Pet the Pill

I was SO ready for riding tonight. Work was exhausting, mentally and physically. So the riding , as usual, is well placed in my week.

I feel bad about always interrupting Pet (his full name is Pet Step) from his post-lesson hay (his owner rides him two classes before me). Luckily, although he usually is a pill to get the halter on, he does put up with getting back in tack. It was back to the jumping saddle, which I was very happy about. I could definitely feel there was less support, but I do prefer the jumping saddle to the dressage.

As usual, had problems getting Pet up to a trot. I think my balance still makes him a little cautious. It took two full laps of pressure and kicking to get him up to the trot. He also kept taking short turns, so I had to really concentrate on what signals I was sending him. I still lean into turns too much and probably am not consistent with my reigning. Laura had me work on holding my reigns as far out as possible, even past my knees at some points. This did a lot for my balance and confidence when I finally got the hang of it. Then back into working on the “shoulder in” where you turn your horse in on the quarter line and then slowly, with the horse staying parallel to the wall, make your way towards the other end of the arena slowly getting closer to the wall. Afterwards I was cantering on my own again. Definitely felt a lot more at ease tonight. My hands loosened on the reigns a little and I could rest my knuckles on Pet’s neck rather than grasp his main. Its still far from perfect, but I’m getting there.