Stepping Back

 So, today at least, as I'm allowed to change my mind... Lyric and I are going back to ground work and not going to ride for a bit. I am so tempted, but... really, she's not ready. As much as my brain is panicking that we've got to prepare for RRP (um... it's October.. of next year... you've got time darling!) and that we need to ride or people will think I'm scared of her (so what?! and.. who really? Do you care? really?) and... despite the fact that really I just want to ride her! The point was to have another horse that I could do things on and not push Dan and Funny... but, that's not really fair to push her instead of them, so... for now.. We do groundwork. I just think her body is not unwound yet from the track. She's so crammed in her scapulas and downhill and underdeveloped in her sling. She has no clue how to use her body effectively. And to be fair, she's so green! So it's hard to help her from the saddle because my cues are not really doing the right things. So... I'm thinking I'll have to teach her all the things, just like I'm doing with Funny. Only, she's not even as far along as Funny as she doesn't really have a good relationship to contact yet. And with Funny... I didn't have to undo things... with Lyric, I do. And not anyones fault.. just I want her carry herself differently than a racehorse. 

 

So... now I just have to figure out the best way to do it. Like... how did I do Funny? Well, she had a softening response to pressure to start, so... probably that's the first thing I need to do. Pressure means give.. not hang. So we're working on it. And really, it probably needs to happen in the halter before I go to the bit, so.. I got ahead of myself. Sigh.. Okay God... I hear you... I need to learn patience.... and not cut corners. I keep telling myself, and I do believe it,.. mostly... and I really hope it's the case, but... taking the long, slow, (tortuous ha ha!) path now will behoove me in the long run. And while it may take what feels like forever to get to riding... once I get there, with all the buttons and everything installed and her body ready for work, then we'll get to jumping and dressaging that much faster. Vs if I jump ahead to riding now... we'll not be any closer to dressaging and jumping correctly. 

 

So today... I caught her and we did a good pillar 1 stretch on the hill, helping soften the psoas. Good girl. She actually got some really nice releases! And then Funny came to investigate and Lyric bit at her. No... that's not nice! But I suppose she did interupt your zen. We sat for a bit and let her process and stretch and enjoy it. Then we walked up to the arena. We stopped a few times and went back to pillar 1. And luckily the other horses followed so we didn't have to deal with any stresses. We started out just walking and standing and doing pillar 1. We then did a little bit of pillar 2 and 3. She's maybe starting to be able to lift up into pillar 2 a tiny bit! yay!

Then we practiced some pillar 3 on a circle (more of a bend than a circle) with her moving out of my space/mirroring me. She's pretty good at it. I then added a little bit of "rein" aids by attaching the lead to the halter side ring and asking for a little bit of bend and using my finger at the girth to push her out. She was a little confused but started to get it. We did both directions and tracking left is definitely harder. But we got some good results. 

So then I thought... okay, lets "lunge" a little and work on relaxing the neck farther away from me. So I let the lead line out to the end and walked with her and we "lunged" and I moved her shoulder over with the whip. We got some nice relaxed neck that way and she was still moving out a bit with the outside fore, so yay. We then moved on to trotting - halfway between in hand and halfway between lunging. And she got a bit more tense, so.. I kept at it for a little bit to see if she would soften. And she did, but wouldn't hold it. So I rewarded and we quit. We did both ways and then when we finished trotting, we went back to walking in hand in pillar 1. And then we finished with some pillar 2 and 3. She really is smart. She started offering pillar 3 on her own. Good girl!

 

So yep.. baby steps. Really small baby steps, but I need to keep reminding myself how green she is and that it will be worth it. And that she's actually come a long way so far already! And also, I need to do some more bodywork on her. I was hoping to adjust her today but I ran out of time. So tomorrow I will and will also do some bemer and fascial work. And then I started her on magnesium too to help her muscles unwind a bit hopefully.