Quickie... successful!

 Today was a long hot day but... I finished before dark and had a tiny bit of time so I decided to take Funny up to the arena and do a few minutes of in hand work. I was talking to a friend about her contact issues and she mentioned that I should do it in hand. Duh! So after they ate and had wandered off... I checked in with Mike and then grabbed her bridle and the whip and my treat pouch. She was in the middle pasture so I caught her and put her bridle on and we headed up to the arena. 

We got to the corner outside the arena and she spun and reared and got loose and took off. At first I was PISSED! It hurt my hand... and it was just rude. So I marched back down the hill and decided that I was getting my gloves and my helmet, because... clearly I needed to be better armored. But then I told myself... don't react. It's over now. She was in her stall with her reins looped over her foot, but luckily nothing broke. I walked in and untangled her and then asked her to walk out. She stopped and balked, so.. I whacked her butt with the whip. That pissed her off so she started to pull back, so I whacked her again and she came forward. I immediately released and then we walked back up to the pasture. I did a few stop and do pillar 3 moves. And she started to relax and calm down. We made it to the arena without any other attempts at escape. And perhaps it wasn't belligerance.... maybe it was a legit spook. But I sort of doubt it as there were no deer or anything that I saw and the rest of the herd was still back at the barn. But oh well. Carry on. 

We went in the arena and did a few steps of pillar 3 the other way and then I put the reins over her head and we walked around the arena with me "holding contact". It was hard to keep the contact AND allow her to stretch into it. So... we did it for a bit, but... then I was worried I was just creating a draw rein effect instead of teaching her to reach into the contact. So ... screw it. I had my helmet on... I just got on bareback. 

We did our homework from our lesson. I did walk and halt and we worked on keeping a steady connection and I widened my hands when she got behind the vertical or above the bit... and I narrowed my hands when she was reaching softly forward into the contact. Or even if she was just... softly in the contact. And it went much better today than it did yesterday in my lesson. So then I got brave and tried the trot. And, she wasn't bad. She didn't want to go as fast because I was sitting, which... helpful info! (Although I'm not sure I want to sit on her yet, but.. maybe that's not too bad of an idea).  She also fought me a little bit because when I kept the contact, she tried to stop. But we got the hang of it. And we had some decent moments. It was definitely better than our lesson. Perhaps because I was being softer... although I do still think I have contact. 

We finished with a good forward neck and a fairly decent trot. So I gave her cookies and got off. Then we walked out of the arena and I pulled her bridle off, fed her another cookie, and then turned her loose. Except she kept pace with me. And when I stopped, she stopped. No halter! Although, ha, she knew I had the cookie fanny pack on me. But I didn't give her a cookie every time... although I did give her a few more cookies. :) Good girl!

So.. we'll see what happens tomorrow. 

Kelly Lesson and Hack

 Lesson because Lyric is missing a shoe. Combative... angry... fussy.... smart. Keep the connection... move my hands side to side to keep the connection. wider hands equals more connection, hands closer together helps lengthen the reins... so when she's soft, hands together to enorouarge her to lengthen the neck. she's allowed to pull me down (if she isn't rude) to the buckle but only for the next two weeks... and only if she's not rude.  walk to halt... and stand and be soft... although don't get into a big fight about it. trot to walk... walk to trot...  Longitudinal suppleness not lateral suppleness. We've got lateral. 

then went for a hack. lovely. worked on a soft connection and did the side to side reins some and she was mostly nice. FAST and big strided but... softer in her neck and back.

photos: Combative

Wild animal Safari

 

 Today was not brutally hot. Which was amazing!! Because it has been downright miserable! However, it did rain hard at Ashland last night so the arena's were closed. Which, was probably best because my original plan was to ride Lyric at home in the am before it got too hot and then to take Funny on a hack in the woods, bareback potentially so we could splash in the lake. But, since it wasn't too miserably hot, I decided to use my saddle so we could do some trotting. And I figured if the arenas were open (Lucy posted she would update at noon) then perhaps a little flat work. But, God watched out for me. Or for Funny. ;) Lucy didn't open the arenas until after I had left. (well after noon by the way! ha!). Which was good because I really didn't need to do flat work with Funny. 

