Starting all over

 Today was great! I've put three 10 minute walk rides on Lyric and so I figured it was a good time to get Liz to teach us. Plus, Liz had time for all three today, so yay! I'm soooo grateful that God worked it out for us to get to lesson together! She's been so helpful and amazing!

So I groomed Lyric real quick and tacked her up in the jump saddle and we headed up to the arena. Liz did some reiki/energy work with her and said she felt pretty good. We started off with some of our in hand work. The backing... the leg yields... and then the keep your nose right but stay off your right shoulder. Liz did some more work and reminded me to really be adamant that she doesn't just shift to the left but she doesn't keep bouncing back to the right. And then she said when we do our leg yields... when we're tracking left, it's super easy for her because she gets to dump on the right front. So instead of leg yielding traditionally... she wants me to do the leg yield but bend her head to the rail. So... almost like an opposite half pass. And that's harder for her, but it put her onto her left front instead of her right front so it was helpful! Ahhhhh! Then Liz worked on her some more and just helped her find her balance on her left front. It was cool.. her pectorals started to engage and then she slowly started to unlock her right chest and neck and up into her poll! Very cool. 

 

She loves Grace!!!

So then I got on. Liz told me to leave my feet out of my stirrups and just... ride like a sack of potatoes! Ha. But seriously.. she wanted me to just stay centered and seated. She didn't want me manipulating her by using my body weight aids. She thinks that we need to reset Lyric almost completely and make her responsible for her own feet and self carriage. BUT... she also needs some contact. She's a much heaver hand holder than the other two. She needs me to have a heavier connection to her mouth, but I need to let her body figure it out on her own. Vs the other two where I ride their bodies much more and let their connection be much softer. So.. my poor brain/body... so much conflicting muscle memory. But it's great because it makes me a better rider. 

So we started off at the walk and she told me not to push her.. not to balance her.. just let her figure it out. Tracking left she is definitely more bold and forward. Which is because she can pull herself along with that right front. But both ways we started out a bit tentative but then she got braver and more confident. She lost her balance a few times... where she feels disconnected from the front and back. But she sort of self corrected and it smoothed out. And she was actually quite nice in the contact and in her body. She didn't feel braced or stiff or like she was locking up her back. Yay! We walked around a bit and did some circles. I almost have to ride with both hands to the left. My right hand can go to the withers but not cross it and my left hand goes wide to the left. This keeps her nose and neck coming straight out of her withers. And when we're tracking left, it helps almost counterbend her but not a true counter bend because it's not in her body, just keeping her neck straight. And I rode my turns off my outside rein. Helpful and she seemed to like it. 

So then we did some straight line walk to trot to walks. Liz said it wasn't about the trot.. it was about the transitions.. retraining her brain and body that she is responsible for her body and she has to rock back and use herself. So, we got a nice straight walk... asked for trot... I just sat it and used gentle rein aids and leg aids to remind her to stay straight.. and then once we got into a confirmed trot, then we could ask for a walk. So it ended up being about 10 steps of trot each time, give or take. And at first, she was really tentative and nervous. And she got a bit rooty, but then once I gathered my reins and held her hand more, she stopped rooting. Liz thinks the rooting is her looking for a connection. Which... makes sense. I'm not holding her up or holding her in place... I'm still asking her to go into the contact, but... she does need me there. And it got better. The last trot we did, she actually was soft in her body, lifted in her back, nicely into the connection and straight!!! It was great!! We quit with that and let her have a stretchy walk to the halt. We're hoping that after good moments.. she can have a stretch as a reward and that it will eventually teach her that a stretch is a reward and encourage her to use it as a self-relaxation tool. I got off and praised her! And.. AND... she was standing heavy on her left front!! Good girl!! Then we were talking about things and Liz said that we needed to start completely over and teach her how to be responsible for her own feet, how to carry herself and that it doesn't hurt when she goes correctly. Because I've treated the pain.. I've done the rehab... now we just need to keep things happy. And she mentioned that our bond has gotten way deeper. She's trying and she's trusting me. There was a lot of anxiety in the past but it's so much better now. But she's still a little worried. We talked about how she overtracks so much at the walk but not at the trot. And Liz mentioned it got better. So then she told me to pull her bridle off, run her stirrups up, and let her jog next to me and then pass me so I could watch her feet. And it was so cute. Lyric totally did it. My "liberty" horse. Hee hee. She did it for Liz too but I do think she wanted to come back to me, which made my heart smile! 

So then I decided to pull her tack off and just turn her out. She was sweaty but not too terribly bad. I put her tack on the rail and then we jogged to the gate and then I turned her loose. She sort of wanted to stay with me but then realized she was done. I walked back to Liz and... we watched Lyric then canter up the hill to rejoin the herd. And wow!! She really does have a gorgeous canter! I've not seen her canter softly and happily in awhile! She'll bolt... she'll run... she'll buck. But I've not seen that nice happy canter.. maybe ever honestly! It was LOVELY!!! So uphill and soft and powerful looking. EEEEEEEEEHHHHH!!!!

Then Liz drove me and her tack back to the barn. :) 

I ended up shockwaving Lyrics' stifles again and her back again. Liz agreed that her stifles, especially her left, were bothering her. So today was the 2nd shockwave and we'll do the third and then decide if I need to make a vet appointment. Most likely yes.. but we'll give the shockwave a chance and get her a little farther into her rehab. So exciting and encouraging!!

Although this morning....