Last night i had another lesson, im trying to fit in as many as i can afford with T before she leaves even if that means that my cell phone bill doesnt get paid and i lose contact with much of the outside world. *sigh* we decided to have the lesson in the outdoor arena with all the jumps set up because it was way to nice to ride inside.
T had me start out by warming G up at the walk and the trot, he burst into little head tossing fits here and there.... no biggie deep breath we worked through it... he would start to take a few canter steps.... deep breath force self in the saddle just go with it and ask for him to come back to the trot... change direction... same thing on the other side... all the while trying to avoid the jumps that G is possitive that we need to jump over while still taking him in between them so he doesnt spook at them later, warm up done time for trainer ride.
T hopped on him to see how much he remembered of his contact lesson last week. He fought her for a few minutes then went right into a beautiful form through walk, trot, canter and all around the arena in and out of the jumps no issues.
Now my turn. This was by far probably one of the worst rides i have had in a long time... it had nothing to do with my horse this was all me. I didnt feel stressed or tense or anything but something was off and it showed in my riding. I was for some reason bracing constantly with my arms and T kept yelling at me to bend my elbows and i would try but 2 seconds later subconciously they would go right back to being straight and on my lap. Then we started to work on contact in a walk i could get him to take contact but i just couldnt give that inside rein away i kept it tight just like the outside and no matter how much i tried to fix it it went right back 2 seconds later. I couldnt get my body to coordinate to work with other parts of my body but independantly. I was so dissapointed in myself, i know this is going to happen there are going to be bad rides but i hate those bad rides... After 30 minutes of struggling to sort myself out i managed to get it here and there and we chalked that up for a win.
Of course T feels the need to push me... she wanted me to canter at very least in the direction he is good in, We ended up going the direction (right) were he picks up the wrong lead and it was not very good i flew forward and hurt my peepee on the front of the saddle *sad face*. T laughed and told me the good way which i then started going left he picked up the correct lead it felt much better i was seated when all of a sudden he lost his marbles under neath me. Aparently he did a flying lead change and had no idea what just happened and had a bit of a melt down, i managed to stay on and chalked that up for a win as well and we called it quits.
Im feeling super down on myself today i cant wait to get out to the barn on saturday and work on all the things we learned and try to have a better ride. As always though G was a fantastic boy trying his hardest to do what we were asking i am very lucky for that and to have such a forgiving partner because im sure while i was riding yesterday he was like wtf....
I do however need to get a saddle fitter out because im starting to really worry that my saddle is doing harm to G's back.. i have been noticing a few hot spots along his spine and am thinking about getting a bareback pad and riding that way for a little big while i sell my saddles, get a saddle fitter out and save up for a new saddle.
T had me start out by warming G up at the walk and the trot, he burst into little head tossing fits here and there.... no biggie deep breath we worked through it... he would start to take a few canter steps.... deep breath force self in the saddle just go with it and ask for him to come back to the trot... change direction... same thing on the other side... all the while trying to avoid the jumps that G is possitive that we need to jump over while still taking him in between them so he doesnt spook at them later, warm up done time for trainer ride.
T hopped on him to see how much he remembered of his contact lesson last week. He fought her for a few minutes then went right into a beautiful form through walk, trot, canter and all around the arena in and out of the jumps no issues.
Now my turn. This was by far probably one of the worst rides i have had in a long time... it had nothing to do with my horse this was all me. I didnt feel stressed or tense or anything but something was off and it showed in my riding. I was for some reason bracing constantly with my arms and T kept yelling at me to bend my elbows and i would try but 2 seconds later subconciously they would go right back to being straight and on my lap. Then we started to work on contact in a walk i could get him to take contact but i just couldnt give that inside rein away i kept it tight just like the outside and no matter how much i tried to fix it it went right back 2 seconds later. I couldnt get my body to coordinate to work with other parts of my body but independantly. I was so dissapointed in myself, i know this is going to happen there are going to be bad rides but i hate those bad rides... After 30 minutes of struggling to sort myself out i managed to get it here and there and we chalked that up for a win.
Of course T feels the need to push me... she wanted me to canter at very least in the direction he is good in, We ended up going the direction (right) were he picks up the wrong lead and it was not very good i flew forward and hurt my peepee on the front of the saddle *sad face*. T laughed and told me the good way which i then started going left he picked up the correct lead it felt much better i was seated when all of a sudden he lost his marbles under neath me. Aparently he did a flying lead change and had no idea what just happened and had a bit of a melt down, i managed to stay on and chalked that up for a win as well and we called it quits.
Im feeling super down on myself today i cant wait to get out to the barn on saturday and work on all the things we learned and try to have a better ride. As always though G was a fantastic boy trying his hardest to do what we were asking i am very lucky for that and to have such a forgiving partner because im sure while i was riding yesterday he was like wtf....
I do however need to get a saddle fitter out because im starting to really worry that my saddle is doing harm to G's back.. i have been noticing a few hot spots along his spine and am thinking about getting a bareback pad and riding that way for a little big while i sell my saddles, get a saddle fitter out and save up for a new saddle.
I have experienced the same frustration you describe. Why won't my position stay where I put it?
ReplyDeleteSince you mentioned the hot spots and the fact that the saddle threw you onto the pommel, I am pretty convinced that the saddle is a large contributor to the problem. Your trainer may be able to compensate due to sheer experience (or the saddle does fit your trainer) or even coax your horse into temporarily ignoring the tack.
Does your saddle have large knee blocks? I had a saddle with large knee blocks and it literally blocked my short thigh and knee from having the bend it needed to keep me upright in the saddle. It didn't matter how many crunches I did to strengthen my core, physics always won when I was riding in that saddle.
I hope you are able to find a solution soon, so that you can enjoy your rides again. Riding is challenging enough without having to fight the tack.
Yes im finding it very difficult to get everything to work independantly but yet together. Maybe i do have stuff on my mind that im not aware of (that makes me sound super crazy). The Saddle doesnt have big knee blocks but it is a cheaper saddle and i think it might be to wide for his back but its hard to say im definatly going to be e-mailing a saddle fitter today to make an appt to have her out and see if i need to ditch the saddle immediatly or if its still more me than anything. Im really hoping tomorrow will be better :) might end the ride bareback so i can enjoy riding without all the saddle frusteration.
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