 

When I caught her at home she came up to say hi but as soon as I went to halter her she tried to run. That's sooooo not like her! Weird. But she loaded up and we got to Ashland. It was starting to get hot but still wasn't as bad as it had been. The clouds left though so it was definitely steaming up. I put the jump saddle on because... no dressage boot camp! We headed out and she was forward but not nearly as rushy as she had been previously. So maybe the microwalk work is working. We opted to hit the hills today and so we zig zagged around and found them. We did trot the gallop track and she got quicker but overall her trot felt more big than quick. It was still quick, but it wasn't as quick as it feels in the dressage arena. Maybe it's because we were out in the open so it felt slower... maybe it's because she could go bigger so it was actually slower just bigger? I don't know. But I did have to do some serious half halting and leg yields to get her barrel moving. She did feel slightly .... asymmetric when I posted on the right diagonal. Very subtle... I don't know why. That right hind has a huge hole in the medial quarter where she blew that abscess out, so maybe that's bothering her? I don't know... It kind of went away towards the end of our ride. We did lots of walking in the woods too. And we saw so much wildlife. She wasn't even spooky with them. The rocks... still spooky. Ha ha! But we saw two armadillos almost under her feet. We saw a bunch of deer. We saw a big black squirrel in the hay field that at first we thought was something bigger first. And then the ptyerdactyl flew out from underneath her nose practically! But she was good! Which was great because I was on the phone at the time! The saddle fitter from California who is a peter horrobin rep and may be able to help me sell my saddles called, so I answered!

 

We finished up the big hill and then cantered a downed log on the trail and ended up in the cross country field. We did a little bit of trot and it was harder to keep her slow and more balanced. I also cantered both ways. She was a bit more on the muscle in the XC field than out in the regular fields. But we did manage to get some nice work so I quit with that. 

 

We finished up and the arena's were still "will update at noon", so... I decided that was probably best. But we did do a few figure 8 serpentines around the trees to focus on the connection and the outside rein. And she was lovely. I was trying to focus on keeping a soft connection the whole trail ride, but... I kept having to take photos. And then was on the phone for 20 minutes or so, so... she didn't stay on contact a lot of the ride. Which is fine, but my thought was that I could encourage a soft happy contact in her happy place. 

 

 

Good girl considering

 Rode at home. cutting trees at jeans

Poplar: BN #2

 Well... not exactly how I wanted this weekend to go but a good learning experience and still fun!

First... I'm still a bit bummed it wasn't Dan that I was showing this weekend. :( But, alas... such is life. It was definitely too hot to do a full three phase and a 2nd level test, that's for sure, so there is that. 

I got up early (but luckily not too early) and fed ponies and then gave Funny a quick bath before we hauled to Poplar. We made good time and got there with enough time to check in, pee, and then give her a few minutes before I tacked up. We headed down to the arena and we were both already hot and sweaty. Luckily warm up wasn't too crowded and she was pretty good. Jacel had texted me that she couldn't coach me so we started off with some walk work. I made her do her microwalk and then we did some shoulder in. And then I hear "Let's see some trot Holly". Um... me?? Ha! Oh.. it's Jacel! She said she had a few minutes so she snuck over to coach me. Sweet! I picked up the trot and Funny was quick and braced, so Jacel had me move her barrel. She told me to bend her right and left, change direction, and not let her counterbend against me. She was using it against me. So I had to break up the resistance by getting her barrel moving and the base of her neck moving. We did lots of leg yields and shoulder ins even if it was only a few steps here and there to "break her up". And it worked. She got MUCH nicer and softer and more ridable. But then she would get quick, so then I had to slow her back down. But then she would get shuffly... so I had to encourage her to move forward but not run. Ha ha!! Easy, right? But actually... it worked. I was able to feel when she was too quick, not balanced, or braced and mostly... I was able to get her to settle back into a nice trot. Good girl!!! She became much more ridable. So then I asked to canter and... holy cow... it was a LOVELY canter... so soft and uphill and balanced feeling! OOOOHHHH!! And then our trot after wasn't bad either. Okay baby girl... way to show up! We took a breather and then Jacel had to leave so after a bit, I picked the trot back up again. And she got quick again but I was able to do the things and get her dialed back in to a nice trot again. We played with another canter or two and then a halt and then it was our turn. 

