So I've been trying to post
every day, and I worked really hard on getting ahead on writing blog posts for
when school starts so that I wouldn't fall behind. And then school started
and suddenly I realized that it wasn't
writing the blog posts, it was finding a wifi connection to post them with (I
don't have an internet connection at my house). So Thursday and Friday were
empty because of that. Whoops. I'll use the posts I wrote for them as filler
later, I suppose. Things should go smoother from here on out.
What was something that made you
happy this past weekend? Besides it just being the weekend. Probably my
favorite part of the weekend was driving up to a small town yesterday to meet a
friend! She moved to a city about 2.5
hours north of me to attend college and we're both in fine arts (I'm music,
she's musical theatre). We spent no less than five hours telling each other
about our schools and our projects for the semester and what we wanted to do
with our lives, and all the exciting things we should do in the area. It's
awesome to have a friend nearby that I can go make plans with again! I was so very tired last night, but I had way
too much fun, so it was all worth it!
Last Thursday I had my
second riding lesson on Missy. I had to really hustle to get down to the barn
on time since one of my classes gets out at 1:20 and my lesson was supposed to
start at 2. Cutting it a bit close, definitely.
Anyways, Missy was super chill. She came out of her turnout and
practically slept in the cross ties while I groomed and tacked her up.
Honestly, fine by me. I was coming off of my first round of classes for the
semester and was already getting tired.
Because she was so calm and relaxed, of
course I had to really push her for a proper walk once we were in the arena.
Especially once Lindsey had me pick up two point. It is much more difficult to
stay balanced in two point when your horse is plodding along with very little
rhythm. Anyways, we did that, and then picked up rising trot for a lap or two.
I'm working super hard on getting the correct diagonal and I think I finally
got it in this lesson! Of course, I
still have to check it and fix it when I pick up the trot, but it finally
clicked in my brain what was the right footfall to sit on! Very happy with
myself for that. Now to put in some practice and really drive it home! Rising trot for a while, with me trying
really hard to weight my stirrups evenly, and then two point. Of course. Two
point is a necessity, apparently. I can go a lot longer now without killing my
legs, and I'm also getting better at not touching Missy's neck. She was still
being very slow, so I had to sit every once in a while and push her forward a
bit, but it was all good. I think I eventually managed to get three quarters of
the way around the arena with my hands up. Big improvement! And we did at least
four laps of trotting two point before my leg started burning - yes, only my
right leg starts burning. Struggles of being so uneven.
We did the sit two, stand two rhythm at
the trot as well and for whatever reason, I've managed to figure this one out
and it doesn't throw me off as often as it was doing the first time. I felt
super accomplished about this and then when your teacher compliments it, even
better!
 |
| Cross tie pictures are all I have right now, sorry :( |
This lesson we actually picked up the
canter - apparently she was waiting for my two point to improve? Anyways. I
have a hard time getting my aids correct for the canter, probably because its
seat, legs, and hands all at the same time and coordination does not like me,
but Missy is fantastic and picks up the right lead almost every time with no
issues. I really focused on not leaning back - dressage habit maybe? - and that
improved, but I was still losing my left stirrup. Lindsey's solution helped me
out a ton - she had me really stretch my calf muscle, pushing my heel down and
opening up the knee angle, and then not putting weight in my knees, but in my
feet. Basically, heels down and keep the lower leg on the horse. Charming
miracle! I think we cantered a lap and a
half where I felt like my left leg was actually approaching solid!
Anyways, much improved, both from what
Lindsey said and also I could feel it. I'm impatient to keep working on these
things so that we can get even better. I know most of it is all simple stuff,
but since I haven't taken very many lessons in my life, I need help with
getting some of the basics really really solid.
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