Lightbulb Moment

MEGAN: After doing all my normal “chores” (though I enjoy them, so I am not quite sure that is the right word) I rode Simba, who still was not right. We mostly worked on marinating a forward walk with contact, in the beginning keeping him very round regardless of how fast he walked, then later asking him for a bit more. One comment Lendon made which was extremely helpful was that one does not work on riding forward- you do it and move on to something else! Another helpful moment came while watching Mica ride Eubie for the first time; she used lateral movements to improve certain things in the horse. So, instead of just doing circles to get the horse to bend, she did shoulder-in to renvere. Now, of course I have been told this many times by Maryal, Lendon, and the working students, but this is the first time I have understood it for myself. Anyway, after I put Simba away I cleaned up the coolers and chairs from the Pony Clinic and once done, Lendon asked me to bring Rio (Fern Feldman’s 6 year old Holsteiner pony) out. I rode him and had a blast, not asking enough of him at first, but getting what felt like some good trot and canter towards the end of the ride. I had a blast, and it was soooo nice to ride a pony who was so forward!! After Rio, I hacked Astro, a small Danish Warmblood. We had fun, just playing in the field for a half hour. I spoke with Mica as I was untacking Astro and with the exception of making too much beet pulp, I had done everything right in her barn the day before- high praise indeed from Mica! I settled Simba for the night and went home, intending to do a dyno run but actually running for over an hour and 15 minutes. We finished off the baked ziti for dinner and I went to bed after getting all my envelopes and stamps for the show entries- which will be in the mail tomorrow if it is the last thing I ever do!!!

SIMBA: Although I am not working hard, Mom makes my use my brain and is trying to keep me thinking forward, even if all we do is walk. She did say something about the farrier doing my feet soon so maybe that will make me feel better. In the meantime, her contact is improving. She has been using her fingers to soften my mouth, instead of moving both my head and neck side-to-side. I can also feel her trying to keep her shoulders level, instead of ducking the left shoulder down as she tends to do. Well, even though we can’t do a lot of work, she certainly has plenty to work on. I hear dinner in the aisle, so I will chat with you more tomorrow.