usual, but... she was better! We had a pretty decent ride and got some good moments. I'm also realizing that if I shorten my reins a hair, she seems to be better in her back and posture then when I have longer reins. And it's still a soft contact but her posture is better. Except, sometimes she gets too round and goes behind the vertical. And I do keep remembering to push my hands forward. I think it's more that when my reins are too long, I have to ride backwards with my hands sometimes whereas when they are shorter, I can send my hands forward more easily. So I'll keep playing with it. I need to get the pivo out so I can see what it actually looks like too.
We cantered some too and her canter was SUPER big, but... I did manage to wheedle it down a bit. And her downward transitions were pretty good too. We even did some leg yielding at the trot too. And that helped our downward transitions not go from big canter to super big trot.
I was quite proud of her today. I think my mindset change helped too. I wasn't so frustrated or aggravated and was able to be calmer.
The only thing that aggravated me today was that it feels like my saddle is slipping on her a bit. I couldn't tell if I was crooked, if the girth was loose and she was throwing me around, or if I was throwing her around because I'm crooked....?? I don't know what that means... if anything. I'm trying not to be paranoid that the saddle doesn't fit her and/or is bothering her. But she liked it before so.... ???
We hacked back home via the road and I tried to take her to the lake to give her a cool off hack. She started to stare as we got close to the lake and then I saw the buzzards. Oh yeah... there was a big flock of them the other day... I'm sure there's something dead there. So I didn't push the issue. We just turned around before she even got stressed.
She got another vinegar bath and got turned back out.
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