We headed over and did some leg yielding down the rail to help her balance. We got into the arena for our test and.... it got tight. She stayed small but it was too small. Well.. ha, maybe not. I'm used to turbo trot, so maybe it wasn't too small/tight, but.. it felt too conservative. She felt... a little behind my leg. I wanted to push her forward but... when I asked even so slightly she felt like she wanted to go up in the air. And there was one moment where she started slinging that hind end around and I thought we were going to have a "disobedience" but she held it together. She did all the things... and it was a better test that the last time. I thought. But it was definitely too tight and small. We scored a 36.2... with most of the comments about our inconsistent connection. Fair enough. She was chompy and fussy. But that's okay. That's been our issue. At least she was ridable and not running while she was chompy and fussy. We'll eventually get it. I think, and maybe I'm wrong, but I think that once I can get her a bit more balanced and carrying herself vs running, she can get more consistent in the contact and then I can push her into a nice connection vs having to hold her or have her bounce around so much. But we'll see. Maybe I'm doing it all wrong and she'll never learn connection because I'm not asking for enough contact, but... I just.. really want to keep her soft and reaching... although my way isn't exactly making her soft either, so... ??? 

We headed back to the trailer and untacked. I gave her cookies and a rinse and then let her snack for a few on the tall grass. Then she loaded back up and I turned on the fans and hung her big fan and told her to behave while I took the bike and went to go "walk" cross country. And holy cow... the footing SUCKED! My back is so jacked up from riding the bike. It was like riding the scream machine. I think it's been so wet and so many horses schooled yesterday and then the ground got hard and "froze" all divoted up. I also rode the course twice because I wanted to make sure I didn't get lost becuase it took me forever to find fence 4 initially. It was in the woods in a sneaky little hole that was hard to see! Thank goodness for the bike but jeepers.. my back is gonna pay for that! The course was not soft... but not terrible. Fence 1 was easy but shared with novice. Fence 2 was after a steep downhill to a steep uphill and slightly offset. Then fence 3 was a fairly decent sized cabin on a downhill and... while it should have been a gallop fence, that was where you then had to go into the woods, so.. you couldn't really gallop it. Then you went in the woods and as you were exiting the woods into the daylight, there was a cabin. There was only a slight out to the right and the footing was pretty mucky before it. So that one was going to be a bit tricky to navigate. Then a sharp right turn to avoid a training cabin and straight down the hill, then back up the hill, then right turn to a cabin, then down a diagonal hill with a roll back to the left uphill to the brush fence. Which... I'm pretty sure has been flagged novice before! And that turn was rude! Then straight ahead to a tiny little drop, but the drop had a log on top. But honestly, it looked like just a log on the ground until you were on top of it and only then did you realize it was a drop. But it was tiny. Then a bendy line to a small bench. Then a cabin and then a ditch, but not really a half coffin. Then another big table, then right turn into the water and out over the canoe. Then a bendy line to a corner!! Okay, maybe it was a wedge... but still! Then along the tree line to a cabin, then downhill to a hanging log on a platform thing... then uphill to the train station. So... a fun course.. nothing huge... but plenty of decent sized tables and some really tricky lines. 

