Time Flies

Time really flies when you are having fun. Week four of my six week journey is nearly over. I dont know what to feel anymore. I am so glad I am staying, and so sad that another course is almost over.... and devestated that I have to leave this wonderful environment to return to cold dreary Canada. ALTHOUGH its effing minus 2 celcius this morning. ICE I tell you was on my windshield this morning :-(

Anyways.... yesterday was a great day for Mo and me. We played on the ground being soft an responsive before saddling - I am finding that for Mo, warm up strong doesnt mean run run run til you are out of steam - she just gets high on adrenaline. To her it means getting engaged and thinking and giving her puzzles to keep her crazy brain on me and not plots to leave. So we played, andI played the ""how little does it take" game, seeing just how little I could offer her and still get a response. We did that on tuesday in workshops - offering lateral flexion in just your body and being able to get a response before going to the rein - now THAT is cool. Lateral flexion because I look at her bum.. hmmm... the places that could go! So lightness is a big deal - and has been for my time here - but now I am really starting to have soaked on it long enough to try to apply it!

In yesterdays workshop we went to visit Kathy and played with fluidity and got some ideas abotu not over posting the trot - really really just letting the horse push you out of the saddle. I have a hard time with that, because for some reason I am uber programed to rise and fall on my own...? So Mo trotted and let me mess with my own self. Very nice. OH ! Online before we had been doing transitions within gait at the trot - very cool stuff - fast trot slow trot and back again, very fun, very good for energy control! So Mo trotted the rail of the honeycomb while I tried six million and three different ways of posting and flowing with her. I could really tell when we got it right. When we got it right we got this gorgeous slow lovely relaxed trot, and from that trot, without speedingup at all, we could pick up a gorgeous slow rounded canter for six strides and halt. YEEHAW MO!

That was just amazing and awesome for us. Tuesday I got lazy and didnt saddle and we had a good ride but our impulsion was a little off - she kept rushing the trot instead of cantering, so this huge change was VERY welcome and felt incredible. I tried to tell her that I need those quicke asy transitions bareback and I can deal with the sloppy ones under saddle LOL.

I also changed up my shims yesterday, taking it down to one thick in a sideways wedge type thing. I still got dry spots so today I am trying on thin in the same place. If that doesnt work I am going to try none and see how down hill the saddle is - because thats the only reason I am using shims right now, is to suit the saddle, because Mo has no hollows and is uphill. So we will try that today and see how it goes, if I feel thrown forwards I have no clue what to do next. Will have to ask a faculty member.

I still havent edited my L2 video. Need to do that soon. There hasnt been time! We watch an old video last night of Linda warming up Allure, adn all I could think of was how grateful I am the none of my horses are that extreme! On the subject of my other horses, I miss them terribly but I am learning SO MANY good strategis for both of them!! I am going to approach them both completely differently now! I cant wait to play with them!!

Thats about everything for now... GOING TO SEE TWILIGHT TOMORROW!!!

:-)
S