A Follow Up

Progress is being made. I acknowledged that yesterday. It may be slow and it may be coming in spurts, but at least it's there. 

When I rode Izzy on Sunday, the day after the big party next door, I was on a totally different horse. While I would prefer to have the same horse everyday, the on again/off again thing is way better than a looney tune for every single ride.

I definitely need to see Chemaine again about a couple of things. I know the issues are my fault, but I am not sure how to fix them. When Izzy is being more or less rideable, meaning I am not simply trying to stay aboard, he can get very stiff in his neck. I've tried the counter bending exercise, which helps, but I suspect I'll get more from him if I can learn how much "play" I need with the inside rein.

When I took a lesson with Chemaine the other week, she told me I hadn't let go of the inside rein at all (until she schooled me on it) while I felt like I was sponging it a lot. I suspect she wants me to play with it big enough to actually move his head and neck so that I can let it go, but I need to check in with her on that.

During our ride, several super great things happened. Well maybe not several things, but enough that I ended up feeling pretty good about our weekend effort. Drum roll please ... Izzy actually volunteered a left lead canter!

He didn't necessarily carry a sign, but he was quite obvious about wanting to do his part!

When Izzy is being a jerk - running through my aids, flinging his head around, and so on, his legs will scramble in all directions which sometimes resembles a canter. It's jarring, disjointed, and nothing that you want to ride for long. The canter that he offered on Sunday was legit. It was round, relatively light, and had a clear three-beat rhythm.

I think he finally understood what I was asking him to do. Now that I know how to set him up for the canter (slight counter bend, open inside rein to push the inside shoulder in, outside leg back to control the haunches), it's getting easier and easier for him to do it. So are we making progress? I would say so. Two weeks ago I couldn't get a left lead canter. Now he's volunteering it. 

I had to work really late yesterday, which was a blessing as it was a 111℉. I didn't get to ride, not like I could have in that heat anyway. Today is supposed to be cooler at 102. I would like to get another ride on him to see whether I get horse A (Party Horse) or horse B (the Volunteer). We'll see how much heat I can take this afternoon.