Funny and I hung out and I let her graze a bit and then we got tacked back up for stadium. I had watched the course a few times but didn't walk it. We headed down to warm up and she was balky going down there again. (She did that going to dressage too). We went sideways a good bit, but luckily never up in the air. We walked a bit and then picked up the trot and she was very ridable! Then we picked up a lovely canter. YAY! I could get used to this canter! We popped over a few fences with Jacel coaching us. The first one was great. The second one I lifted my hands and ended up hollowing her out over it. So then I was reminded to keep my hands low and it helped a lot. We had about 4 good jumps and decided that was plenty. We headed over to the ring and waited our turn. The course was nice. It was smallish... Or normal. Not massive. And it was a lot of bent lines with some square turns but nothing tricky. Basically inside, inside, inside, inside, outside. So off we went. And she was lovely! It was one of our smoother rounds. There was two jumps were I thought we just got bad distances too but the rest she jumped out of stride and nicely. Jacel said that it would have been a good distance but I tipped/rolled my shoulders at her and tipped forward just ever so slightly, which was just enough to drop her on her forehand and mess up our distance. Oh... But she pointed out that I kept my leg on and didn't fall too far forward and I kept my hands low and it was only two jumps. So yay!! We ended up going clean although we had one hard rub.

It was so hot and she was sweaty and panty so we headed back up and I pulled her bridle off. I was hoping that I could just give her some water (not that she'd drink) and go back and jump XC and be done. BUT... I had an hour and a half and they weren't running that far ahead. But it worked out. I untacked her, hosed her off, and let her graze some. She really doesn't like to drink from her bucket, even with the handimash. BUT... she did drink straight from the hose a little bit. Just like her brother! So funny how similar they are. I'm not sure she's seen him do that either necessarily. Weirdos! 

So then we chilled by the fan. And I started feeling odd. I knew I needed to eat and drink since I had only had one water since 5:45 am! I drank a Dr. Pepper but... just felt like maybe I would pass out. It was so hot and humid. There was some cloud cover here and there which helped but it was just... miserable. Real feel of 100 degrees. So I just sat in the shade... then sat in front of Funnys' fan some. And drank another water. And that helped. But dangit.. I didn't spend this money, drive 2 hours, and tough it out for dressage and stadium to NOT run XC!! So.. I tacked up and started to feel a little better. I figured I'd warm up and see. And by the time I got down there I was okay. We didn't really do any warm up because... she'd already warmed up and it was so hot. So we cantered 3 XC fences to warm up and she was perfect to them all! So... then we waited our turn in the shade. 

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, have a great ride! And we were off. She jumped the first two like a rock star! Then I balanced her and we jumped the big table off a slight chip but it was fine. We got into the woods and she totally backed off and trotted. I knew I should have cantered her at the bench, but I was afraid that she would have a weak canter or a stupid runny trot/tranter, so I just pushed for a strong trot. Of course she stopped. It was looky. It was dark to light... the footing sucked... I don't blame her. She just didn't quite understand it. We circled and came again and she wasn't thrilled but she managed to get over it. Good girl! Then we headed down the hill at a power trot which was jarring, so I asked her to canter. And she did.. but then she jumped the gravel spot and then bucked. No ma'am! We galloped up the hill and then settled for the cabin. However, then she went careening down the hill, and basically threw that right shoulder out, and... I knew there was NO WAY we were going to make that jump...but there was the tree line so there wasn't really any good way to collect ourselves short of slamming on the brakes, which... probably wasn't an option at this point because... I didn't have brakes! I tried but we ended up overshooting it and then coming back at an angle, almost parallel to it. So of course she didn't jump it! So we reapproached and she did it the second time. Good girl. She jumped the little bank just fine, and then the bench. The cabin was great and then she flew over the ditch. I was like "Um... there's a ditch baby girl!". Then she jumped the big table great and then trotted into the water. She didn't squirt sideways, just came to the trot, so yay! Progress. The canoe was no big deal and she didn't even flinch at the "corner". Then she jumped the next jump and then went FLYING down the hill. I did manage to do a massive half halt and back her off so that we could balance to the second to last fence and then we had a nice canter up the hill to finish over the train jump. She cantered through the finish line and kept cantering for a moment. So... I made her walk me most of the way home. Ha! 

