Schooling musings

Worked on continuing our work from Ken lesson tonight. Started out fabby - getting her stretching over back, keeping her straight, asking her to come deeper and then giving with the hand.

Also worked on leg yielding - she likes to lead with shoulders in some bizarre crab-like move so kept halting when she did that and looking behind me to make sure quarters were straight, we eventually started getting there so gave her lots of praise. Up into trot and she was fabby - I am trying to take my riding up a gear and think about riding every stride so I counted a rhythm in my head to rise and sit to and thought about keeping the outside rein and offering inside hand, not rising too high and half halting and then giving. All fab. Went into left canter which was good, broke but picked it up again. Then let her have a walk before the dreaded right canter attempt. This was where it started to go wrong. Not sure if I felt tense or if she was excited after having had a canter, but picked up walk on a shorter rein and then trot and she was horrible! Got that right rein feeling of unable to bend, like a plank of wood only less bendy! Tried to get her to relax and did my counting and rode the same as before but then got tanky tanky Flow and angry grunting and sucking behind the contact. Pulled her to a halt and then asked for trot again, half halting resulted in a random piaffe type movement with her going - you want slow, FINE, here's slow! In hindsight I need to not argue with her, we both take it personally and have an attack of the indignant Kevins. I need to just carry on and not react to her grunting or doing her melodramatic breathing (she winds herself up and you can hear her breathing go funny). Went back to walk and then up into trot but threw reins at her and half halted strongly when she rushed but then let her go again, this did the trick and we got some lovely calm trot. Didn't attempt right canter or even left canter again, noone was around and I am nervous of cantering still after the wildness it was before!

Lesson with Fran tomorrow :)