On the up and up

Well after the disappointment of not being able to try my Western saddle properly poor old Pinto was subjected to being saddled again wtih my English saddle. It was absolutely freezing in the tack room, so I opted for my Wintec. Poor old Pinto was a bit bemused, but stood quite happily while I changed over all the blankets and sheepskins etc.

We got trotting almost straight away, and everything was almost perfect right from the start. Pinto wasn't rushing, I could do small rises, my lower leg felt really stable (for a change), so I switched to sitting trot.

Oh how long have we come?

I just wish someone had been there to take some photos of short videos as everything just felt so right. OK so I was still a bit tense in my shoulders, and my hands were a little unstable, but my legs were relaxed (miracle of miracles!), so much so, I could even change my foot position in the stirrup.

Of course all of this was helped with Pinto not rushing and staying relatively calm. There were a couple of times when he did speed up, and for the most part I was able to stay with him and ask him back to a slower pace.

It's odd, but I feel so much more at home in sitting trot (when I get it right).

Some things which I really have to work on further though are:

*Tension in the shoulders: if my shoulders are tense my hands become unstable

*Breathing: I have to learn how to breath softly and fully, rather than gasping (which of course adds to the tension) Normally I would take very deliberate breaths, but as Pinto will transition down a pace on a deliberate exhalation it's making like rather complicated!

*The unilateral movement of the seat bones which Heather stresses. I just can't get it

I have the impression that Pinto is happy with the new bitting arrangement. We are having much less yawing on the bit, and a couple of times he even sought the contact which is also practically unheard of.

Anyway we finished the session on a really good note (for me too), a nice sharp/soft transition to canter, 4 strides of canter then a rather wobbly transition back to trot and walk. It was the first time I've attempted canter in the manege with Pinto since before my accident last March

Visiting a tack shop with friends is dangerous...

Because you can get talked into buying all kinds of extraneous things, like:



I had planned on spending yesterday afternoon trying it ut with the help of a couple of friends, but in the end they couldn't make it so I puzzled it out for myself (I think!)

It has ben a long, loing time since I put a Western saddle on a horse, and I was a bit rusty, but I think I got there in the end.

Looks quite smart, yes?



The latigo for the front cinch didn't really have enough holes in it for me to do the girth up snugly, so with much trepedation I had to mount with a fairly loose girth (I'm pretty sure I won't be doing anything which will require a flank cinch!!!) The first disappointment was that the stirrup leathers were far too long; once mounted, my foot didn't come anywhere near the stirrup, even with them on the highest setting. Now I have to make a judgement on whether to punch extra holes to try the saddle properly and risk making it "second hand" if I should need to take it back to th store, or whether to persevere, with an observer, and try it again.

Anyway, we got mounted and we walked around the manege for a while, I even tried a very small trot on both reins (no stirrups remember!). Overall the saddle felt comfy, rather wide and hip-stretchy, and I don't know how much that would improve with stirrups, but it felt nice, and I certainly felt secure in it.

BUT

The saddle moved back during out brief tryout, and I think it was a bit tight over the shoulder as it settled during the ride. I really need a second opinion (sorry, no such thing as saddle fitters here!), so I'll have to wait until my friend is free - hopefully soon.

Aaargh the frustration

Do you ever have days like that? Yesterday I rode Pinto in the manège and felt as if I couldn't do a thing right.

I started off slowly as it was the first time Pinto had his new bridle and bit to try out, and my first time in my Fhoenix for months.





First of all I couldn't get comfy in my Fhoenix :cry: Despite living in my house it was like trying to ride on a scaffolding plank, and even after 30 mins of riding the seat didn't soften very much (though it was very cold out!). Consequently I *really* felt the stretch in my hips. I think I could have done with dropping my stirrups a hole, but this is in hindsight!

