Debbie Says I am Looking Stronger in the Saddle

I have ridden three times since my last blog and all three times I made it to thirty minutes, and on one of these rides I made it to 37 minutes!  I am losing track of time in the saddle since I no longer get totally exhausted after 20 minutes.

Both Mia and Cider are accepting contact better, so my weakness obviously affected my stability in the saddle.  Both mares had been rather polite about my worsening hands, but as patient as they were with me, I still got some rather pointed “comments” about my contact during the last four months after a few minutes of riding on contact, Cider made herself into a pretzel and Mia would start slinging her head as my hands got less stable.  Now they both are cheerfully reaching out for contact and keeping contact a lot better for a longer time.  My contact is still far from perfect, so it is encouraging to me that the mares are willing to reward me for my increased stability.

I lost a lot of physical strength in the last four months; as I have been able to do more two-point, I have “rediscovered” several muscles in my thighs, butt, and hip joints because they became sore and achy for a few days after my rides.  Debbie is still yelling at me for slouching, so I am working on strengthening my upper back muscles when I am not riding.  I am working on several things to regain my “seat”, from sinking my weight down into my heels, to keeping my shoulders loose when I get out of my slouch, to keeping myself from looking at the ground.  At least my back muscles no longer spasm and my thigh muscles no longer feel like they are on fire.

I am still getting tired after 20 minutes, but instead of getting more tired every second afterwards, I just get tired and I stay at that point of being tired.  As a result, both mares are being more generous in their response to my driving aids.  Unfortunately, I still have to work some more on NOT FLOPPING BACK IN THE SADDLE as they accelerate, poor Cider got bumped in the mouth one time when I lost it.  I apologized profusely and she seemed to forgive me, at least she kept contact and obeyed my driving aids the next time I used them.  I have to concentrate on keeping my heels down, my back straight, and my head up and looking to the horizon to keep my seat stable.

One of the differences between the two mares is that Mia seems to take some pride in her work.  Both mares want perfection from me as I apply my aids, both mares give a less than perfect response when my aids are not correct, but their mental responses are different when my aids are correct.  Cider obeys me, but she does not seem to put anything of herself into obeying me perfectly. Mia, on the other hand, seems to take pride in doing what I ask her to do.  I first noticed this when I taught her my aids for the turn on the hindquarters, when my aids are perfectly timed and she does the turn in place she often gives me a pleased snort!  When my aids are not timed perfectly she sort of shuffles through the movement and acts as if she is disgusted with me.  Well I have not been getting the pleased snorts yet but she is acting as if she is much more pleased with my aids, and she is obeying me to the best of her ability that day.  It is so nice to ride a horse that puts herself into her work!

During my lesson on Wednesday, Debbie said I looked stronger.  I lost track of the time and probably rode 35 minutes, with plenty of trotting.  The only thing I got yelled at for was slouching (“my back is hurting just looking at you” from Debbie), and Debbie was pleased that Mia was not inverting as much at the trot.  Mia is still coughing and it has gotten worse, but I think we tracked it back to the fact that the trees are producing so much pollen that it looks like clouds of smoke coming from the tree branches.  We are trying a homeopathic remedy for tree pollen, and I hope it helps her.  No matter how bad Mia feels during a ride she keeps on going, keeps on giving, and she never gives up.  A true Arab mare, giving, understanding, and always trying to do what I ask her for.  It is a true privilege to be able to ride her no matter how much her age, physical condition, and her less than ideal past caused her to be repeatedly discarded during her long life.  This mare just keeps on trying.

What more can a rider ask for from a horse?

Have a great ride!

Jackie Cochran