Good day

Well, today I noticed that Lyric was straddling the water trough before we did any work. The right side again. Hmmmm... But she clearly had a good roll because she was caked in red clay!

I walked out to get her and they were all up by the arena so we just went straight in. Which meant she was dirty. But that's okay. We started with the two poles up the hill 6 times and circling back down. She kept stopping on the downhill part. (Noted! but unsure what that means). Then we did our pillar walks and worked on straightness and forward. Then I did some bodywork and we did some stretches, some belly lifts, some tail tucks, and some wither wiggles. I did the logan technique. She was better on all counts though still not normal. 

Then I decided to put her on the lunge line but I wanted to do the double lunge today. No particular reason. Well, I guess so that I could keep her straight vs letting her lean/fall in or out. So since I had to use the surcingle, I figured I might as well do the equicore band too. So we did that. I did add the cotton leg wrap to roll up on the sides to help create some spinal relief, but not sure how much it helped. We did 6 minutes each way and she was actually quite nice. She seemed like she was more willing to go forward. She still wants to not track up but she wasn't quite so behind the aids. And she didn't require quite as much encouragement to keep her going or get her moving out a hair. She also felt like she was reaching for the "bit" and stretching through her back a bit more. We also did the trot poles 6 times I think. 3 ways each direction. 

 (awful photo but I forgot to get some while she was working. Shame because she looked quite nice)

After we did both directions and she caught her breath (Maybe she is more out of shape than one would expect) I asked for the canter and she gave it to me fairly willingly. I didn't make her hold it for very long but I think we picked it up twice both directions and it didn't look horrible. Okay... so... she got worked Tuesday, Friday, and then today (Sunday). So.. fairly consistent work but not back to back days. Noted. We finished with a nice happy soft trot to get her relaxed again and using her body better than she does in the canter and called it quits. She was sweaty! Which, it was quite hot today and sunny and she had her gear on, so she definitely worked hard! I was watching and her abdomen line was noticeable so I do think she was using her core. 

I let her go and worked Dan and then I rode Funny. I felt bad I didn't hose her off or anything, but Dan was at the gate waiting his turn, so I just swapped ponies out. To be fair, he didn't get rinsed off or groomed either. So after I rode Funny and turned her out, I grabbed Lyric again and gave her a dose of sucralfate. I figured I'd start that this month. Then I groomed her. And then I adjusted her. She was actually much less sore in her back and lower back today so that was encouraging. She adjusted well and I got a big release in her poll and stifles. While I was finishing up I put the red light mat on her poll and she loved it! Lots of yawns and releases. Cool. 

So... she gets tomorrow off because of work and then Kim comes to see if the Peter Horrobin dressage saddle will work for her and then Vicky comes to do bodywork and check saddles too. Hoping to get some answers and then I can make a decision on where to go from here.... back under saddle? More groundwork? Diet tweaks? Scope? Treat for ulcers or hind gut stuff????