I then made the mistake of giving Pinto a treat from the saddle. One on each side, with the intention of just asking him to bend round as he is about as bendy as a 2x4 atm. However once I had done this, as soon as I picked up the rein he started walking backwards. At first I was terrified that it was the new bit/martingale combination. Then if I shifted my weight he would paw on that front leg, so I was afraid that I had over-tightened the girth. I have to say that the walking backwards/sitting on the haunches didn't worry me at all (go me!) but I was really concerned that I was doing something wrong. In the end I growled at him, and told him in no uncertain terms to "avance là!" though I have to admit I had to restrain myself from giving him a "pony-club kick"

We walked round for quite a long time, for Pinto to get used to the feel of the new bit, and for me to get used to being in the Fhoenix again. Even in walk my legs (especially my left leg) felt really unstable, but my joints soon loosened up.

Once the other person had left the manege I asked Pinto to trot, and then immediately thought "oooh heck!" as I had no control over my legs and body at all. At this time all I did was ask Pinto to trot around the manege while I tried to sort out my balance. Even though I probably looked awful, it was a good exercise for me as I was able to identify which parts of me were tensing up. First of all I was tense in my foot, though I had a floppy ankle. Then I could feel myself gripping with my lower calf, and upper shin (I'm sure you can't really tense you "shin" but ths is how it felt to me). Then the tension moved to my lower inner thigh, then my upper inner thigh and outer thigh together. By the time I had got my legs sorted out and de-tensed my ankles were aching.

I wasn't having fun.

Pinto's pace was all over the place, and although I could push on for a few paces he would eventually come back down to a very slow (for Pinto) trot. This trot was actually very comfortable and if it was from a school horse I would have been happy with it, but it is so unlike Pinto to do anything slowly it felt really strange. Actually I think I actually need someone to observe me riding Pinto to tell me how he looks. For all I know this nice comfy slow trot may be a "proper" trot instead of a "rushed" trot. See, I could probably tell from the ground, but I have no sense of real "feel" when I'm on board.

The thing which concerned me the most (and I'm 85% sure it's me) was that no matter which rein we were working on, Pinto would bend his neck to the outside, while remaining as stiff as a board from his shoulders to tail. If it had just been on one rein, I would have said it's a chiropractic problem, but it was equal on both reins, so I'm pretty sure that it must be me not being straight.

Does anyone have any ideas how I could solve this?

Becuase we where having problems trying to stay on the piste I purposefully rode on the 3/4 line, in a deliberate walk, trying to keep Pinto as straight as possible. He was, in general, much better away from the wall and wouldn't banana quite so much, but I had to consciously ask for inside bend all the time. Once we moved back out onto the piste, he was back to bananaring to the outside, only this time if I asked for inside bend he would twitch his nose to the inside while still remaining banana'd in the neck... i.e. a very crooked pony.

I really need some decent private lessons. As it is here where I really fall down. I can relate what I see and feel Pinto doing, but I don't know how to correct it.

After riding these squares with Pinto I wanted to do a bit more trot work, except my right ankle had completely siezed up, despite my extremely expensive Sprenger Bow Balance stirrups. So I shoved my foot "home" and managed a circuit or two in trot before dismounting.

Next time I will drop my stirrups a hole to see if it makes any difference, because it was a very uncomfortable experience.

I ended up putting Pinto away feeling very frustrated, both with Pintos unbendy/wrong bendy-ness and my total incompetence at riding. Hopefully I will feel better next time!

PS. I would just like toreassure people that my reins do have martingale stops on them, they are just nice and petit so you can't see them very well ;o) They are present in the red circle below... honest :oD

Back in the saddle again

Had a very cold 30 min pootle in the manège last night. It was late, as I had to wait until the last lesson finished at 8:45 before I could go in, so I was a bit stiff at the beginning.

I went into the manège with no intent other than just riding, so no matter what happened it would be positive.

We only walked round for a couple of minutes before trotting as it was really too cold to potter around. Although I rode for about 20 mins on Saturday, I'm really counting this as my first proper ride of the year.

