The Blind Leading The Blind

My colleague was late picking me up for work this morning - there was an accident somewhere along the line, and the end result was traffic chaos. 

As a result, I was late for horse-riding.  I phoned up to cancel, but there was a chance for a later slot, so I went for it.

Most of the time, I'm quite happy to cancel when I'm out on site.  But reading the Sylvia Loch book has made me rather enthusiastic about horse-riding and all things horse-related,

I'm determined to persevere with lengthening my stirrups and trying to achieve a more Classical seat.  I wasn't sure what I'd be working on tonight, but it turned out to be a lesson dominated by canter.  Canter is my least favourite gait - I just don't feel secure, particularly if I have long stirrups.

Today, my trot-canter transition was utterly dire.  I was all over the place.  I kept throwing the reins at the horse and not giving her clear instructions to canter.  End result - a ragged, unbalanced trot which just unbalanced me all the more.  But...  On the few occasions when I managed to speak the right language, my canter went really well.  Most of the time, I felt perfectly comfortable, relaxed and balanced, and the long stirrups worked!  Only problem is, because I now know how it feels to be sitting properly and in balance with the horse, I'm becoming increasingly sensitive to those moments when I'm out of kilter.

It's very hard work, and Moily's just mucking about.  But there's no point in expecting an unschooled to try and work properly when the rider's not riding properly, so I'll persevere.  And once again, Molly was happy.  She likes to canter around the school ad infinitum, even if she pretends to misundertand the aids!

Now it remains to be seen whether I'm suffering ill effects from my endeavours tomorrow...

The Blind Leading The Blind

My colleague was late picking me up for work this morning - there was an accident somewhere along the line, and the end result was traffic chaos. 

As a result, I was late for horse-riding.  I phoned up to cancel, but there was a chance for a later slot, so I went for it.

Most of the time, I'm quite happy to cancel when I'm out on site.  But reading the Sylvia Loch book has made me rather enthusiastic about horse-riding and all things horse-related,

I'm determined to persevere with lengthening my stirrups and trying to achieve a more Classical seat.  I wasn't sure what I'd be working on tonight, but it turned out to be a lesson dominated by canter.  Canter is my least favourite gait - I just don't feel secure, particularly if I have long stirrups.

Today, my trot-canter transition was utterly dire.  I was all over the place.  I kept throwing the reins at the horse and not giving her clear instructions to canter.  End result - a ragged, unbalanced trot which just unbalanced me all the more.  But...  On the few occasions when I managed to speak the right language, my canter went really well.  Most of the time, I felt perfectly comfortable, relaxed and balanced, and the long stirrups worked!  Only problem is, because I now know how it feels to be sitting properly and in balance with the horse, I'm becoming increasingly sensitive to those moments when I'm out of kilter.

It's very hard work, and Moily's just mucking about.  But there's no point in expecting an unschooled to try and work properly when the rider's not riding properly, so I'll persevere.  And once again, Molly was happy.  She likes to canter around the school ad infinitum, even if she pretends to misundertand the aids!

Now it remains to be seen whether I'm suffering ill effects from my endeavours tomorrow...