This week Debbie was gone to some big show, so I had to ride by myself Wednesday. Waking up vaguely nauseous I got to the barn, groomed and tacked Mia, and with my husband's help got to the arena. Remembering my thoughts about last week's ride, we started off at a gentle walk, with SOFT contact, following every move of Mia's head. Mia rewarded me with a good walk, moving right on out with minimal use of my legs. Then two flocks of ducks started sparing in the adjacent pond, and I saw a blue heron standing on the shore. So Mia and I stood there a little while, just looking at the birds until the ducks settled down.

Growing more nauseous by the minute, I sent Mia winding through the scattered jumps, turning one way then the other, all at the walk. Every step Mia willingly reached forward to keep contact with the bit. When I lengthened my outside rein for the turns Mia kept contact each time. Every halt was soft and prompt. After she warmed up some more I asked for a turn on the hind-quarters. The first time I asked I must have signaled with the rein a little too hard and she lost her straightness. The second time she was straight every step and we did a 270 degree turn. Every step of the ride Mia was content with me even when I made mistakes, and responded to my tweaking little fingers promptly and accurately. Such a big difference from last week!

Of course I had prepared for this successful ride. I switched back to my 32 yr. old Crosby, and put my Stubben offset stirrups on (the eye for the stirrup strap is off to the side of the iron instead of being right on top.) This was for the security of my seat. Since my seat has become much weaker and unstable due to the effect of the heat on my MS it directly affected my hands, making my hands shakier and rougher. With the off-set stirrups my feet were in the right place, flexed correctly, for a really stable foundation for my seat. My knees fit right into the knee rolls of the saddle. My upper calf was always in the proper place for when I had to apply leg grip. For Mia, besides changing the saddle (and riding better), I also changed some stuff on her bridle. I had used the bit-clip (I used a strap) option of the Micklem multi-bridle thinking it might help when I trot. Since I was not going to trot on contact I took the little straps off. I lowered the bit a hole since it looked like she had a wrinkle in the corner of her lips. These changes made Mia happy, she immediately relaxed her head and neck and stopped all her head shaking. I kept the leather bit guards on, Mia seems to appreciate them.

All the ride I would keep contact for as long as I could keep my hands following Mia's mouth. Then I would loosen my contact to "floating" reins, and after a few minutes I would ask for contact again. My fingers were ALWAYS relaxed and supple, flexing and relaxing to keep constant contact. The bit (Wellep) rode lightly on Mia's tongue and the corners of her mouth, which felt every twitch of my fingers. Mia's head never changed its heighth whether I was on contact or off contact, all that changed was the tension on the reins. The contact was around a half ounce of pressure, and my hand aids were maybe a gram or two of additional pressure immediately released. Throughout the ride Mia's tongue, lips, and jaw were relaxed, supple, and responsive.

I had to cut my ride short, quitting after just 25 minutes. I managed to get Mia back to the stable, and with my husband's help untack, feed her a little grain, and turn her back out before I started vomiting repeatedly. Though I felt miserable physically I was content, because in spite of being physically klutzier than usual I had ridden Mia better than the week before. Small improvements to be sure, but these small improvements led to a relaxed and responsive mouth, and a much happier free striding mare. I've been too sick to ride since then so I am glad I got to ride when I did. It is always a good idea to seize the day.

Have a great ride.