Sticky

We have a sticky right canter people. And a big lug of a rider who is not helping the situation at all!

Pretty pony likes to tilt her head. : /

The lesson with Linda at the local indoor went well until we tried to canter right. I tried and tried and tried and tried. She just would not pick up the right lead. We had hissy fits, spins, leaping and disunited canter, all which ended up with me being so tired that I didn't have the strength to give aids anymore.

So this is what happens when Allie is over it and  'checks out'.

I was asking for canter right. Note how we are facing left.

Allie was pooped, I was pooped. Linda couldn't figure out what was going wrong from the ground.

Tired yet Allie?

Eventually, Linda got on and sorted her out. She got her cantering right a couple of times, but not without a fight. (Which made me feel a little better about it all).

Getting a feel for her.

Screen shot of the canter video. Win!

It was a good day really - even though we had problems with canter, it is something to work on now.

There are more photos and video, but to be perfectly honest, I look too fat and the videos of me trying to canter look so horrific and I'm so tired that my hands are bouncing around like no body's business so you are not seeing them.

That day has prompted me to start getting myself fitter - I can't expect my horse to be this fit athlete if all I do is sit around all day getting fatter. All this week I have gotten up early to exercise (not much yet, but it is getting me in the habit of it). I'm trying to cut out as much sugar and junk food as I can. I rode today for about an hour and a half (more canter disaster, see below) and we had two canter lunging sessions earlier in the week. The brat of a horse has almost no problem cantering right on the lunge, even on a small circle. So the problem is obviously me.

The disaster today was my horse chucking more fits because the pressure was on. I concentrated on my balance, position and having quiet hands but still, Allie got offended and did her spins and her leaps and I just couldn't get the canter again. Plus she unsettled me and I was not as tough on her as I should have been. :(

I have the next two weeks off work. Guess what Allie and I will be practising?

Sorry for this shitty downer of a post. Hopefully in a fortnight I can look back on this and think "Ha, problems with canter! So last month...". I can only hope.