Kika was like a slippery eel this morning, jumping out of her skin and looking for reasons to jink and misbehave. I couldn't get her to sidle alongside the arena entrance to hang the quarter sheet & my jacket to start our work. I had to dismount & do it from the ground so as not to descend into a fully fledged argument. Mission accomplished, we didn't argue and in fact went on to some much nicer work than Wednesday's scared shambles.
I kept it simple walk/trot/canter, circles, serpentines, figures of eight & transitions. Unlike Wednesday there was a lot less head popping up and loss of steering on my part. It is a horrible feeling when she tries to stick her ears up my nose as she hollows and throws her front feet around getting light on her toes & making my reins useless, I have to be very careful as that can quickly escalate into a rear if not handled with care...knock on wood i hopefully have a better handle on her and can now manage to get around her mental problems by asking different ways to end up with the outcome i want at the end of the day.
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| Just what the doc ordered - happy ears & happy rider |
Nancy & I went into the woods for a stroll today (with Kika on a leash after arena work). I didn't want another argument in the arena with N, she isn't as troublesome as Kika as in i don't worry about N misbehaving to the same extent as K. However I feel like I am doing wrong by Nancy and get quite disheartened when things start out nice but then get progressively worse the more I try to make it better. Sometimes I think I'd be better to just not try, I seem to only make things worse when I try!
The more I try to flex her and get her to bend & soften around my inside leg the more she resists and locks her jaw against me. I am sure there is a simple solution & that it is all my fault, I am probably holding tension in my body and/or sitting crooked. I am hopeful of signing up for some more lessons over the Christmas holidays as it is proving too difficult to schedule lessons when I am working as the teacher i ride with doesn't teach Saturdays or after 6 on a week day.
Nancy did make me laugh last night though as she again let her rebellious side out with some canter transitions crow hops. There was actually plenty nice work from us in the arena last night, it was far from full on depression but i did get a little down on myself. Fingers crossed i can get my act together and ride them both more often. I think more saddle time (and lessons when possible) will help me through these hiccups.
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| We are all still friends though ☺ |
Your trails look so lovely! Don't beat yourself up about not riding as much, sometimes life happens. :)
ReplyDeleteLife happens more often than I'd like, but then again I let it. I hope to be better!
DeleteDon't get down on yourself! At least you try. I haven't even really tried because I'm too afraid of screwing up. I hope the lessons help you figure out what the problem is. For now there is nothing wrong with just doing basic workouts. Remember going back to basics to work on long and low, tempo and relaxation is a good thing!
ReplyDeleteHappy St. Nicholas Day! That's awesome you got two goodie bags. :)
P.S. I finally found a blue plaid halter!!! I'm so excited! As soon as it gets here I'll post pictures. :D
Aw thanks pet, perhaps you are on a better track bot pushing for things you're not sure about. Means less bad to undo when you can get lessons with a trainer ;-)
DeleteGreat news on the halter, cannot wait to see Chrome modeling ♡
those trail pictures are lovely - and are reminding me that i need to get out there again, since it's been ages...
ReplyDeletein any case i know exactly what you mean about feeling like the more work i ask for, the worse the ride gets.. it can certainly be demotivating, but then there will always be another ride when everything clicks and you can really see how all that struggling really was productive after all. good luck with getting a few lessons over the holidays!!
Exactly, some days are just not going to be as productive & positive as others. We need these to remind us to appreciate the good ones & notice improvement when it does happen.
DeleteWhen too many happen in a row is when I get a little down on myself - but never for too long as the woods are wonderful & N is steady as a house out there which helps us both get our minds of flexion, bend and other struggle bus things