It was a rainy day here in TN and I was glad that we have an indoor at my barn.
"Sooner Stadium", as it is named, is a god-sent. Regardless of the weather I can still ride, and it is hard to make excuses not to. I have even been out there late into the night riding when life gets in the way.
So my friend B and I tacked up our mares and made our way into the indoor for a nice midday ride.
Gracie was actually kinda frisky today.
In the last few weeks we have been doing a very long walk warmup and then slowly going into the trot.
For one there is her EPM we are rehabbing from.
And two she is usually quite resistant about picking up the trot...and sometimes the walk.
So I felt this was a good time to find a better way to approach our rides.
I am slowly learning what she needs to get loose and relaxed and ready for the real work.
Here is the short and the sweet on Gracie. I will tell the longer tale later.
She can be a bitch. If she doesnt want to work, or if she is in pain she has NO problem telling you all about it. She will stop, kick out at your leg/whip, crowhop backwards, and do anything BUT go forward.
She came to me this way...it was her "issue" that I knew all about when I took her.
But over the last year we have found two really good reasons for this behavoir to arise.
The latest being the EPM, the previous was bad pain caused by her heat cycles.
I have to come into every ride with the goal of always being forward. If nothing else is there she has to at least be moving. I have had both Cathy Fox, Tom Poulin, and Jim Koford all tell me so long as she is moving it doesnt matter where her head is.
Though once she is going and working THEN I can ask her to work over her back and be on the bit.
So as always that was my goal today.
Though ironically that wasnt an issue today. The only time she ever even wanted to stop was when the other mare Rosie, a field-mate, was going in another direction. She wanted to go with her.
I had to put my foot down and say "NO we are going the other way thank you very much!!"
I got a few middle hooves pointed in my direction, but in the end she got my message.
Today was a very good ride.
I got to do a fair amount of sitting trot too. This for me...and I know for alot of riders... has been my achilles heel. But I think I am starting to get the feel and stay moving with her not against.
I can always tell as if I dont stay with her, that back goes hollow and her straight up. She loves to tattle-tale on you. She will not pack you around thats for sure.
So maybe the riding sans stirrups once a week is paying off for me. But damn do my inner thighs kill right now!
The only thing I really had to work on today was going to the right she was popping her left shoulder out.
Not sure where that is coming from as she is usually quite straight. It must be something I am doing...or at least I like to blame myself.
So I worked alot on counter-bending her to the right on a circle and then gradually doing some haunches-in on the long side. It seemed to really help "pop" that shoulder back into place.
It may have been a fluke of today, so I will have to keep my eye on it and see if I am causing it somehow.
So all in all a good day.
The only downside was I did feel her right hind drop out from under her once. This is the leg that was most affected by the EPM. We are a month into treatment at this point. She is doing alot better, but still have a long ways to go. I dont see us cantering until at least this winter sometime. *sigh*
It is just a day by day thing right now and I am just glad I can do this much with her.
I am going to try to take her a local schooling show at the end of September and do the Intro tests.
Just to get her out and about some more, and see new things.
Plus if I can get another good score at that level we could possibly get a year end award with the local club.
Sure its just Intro, but at least we could salvage something from this year of dissapointment and injuries.
Tomorrow I have to work all day so no riding planned. Just her daily EPM meds...which I am sure she is getting quite sick of.
Then back into the saddle on Sunday.
If I remember I will try to get some pictures for this blog. All my Gracie pics are kinda dated at this point. ;p
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