My first impressions:

My horse is a furry yak Which is hardly surprising at this time of year - but when his fur is all puffed up to keep him warm it looks like is is about 2 ins bigger all over lol

I've lost a lot of muscle tone My core muscles are practically non-existant, and I found it very difficult to get in balance when trotting at first.

I've forgotten how to rise It took me a while to sort my rising out. i was either leaning too far forward or sitting too straight. then I was concentrating too much on the rise and over doing it... I'm sure Pinto wmust have been thinking "what on Earth is she doing up there!"

Pinto is unfit Despite being ridden 3 times a week by a lovely lady, he was really breathing quite heavily after only 10 minutes of trotting, so we had a little break. As I didn't have a cooler or stable rug handy I didn't want him getting too warm... this will change though *ebil laugh*

Pinto is a real tryer Pinto really looked after me last night, and put up with all my faffing around, being unbalanced etc

I still have nice hands I think anyway. I kept checking and they weren't bobbing up and down.

I have a TERRIBLE habit of looking down at the ground in front of Pinto's nose, rather than looking up and ahead between he ears.

How did the work go?

I was really pleased with how Pinto was, even if I couldn't say the same things about myself! He tried so hard, even though it was late and it was very cold. I found his pace a bit uneven, though I guess that was mainly due to my unbalancedness, so I tried to concentrate of asking him to maintain an even pace. Once we got over the first few minutes of "OMG I've forgotten how to ride!" Pinto was trying to run down the long side of the school in a full-on cob-trot, so we did lots of circles until he stopped rushing as soon as he hit the long side.

Some things to work on over the next weeks

Sort out my rein length I'm conscious of not wanting to be hauling on the reins all the time, but also conscious of not allowing Pinto to run on at any given opportunity. Of course this also relates tot he lack of core muscles atm!

Improve Pinto's fitness this will obviously come in time, but I think increasing sessions of sustained trotting, like we started last year, will be very beneficial to both of us. thn hopefully once the weather turns we will both be fit enough for some nice long rides.

Long term plans

I'm desperate for some private dressage lessons to work on my own position and efficiency. It may mean a trip to the UK, so it will be as and when I can afford it!

Best aspect of the training?

Well, a couple of times when Pinto was running on, he broke into canter for a couple of stirdes, and I was able to say "silly boy" and ignore that it happened :yay: :happy dance: rather than panicking or getting into a fuss over it.

New year, new me?

Well, what can I say...not much good at this blogging am I? The smallest thing distracts me and I cease to post.

Last year (!) my excuse was a little silly accident. On 13th March (NOT a Friday!) I took a fall from Pinto in which I fractured my wrist. I actually sheared the head of the radius, dislocating the fracture site to 70degrees in the opposite direction to which is was meant to be pointing! I had surgery later that night to reduce the fracturer and to fix the whole thing together with a nice T plate and 7 screws. Enforced rest for 10 weeks (including 7 weeks off work! yay!) and a total of 19 weeks of physio I only managed to ride a couple of times during the summer, and only a few lessons in between.

Unfortunately I was left with residual nerve pain, and kept getting electric shock-like jags whenever I made a closed fist and flexed my wrist i.e. whenever I held the rein correctly, so it really put a dampner on riding.

Towards the end of October I psyched myself up and sat my Galop 1 and 2 exams (with a group of 6 and 7 year-olds lol) before having another surgery to remove the plate and screws. Then I was forced to rest again. Then it was Christmas, then I was ill (goes on and on doesn't it... these excsuses!)

I eventually climb back on board on Saturday 10 Jan, and it felt soooo goooood! Freezing cold, but good. We're having a bit of a cold snap atm, and it's currently rising to about -2C during the day and down to about -14C at night. This means permafrost on the roads and solid ground on the grass tracks, so no riding outside until we get a bit of a thaw.

I'm hoping to ride a couple of times during the week on a night, and at the weekend too, depending on how busy the manege gets.

My first aim for this year is to get back to where Pinto and I were in March last year, then we'll go from there.