I've realized that a big part of my problem riding Izzy is that I seem to have lost the ability to really follow her motion and find myself constantly fighting against it. This is wrong on a lot of levels, not the least of which is that it makes me feel insecure and therefore lose confidence.
There. I identified a problem.
I decided that to fix the problem, I need to do something that allows her motion but limits my control. Thus, I decided to ride Izzy bareback in our hackmore in the round pen. She's fine bareback and the round pen will limit her enough that I won't freak out about being run off with. I figured I could just hop on, hang on, and ride till I seemed to get it, then lather and repeat until it works.
So far, so good.
Of course, I couldn't make it out to the barn until almost four this afternoon. Izzy had a glorious galloping bucking time out in turnout and for the first time since I've been at this barn, there was 5 (count 'em) other boarders out there. Also, one horse was loose in the round pen. I turned Izzy out in the small outdoor arena and she ran like a crazy thing. By the time the round pen was available, it was so dark and cold that I decided our new plan could wait until tomorrow.
Besides, then there will be less people around to watch me screw up. ;-)
Sounds like a plan...that didn't come together this time. Hope you get a better chance tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteLearning to sit "with" the horse can take some practice. Lunge sessions might help too as then you could forget about the reins and steering--which is why the round pen is a good option.
Would she be okay if you had someone lunge her with with in the saddle? That way you could concentrate on riding. If that is possible, you could do work without stirrups and exercises in the saddle. That would be a huge help to you.
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