Relax....

Well, I wasn't able to ride since Sunday, although that ride went very well (and holy cow I was posting without stirrups, and when I did use my stirrups, my feet practically weren't in them! I felt like SUPER RIDER!) and after a few days of light lunging and hand-walking, I was able to ride her today. Lessons got started much earlier (on Thursdays they start at 5:00, and today they started at 3:00!) and the outdoor arena is still wet from all the rain we've got (which we NEED) so Greta and I tried to sneak in a walking warm-up in the covered arena, and when the first student came in, we made our way outside.

Firstly, Greta McPrissyhooves walked through a large puddle (it's about as long as her and little bit wider than her) after only giving it a quick little sniff. No turning around or fussing, just a sniff, and then she walked through unproblematic. Yay!

Then we walked up and down the driveway, working on focusing by doing tight little serpentines here and there, stopping, backing up, and turns on the forehand and haunches. She was bit tense through all that (she always gets tense and spooky on the driveway) but far from what she used to be. And then we went back around the round pens and everything and she began to relax. Really relax. Like, ears flopping and listening to me, submissive to the aids, light in the bit, tracking up, I felt her back lift up when she got rounder and rounder and lengthered her topline more and more, so I tried to get lighter in my seat and push her forward to back her up. Then I tried halting, and I didn't have to REALLY convince like I had to earlier. I thought "halt" and she halted. So we walked and halted several times, and because this was just so crazy how relaxed she was (and because we can't trot on the grounds when they're wet, and the covered arena was packed with a lesson of 5 youngins') I figured it would be best to stop there and call it a day. Tomorrow I want to try her in the big field next door, now that they've mowed all coastal hay down.........