I'm a little disappointed that we had two stops but I had to remind myself... this is her second BN ever. Only her 4th show (I think). She's only 5. She was brave and bold and jumped the stew out of most of the course. The first stop was legitimate. It was a hard question and a fairly sizable bench/staircase. The second stop was my fault for not giving her a better ride/approach. And quite frankly, she didn't get to school the course yesterday like many others did. So... two stops is not too shabby at all!! 

She got another rinse off, drank some more from the hose, and then a little snack. Then I packed up and then Julia brought Player over for me to haul home. It was easier for me than Jacel to take him home so we did. Thank goodness I tied Funny and tied her fairly short. She tried to chew on him the whole way home! Doh! Feral beasty!!

She drank a big long drink when we got home and after a bit I gave her dinner. She only ate half, but... long day. Hopefully she'll eat her whole meal tomorrow morning at breakfast. I bet she'll sleep tonight too! Oh, and we did end up with a pretty green ribbon. Hee hee. Doh! We'll get there... she's gonna be amazing soon! And not just in reality.. but also amazing on paper!

Mad but trying.

 Good girl. good flat ride at home

saw deer with three fawns playing in the field near the horses

photos: Mad but good and sunset and fireflies and watching me mow

Doug Payne Clinic

 Well... the lunging helped a lot! I stayed on. And minimal bucking. :) 

 

And we had fun and learned a good lesson. Funny is ready to work! She was happy to be caught and loaded right up without me having to even ask. The clinic was held at Silver Seas Farm in Monticello, which is an easy 30 minute haul. And this is the place that wants to build a XC course too! YAY! Another close fun pony place. We got there and I took a quick tour of the place and then Funny and I hung out for a bit before we tacked up. The gnats were bad so lots of fly spray and OFF and we were both happy. I tacked up and got on and we walked around the front of the property for a minute. Then Jacel joined us and we hacked out to the 35 acre soon to be XC field. It was a short little hack. Then we hacked back and went to warm up in the arena. Funny was slightly feral. There were two little bucks and then two separate little scoots. But that was it. She was quick though. We didn't bother cantering (well not on purpose). Then Doug came in and we introduced ourselves. He asked me "Why Appaloosas?". I was like... "Some days I really question myself!!" ha ha. 

 

We started out one a time and did a fun course. It was four groundpoles that we had to trot through and he had us circle until it was good. It took us quite a few circles. SLOWER!!! Ha. So then he let us carry onto the course. It was two little cavalettis in a line... then you circled right to a small vertical, then another small cavaletti with a tight 4 stride turn to two bounce cavalettis, then around the corner to a 3 jump grid with placing poles. And oh my! Funny ran through the first line, jumped the vertical, ran through the cavaletti, and barely skipped over the bounce cavalettis. She did manage to get through the grid without destroying it but she was way too quick! I also realized that her bit was a hole too low as it was set for Lyric. And then Doug went ahead and put my reins on the hook too. Which royally pissed Funny off! We did it again and it was marginally better so then Doug called me over to him. He told me to take pressure and hold it until she slowed down. He held the reins and asked about how much pressure I had been riding with. I showed him and he was like "Okay... take more if this is not slowing her down... but don't throw it away... don't bounce around.. keep a steady contact". Okay. I can do that. So then we did it again and it was kind of better. She was flinging her head around though cause she was Mad!!! The audience was laughing at her. 

