The slow work

Posted on July 27, 2017 by the_everything_pony

Yesterday was a nice short ride. Amber felt a little stiff, not wanting to reach through her back and I figured she was a bit sore. It showed up in her canter as well, but she was as responsive as she could be with sore muscles.

She’s doing much better with contact now. Not that she was bad about it before, but she’s a very soft horse so if I’d put too much pressure her nose would get behind the vertical, but she’s learning that she can push up and out into my hand. She never pushes much, it’s really more of a “I’ll hold my hands suuuuper still and please continue lifting up” and she’ll move her neck up and down, but so far she’s getting much more confident with my hands.

Her lope was very uncertain today. Not bad, just not like she’s been giving me and usually that boils down to she’s uncomfortable in some way. Part of me wonders if it was just stiffness, or perhaps the half pad…? I’d tried the Thinline today to see if perhaps I felt a difference, and she absolutely wasn’t as soft in her back as she has been. Soreness or….? We’ll test it some more and see!

The ride was relaxing – different since I lowered my stirrups and I think she was assuming we’d be wheeing over poles yet we didn’t – but still good. So the lucky girl gets tomorrow off!