We had a lovely ride this morning. The arena was freshly groomed for a clinic later on, but we were the only ones out. Again, I just let the reins be really long and the contact really soft. We just went freely forward and it was great. Izzy didn't even think about stopping in either of her sticky spots.
This leads me to believe that a large part of our problem was caused by me letting her meander around and get behind m leg. Nuts.
I was talking to a rider getting ready for the clinic on my way out, and mentioned how well Izzy was doing. She made a comment about how she wishes she could just work on her horse, but the focus always seems to be on her. It was meant as a sideways compliment, but I don't think she really understands where we're at. This lady is a very competent rider and horsewoman. I have lots of a respect for her. She's old enough to be able to afford horses, but young enough to still be a good rider. I, on the other hand, don't have much money, so I mostly work Izzy on my own. I have trouble judging my own equitation, so I know that when we are able to take more lessons, my form will be crucified.
Oh well. I'm looking forward to a lesson on Wednesday, hopefully a trail ride Friday, and maybe another lesson next week on an older, trained horse. I hope all your weekends are just as nice as mine.
So far my weekend has started out well too. Lovely weather here.
ReplyDeleteSo often, if we adopt a positive mental...forward attitude, it carries through to our horses. I chicken out challenging Tucker because he can be explosive, but Izzy sounds as if she had a much better attitude than he does. As a trainer I knew once said, "Just ride the horse and stop fussing about it!" Not bad advice when you act on it. *S*
So who was teaching the clinic? Something you could do or not? Did you watch? You can learn things that way too.
Don't worry about the fact that you're working on Izzy right now and not taking lessons due to budget constraints. Tucker and I took the same path and it's turning out ok. I was a broke law student until he was 4, and even during my first year out didn't have a whole lot of funds, so I did mostly everything myself until he was 5. And yeah, when I could finally afford a year ago to move him to a real show barn and take lessons with a great trainer, my position got crucified -- and it's still under construction. But Tucker got a good start with lots of attention and analysis on my part, and sounds like Izzy is getting the same. I think you're doing great with her. Hope the stiffness is starting to go away.
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