So then he changed it up. We did something similar but added two massive high X's in a one stride and then added an oxer which was slightly offset from the grid. And because the fences got put up a bit, Funny got a little better still. Doug had me try to trot in the line. Ha ha. Nope! Maybe once it worked. So then he reminded me that... she's young.. it's understandable, but she's just flinging herself around taking flyers. I need to keep a firm hold/connection... and firmer if she's running... to show her that she has to sit and rock back and use herself. It is better to have her chip in and jump from a rocked back balance than to throw herself at it or get past her distance but be on the forehand. And that for now... I'm almost trying to bury her.. but that eventually, we will allow her to be bolder. But she needs to learn to get deep too and use herself. And that means I have to still keep a connection over the fence. Okay.. got it. And.. it really kind of got better. Especially in the turns. She was actually getting quite ridable and soft and I could soften the reins and she stayed very uphill and balanced! Ooooh!!

So then he upped the fences again and changed the course again. This included the oxer off the grid, slightly offset, and then a one stride, and some bendy lines. So off we went. The first time through I held and got left behind and she took a flyer anyways. The second time I held and she chipped and scrambled and Doug said that I could let her jump out of stride... just try to not let her take massive flyers. Okay, but... you said.....  So in my brain... Insist on correct and balanced and teach her to sit and rock back when it's small. When they get big, I can be a little less strict on how close to the base she gets. I can be more allowing. BUT... I need to be insistent on the little things so that she learns how to use her body better. So, we did that and finished with a pretty nice course. Although I could tell she was getting tired. It was so hot and humid. And the arena footing was a bit slick in spots and she slid a tiny bit in a few places.  So I was glad when we finished on a nice note. 

 

 

 

We got voted "Most improved". ha ha! Easy to do when you're on a feral dragon. ;) But I'm really proud of her. It was a new place, new trainer, new horses in the arena, and.. she's had a week off. And we were in the novice group. And she tried. She was mad... but she really did try and it was successful. She did become more ridable and more balanced. It was hard for her, and it got harder as she got tired but she was trying. And we were giggling because she was watching the others go and studying. :) 

 

She got hosed off and I let her graze a bit and then she got sprayed again for flies and I had her tied at the trailer eating hay while I watched the last group. She was good and hung out and didn't complain. Good pony!

So... I guess I'll take her to Poplar this weekend instead of Dan. But we definitely will not be doing that 2nd level test. ;) 

Lunge to deferal

 on thin ice. kicked dan when I brought him home yesterday.. right in the stifle. BAD! 

worried about them yesterday and so hot... didn't ride. today worked too much and was too hot and tired, so.. lunged because we have the doug payne clinic tomorrow and haven't ridden in a week?? 5 days at least. 

lunged nicely. a little feral and let out one huge buck, but then settled. too hot to be too rowdy. hopefully this will help for tomorrow.

Progress... very slight progress

 I am embracing things today. I am embracing the fact that it's "staycation" and I slept in a little and then spent a few hours with Mike. We rode the Triumph to Lake Oconee for brunch and took the scenic route there and back. We also got dippin dots on the way home. Then I was planning to take Dan to Ashland and jump with Julia since our lessons were cancelled this week. But that meant that I didn't quite have enough time to ride both girls. But that's okay. I'm embracing vacation. And it was so hot and steamy that... I actually ended up planting some seeds my friend gave me first... I debating riding either girl because... quite frankly, Lyric worked hard at the show and doesn't really "need" a dressage ride at home at the moment. And Funny is just so hard in dressage... and my plan of not focusing on dressage in the arena only works if I can get to Ashland... it's kind of hard to not focus on dressage when I'm riding at home. Especially since it's empty right now so I could drag. But... I was thinking that while I was hoping to ride both girls tomorrow... I'm also going to be gone for 4 days... which, they probably deserve a vacation too, but... alas.. I ended up riding Funny at home. I figured maybe we could just do some microwalking and in hand work. I don't know. Maybe I temporarily forgot that I was not going to focus on dressage... ha ha!

