Purple Power

Sorry for the double update but the previous post was a Then & Now photo op - this update will also have photos (yay) and a bit of an update - will probably get long - apologies in advance!

First up another mini-before & after lol, of the state of Kika's stable when I got to the barn this afternoon...I swear she thinks she's a bird and required a nest!

Before:

After

Please don't think me a mean owner...she has another pile of hay in a corner off screen/camera! All of the hay on the first picture was salvaged!

In other news our week was pretty quiet as I tweaked my back a bit last weekend so pessoa lunged Sunday, walker & loose lunged on Monday. Tuesday I was good and rode...although did 20mins work with her in tack on the lunge prior to getting up as I wasn't sure how my back was doing...rode for a further 20mins then in walk and trot - back was alright.
Wednesday she spent in the walker as I'd arranged to meet a friend that i hadn't seen for a few months for dinner. Thursday i lunged her with only her headcollar and just wanted her to move and run to blow off some steam - she is a lazy creature and does no more than deemed necessary! I did more runnning after her than she did on the end of the lunge! Thankfully it was just the two of us in the arena - no witnesses, ;)

Friday (yesterday) I popped her on the walker for a bit while i sorted her stable and got our gear ready. Tacked her up in the dressage saddle and then spent a further 10mins hand walking her around the arena as she was in funny form when i first went in. Hopped up and worked away for 30ish mins in walk/trot/canter - circles/figures of 8/serpentines with and without volts etc etc

Saturday (today) was GP saddle day and L had offered yesterday to help me out - so I said i would like to do some pole work. Our fellow friend N and another girl A on a haflinger pony also joined our pole work session.
All went really well with regard the trotting poles themselves...our canter is again after going to pot!
When L helped me last saturday she highlighted the fact that i was being too severe with my hands in canter and to be softer on the reins when cantering...result is that now Kika seems to be incapable of cantering in any form that does not resemble a three-legged giraffe looking outwards - so like an awkward S.
Back to the drawing board for this one methinks!
However L did say that our trot work has come on in leaps and bounds and is looking very good - so much so that towards the end of our pole session she actually started to work from behind and engage her backside! HAPPY DAYS!
Now to try and get this to happen more frequently and in such a way that i can learn to recognise and feel it when she is working correctly so that I can know when we are not and strive for better!

Don't worry - when I promised pictures, I didn't mean only of the mess Kika keeps her room in, :p

Here are a few snapshots I took of Miss K as I got her ready for our spin and is the inspiration for this posts title!

Impatient as always

Abashed after being told off for stamping

Proper Purple Poser!

I also snuck a sneaky snap of O's "knight" fleece rug - it's the one I wanted for Kika but they only had one left & in O's size not Kika's so I went for the Navy/Red one (picture posted a few posts back - but i will share it again, :p)



O looking lovely in browns & cream



Kika in navy, red & cream

Plan is to ride again tomorrow, if i can hand-graze her without getting soaked I'll try and nab some more pictures as also have before pictures from 22/4/2007 when Kika was lunged for the second time ever! Sorry for trips down memory lane...but not all readers will have seen "Kika - The Early Days" as they pre-date the blog.