Lulled by previous successes, I started to make a serious mistake last week when riding Mia at Debbie's last week.

As you know, I have been doing an experiment this summer, seeing how long it will take for the two ladies I ride with to tell me that my hands have gotten too bad for a bit. Part of the reason is that I wanted to see for myself if the Wellep bit is truly an advance in bit technology or just another gimmick. Plus, its my fingers, it is like my fingers have an addiction to the feeling of a responsive horse's mouth and communicating with the horse's tongue. As the heat down here has gotten worse and with the second stretch of 18 days with the highs over 90 F (31 C +) triggering my MS symptoms, I have been noticing the deterioration of my riding ability. Wednesday Debbie gave me a well deserved lecture about me falling back when Mia sped up her trot, along with graphic descriptions of what happens when a rider plops back into the saddle. Yes, I already know all this stuff, but my body has to learn that even when it is disabled by the heat there is no real excuse for irritating or hurting the horse. When Debbie ended her lecture I thanked her, this is what I am paying her for after all, to correct me when I am wrong (and to teach me what works, of course.)

Over the past 4 or 5 months, mostly in the JP Dr. Bristol snaffle, I have been working on getting Mia to back up. With spavin in one of her hocks and a longish back/high flat croup Arab conformation Mia does not find it easy to back up. Before I changed bits this summer after about 3 months of work, I had gotten Mia up to three full strides going back, with flexing jaw, chewing on the bit, and reasonably cooperative. When I changed the bit the response to my hand aids became worse because I had to learn the bit's actions and how they affected the horse's mouth. During the past two months I had to work on getting the turn on the hindquarters back, but it just took me a week or two to get her up to my regular soft contact and being responsive to my aids for turns and slow downs/halts. The first 18 day stretch of 90 F and higher passed, and I was still using the bit effectively. Then, after just 2 days that only got to the upper 80's the heat hit again.

And I got worse, and Mia was the first person to notice, you can count on that! All of a sudden old resistances that had disappeared for a year started reappearing. Everything went great at a walk, but when I posted to trot up came her head. I would then work at coaxing her to put her head down, have a few good strides at the trot, then we would go to the walk because I was too tired and weak to go further without causing problems. Every time I tried full contact Mia just set her jaw and looked sour. By the time Mia was properly warmed up I was collapsing. The sitting trot (Forward Seat position) was better, I was able to keep my hands stiller, but I find it just as tiring as posting. This week, when I finished trotting around the ring Mia and I were not necessarily striding along with joy and great style!

Backing up really deteriorated. I would ask, Mia would not move, I would ask a little stronger and Mia would either evade by arching her head down (way behind the bit) or when I got her head up she would invert her neck. On Wednesday, near the end of my lesson, I tried backing up again. After some gentle persuasion Mia moved each diagonal back 1/8 th of an inch without moving her head. After relaxing (count of ten) I gently asked again and got rewarded with a stride back of 1/4 ". I was telling Debbie about these responses, and after the second one we were both laughing, yes, she was cooperating, but a 1/4 inch stride? The third time, after some head nodding she moved back regularly.

Friday I was riding on my own. Toward the end of the ride I asked Mia to back up again. Total resistance to my hand aids, first overflexing and then inverting. AAARGH!!! I got a step back and promptly went to a loose rein walk. I just walked the rest of the ride, wending my way around the jumps in the ring, extending the walk a little and then doing the normal walk, then asking for a few strides of a shorter walk until my 30 minutes were up. Mia was DEFENITELY telling me that my hands were not good enough to get her to back up, and that my hands were not staying still enough at the posting trot, but I was OK at the walk.

So I went home, collapsed and thought about my ride. I realized that if I insist on riding Mia like I do when I am better I would totally ruin all her training and harm my relationship with her. Next week Debbie will be away at a big show and I will be on my own. My plans are--no backing, no posting trot on contact, no attempts at full contact. Just walking on contact a few minutes, talking with Mia's tongue, until she says that she has had enough, then walking on loose reins until she tells me it is all right to try it again. Maybe a few steps of a turn on the hindquarters. Plenty of soft halts and standing on loose reins. Accepting my limitations. Realizing that my ambitions had irritated my horse. KNOWING that the only way out of my difficulties is to work on the basics, a good, free striding walk on light contact with soft halts.

Believe me, when I have difficulties, I have found that the quickest way out of my problems is to go back to the basic first level of schooling and getting that right. When the basics are right again, and it gets cooler, I may be able to think about being ambitious again. Until then, well, the horse has spoken and the horse is right.

Have a great ride.