 

So, we tacked up, walked up to the arena and then did our pillar walking. We also practiced the half halt rock back before we initiated the walk. Then I pulled a pole out and we straddled it and she walked forward straddling the pole the whole way til the very end! Good girl! We did slow incremental steps...not just a big marching walk. So then we tried to side pass it. She did okay with it and going right was way easier than going left. But she managed it with only a little bit of struggle and tantrum. So then I got on. 

 

We walked and practiced some microwalking. She's really getting good at that! Then we did some leg yields and some shoulder in and haunches in. And then we half passed. And... it wasn't terrible. She's much stiffer haunches in to the left so the left half pass is harder. But... for just introducing it, she got the idea and we managed an acceptable version at times. Good girl. So then I trotted. And.... I was pleasantly surprised! She was actually quite nice. I tried very hard to keep a soft feel without letting the reins flop but only the softest of feels because anymore than that and she curls behind the vertical or we hang on each other. I also tried riding with my thighs and thinking of just... tightening myself up... making myself less flowy. And.. it seemed to work. She had quite a nice trot that felt more balanced on the hind end. Yay! We even played a tiny bit with letting her get big across the diagonal. She's definitely stiffer tracking left and I had to do more ten meter circles to the left than to the right. But that's okay. We took another walk break and then I tried a canter. And, the canter is just big and quick. I tried to sit... and tried to shrink it a little but.. not sure I accomplished anything. I did manage to keep it from getting bigger and we did some 12-15 meter circles to help. She was fussy in the bridle though and kept flinging her head. I tried more outside rein... more elbow movement... sitting deeper... but not sure anything really helped. But it wasn't terrible. So then we went back to trotting and of course, it was a bit rowdier. I managed to get a decent trot and then we went back to walk.

 

My thought was to distract her from the canter excitement and to put her brain to work. Except.. it backfired! We started out okay going to the right, but then when I tried to go left she had a tantrum.. or panicked... She just kind of overreacted and tried to blow through my aids and go the other way... then tried to fly forward. So.. we had a few moments of arguing and it wasn't pretty. I probably should have managed that differently rather than meet her explosiveness with increasing my aids. But... I did. I eventually got her to simmer down and just walk over the pole.. then just stand over the pole... then we walked off and then moved sideways away from the pole. Then we did it over the pole and called it a win even though she was flying sideways and kicking the pole some. Note to self... don't do it like that next time! Doh. 

We went back to the trot and got some nice work again though! We even played with shoulder in on the long sides again. Then we did a halt and... man... don't go there yet Holly! ha ha. Of course she would NOT stand still, so... we had to sit there and dance and jig and spin until she finally stood for 2 seconds. Then we did a few more walk to halts and she started to settle. We finished with a trot to halt and she wiggled for a split second and then stood so I released her and called it quits. I did make her stand at the gate too though when we went through it. But then we had a nice hack through the pasture and we found Dan's shoe! Yay!

 

Sorry pony... that wasn't really the plan but I do feel like we made some progress!! Baby steps... soooo many baby steps! After my ride (I think.. my brain is tired) I read something about how we shouldn't wait til the horse does something to move our bodies.... we need to move ourselves first. Which... made sense. I did play with that today... with the whole inhale to initiate the upward transition... hold myself in my core to slow her speed... almost hold my breath to initiate a downward transition. Swoop my hips over in the half pass and leg yield to guide her vs just shoving her with my leg. (But.. ha!! Remember that with the side pass Holly!). So I need to remember this more specifically next ride. Maybe that will create more harmony.

 

And side note.... I finished my ride with her and had a few minutes to chill before leaving with Dan. And then checked the weather. I tried to brave it and had Dan loaded up and my friend called and was like "It's hailing and bad... I probably wouldn't bother coming", so... I didn't get to ride Dan. Sure enough the temps dropped about 20 degrees and the wind picked up and then the storm hit.