It's not Panic.... It's Adrenaline... Riiiight....

Summer is here! Twenty something degrees today, celcius of course. That wouldnt be very summery in Farenheight land. Windy as all get out though. Thought I would be blown off my feet a few times!

Now that summer/spring/better weather/ what have you is here, I am out of excuses to procrastinate filming and playing with my Level 4 Auditions. *sigh* I dont know why this has to be so stressful. It is supposed to be fun! It ... is fun... when things go well, when they work, when my crazy brain isnt to busy worrying about what will happen come September if I dont pass.

Like so so so so sooooo many other Parelli students, and horse people in general, my plague of choice is Flying Lead Changes.... dun dun dunnnnnnnn. Exactly. Dreaded. Incomprehensible. Competely do-able, and yet so not. My poor Mo doesnt even do them by herself in the feild. Sometimes she doesnt even pick up a true lead by herself in the field! She cross fires all on her own! How am I to teach this crazy klutzy pony how to fancy up and get a clean flying change? [These are all the excuses my brain tries to give me when I want to play with this, do you see what I am dealing with here?]

So, all of that to say, I am fighting with myself at the moment. I keep seeing all the LOVELY beautiful PASSING auditions. In every savvy! OH how I want that black string! I can TASTE it! Well, maybe not, but FEEL it in my hands and hanging from my belt. I WANT to pass. I HAVE to pass, really, and thats the kicker. Thats where the line gets blurry between panic and adrenaline if I think about it to much. We are all in the same boat, no matter the level, auditions test you.... Just the deadline issue is new.

So. Flying changes. Bane of my existance. Conviently still my fascination though. I cant get enough of them. I want so badly to be able to talk Mo through how to do it. I love watching them, I loved feeling the ones I have ridden, I love the concept and coordination of the whole endeavour. I am totally in awe of the grace of it all. I am just slightly stymied by them. Thats all.

I had a minor break through today online though, and I am really excited about that. Me and Mo were playing on the figure eight and she was getting really exuberant but still missing her leads behind. So, at each turn on the figure eight I put a LOT of energy behind her, which caused her to SPRING forward, giving her the suspension she needed behind to make the change!! AHA! Three or four good solid clean changes later, we stopped and I pondered. 

Truth be told I am still pondering. I know flying changes need suspension. I also know that Mo is rather flat through her canter. Not very uppy downy, more forwardy flaty, despite her hackney action in her legs. HMMM. SO! How can I cause her to be more uppy downy under saddle without causing her to curl up like a little pretzel - which she does. I dont know yet. Im working with speed/balance under saddle right now. Today we got some cool stuff in the longest hand gallop/gallop Mo ever gave me, and that was really good. We were also playing over poles, but I dont think I set it up very well, so I might have to try it elsewhere.

I think my online will be ok. If I can coach Mo through a few more clean changes, I am hoping that her body will start telling her that it is way more comfortable than cross firing, and that she will just remember and do it automatically, without the energy boost from me. Thats the plan anyways. Patterns, right? Whoda thunk it....

My zone five driving is slowly getting better, as I am less sore and can physically actually play with it now. Joy. Poor Mo. She was so unconfident when I first tried to just GO DRIVE. I figured out eventually it might be good to actually teach her about this first..... Dont know how I missed that boat. Oh well. We have got the walk/trot/canter and change of direction at a trot in the round pen so far. I feel good about that. Mo isnt worried anymore. Poor girly. She gets so RBI sometimes with learning. She tries so hard though. Now we just need to take it out of the pen, get confident with speeds out of the pen, and play with some patterns out of the pen. And I need to not break again. Silly feet, you wouldnt think you need functioning achilles tedons... until you do. Dang.

I am hoping Online will be ready to film soonish. I have no clue about Liberty. I have possibly been avoiding it until I figure out how to make it more fun for Mo. Likely there will be cookies involved. Mo likes cookies. So do I ... not the same kind obviously... but still. Yumm.  Freestyle, at least, is done. So realistically, if all I accomplish this summer is my online, and liberty, I am still ok, but the goal-getter in me wants to finish the level.

I am REALLY hoping that the Game of Contact clinic will help me a lot in two weeks. I am hoping I can pick Amy's brain a little, and ask her about Mo's cross fireyness, and hopefully get some tips on where I need to be and when, to help her get things straight. Poor Mo, I really should be more competent for her! She is such a forgiving sacrificial lamb!

Thats my stress vent for the day. I feel better. What will happen will happen. I can do this!

:D
S