Happier Note and Lesson Update

First of all. HUGE THANK YOU to all of you. I feel so much better after my last post- and have received so many incredible suggestions- of which I am exploring them all with Amazing Vet. Seriously, the outpouring of support has been amazing, and I am learning about new treatment options I have previously never heard of, which should make for some interesting blog posts in the future. I don’t want to go into detail about everything yet, because we are not 100% sure which treatments we will be using  just yet, but I promise to keep y’all updated as it happens.

pre-lesson selfie with Clarkamas

 

In another news, Rio is doing well. He is superrrr feisty from being on stall rest, and it’s equal parts hilarious and annoying. I try to get him out of his stall every day and start by lightly hand walking him around the indoor before going outside to graze. He likes to roll in the soft sand and then try to bolt/buck. Thankfully, I am a pretty sturdy person, and he respects a lead chain, so we haven’t had any escapes yet. He did give me a bit of mild whiplash on Monday though when he tried to show me how fast he can spring up and bolt after rolling. He also loves to demonstrate his Black Stallion impression by walking around on his hind legs. In all honesty though- he isn’t doing it to be malicious. He is literally bursting with energy and is just trying to get some of it out. In about 10 more days I am hoping we can do small space turnout (like the round pen) for a few hours a day. Fingers crossed- otherwise he may self-combust LOL.

 

 

I had a jump lesson on Clark last night with MM, the first in about a week since he has been busy show prepping with his mom and MM. We didn’t have the ride I thought we would, but aren’t those the ones you learn the most from?

Up until this point, my limited experience riding Clark has all been easy, like too easy. He makes me look awesome with little to no effort on my part. Obviously, that effortlessness has come from a ton of good training and isn’t actually easy. Horses have a way of keeping us humble though, as Clarky showed me last night. He was feeling his willies a little bit, and at one point MM said, “Well, that was exactly what I didn’t want you to do. Glad we got that out of the way.”

 

Keeping a sense of humor about it all

 

 

But really, it was a great lesson. We actually had to WORK THROUGH the less then perfect moments, break it all down, take a step back, and focus on fixing things. I learn so much going through that process, especially since MM knows Clark so incredibly well, she is able to tell me exactly what to do to make things better.

 

When I ride a fresh horse, I tend to ride a little more assertively, i.e. shorten my reins, sit a little deeper in the saddle, etc. Well, a quite soft hunter that does not make with Clark. Not saying this works for every horse, but I learned some new tools about calming the ride on a hotter horse yesterday. MM had to keep telling me to lengthen my reins  a lot, like 6 inches, and to take my leg off to the base of the jump, and to sit taller and quit throwing my body at the jumps. We started with a chargey canter that wanted to launch all the jumps, and ended with a very quite almost lopey canter with him jumping up to me over the fences. Now trust- this was hard for me. The fresher he was the more MM wanted me to stay soft, lengthen my rein, and leave him alone once establishing a quiet trot/canter. It worked! Weird, I know. Must remember to try this in the future.

 

No media of the ride this time, sorry!

 

 

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