At least something good happened this week; I got my lesson from Debbie on Tercel!  Her daughter that runs the stable when Debbie is gone, Sam, developed a gall stone and could not give me my lesson on Tilly, so I rode on Thursday since Debbie had come home early to take care of the stable.

Tercel had already gone on a trail ride on Tuesday, and he was not too sure about being ridden two days in a row, the poor horse.  He showed his anxiety/displeasure by becoming ear shy again.  I kept at his ears (approaching them with the face brush, touching his ears, and then retreating) until he finally let me brush his ears a little bit, then I left his ears in peace and worked on brushing his mane.  I was using my Stubben Siegfried with the Corrector pad, my double offset Prussian sided stirrups, and I used the Micklem bridle with the Wellep bit and the Dy’on blinkers.

While I was having my lesson with Debbie, she was also schooling one of her boarders (and her pony) over jumps.  This was fine with me; Tercel needs to learn that he has to pay attention to my aids even when there are many distractions in the ring.  Tercel was particularly resistant to my aids for the halt, the other horse was still moving, and why did he have to stop?  Debbie used this to school the pony that he was still supposed to go FORWARD even if another horse was slowing down or halting.  Except for the halting Tercel was quite good, he did not startle or spook, he was not disturbed when the pony passed him, and we had some very good walks around the ring, long striding, on contact, calm, relaxed, with him cheerfully looking ahead as he strode forth.  I think I even got him up to a 4 MPH walk without him trying to break into a trot.  Debbie was VERY PLEASED with how Tercel was striding out.

I think part of the reason I got such good results with Tercel was because my lower leg was a lot more stable with the double offset stirrups than it was with the regular stirrups.  Tercel seemed to think that my contact was more acceptable and I had no trouble getting to extend his stride at the walk.  I have come to the conclusion that GOOD hands need a stable lower leg, at least that is how it seems to work with me.  Tercel’s contact always feels good (if I’m not trying to halt), but with my lower leg being more stable he just seemed happier with it, a little bit more cheerful, more willing to speed up his walk, and his mouth felt a little bit softer to my hand.  I am beginning to wonder if part of my problems with Cider, for instance, could be occurring because she wants my lower leg to be more stable.

So I continued walking until after about 20 minutes Debbie wanted to see me trot.  I had little problem getting Tercel to trot, it took maybe 2-3 leg aids versus 6 leg aids like the last time I rode him.  Tercel’s trot was a little bit springier, and he kept contact well, and kept his speed up when we turned.  In fact Tercel trotted right up to my stability of my lower leg, when my lower leg started wavering he did not make his trot any springier, and when I asked him to walk he smoothly transitioned downward.  Around that time Debbie started remarking on Tercel’s “lipstick foam”, so I was doing something right.

After walking around some more I tried two more halts.  The first one was just as resistant as all the others, but the second time I alternately twitched my little fingers and he halted right away!  I checked the time, my 30 minutes were about up, so I asked Debbie to come and hold him so I could get off, the biggest and probably most effective reward for proper obedience to the aids.  I was tired, and I had to lean on Tercel two times before I felt ready to walk to the gate.  The first time I leaned on his shoulder, the second time I had my arm over his neck, and both times he just stood there.  When I rested enough I walked to the gate (with both of my arms outstretched to keep my balance) while Tercel got to stay with Debbie as she continued to teach her other student.  Once I got my canes and rested a little bit more I was able to walk back to the stable and sit down, man I was tired!

When Debbie finished and brought Tercel in, she told me that she liked seeing me ride in my Stubben much more than she liked seeing me ride in the EZ-Fit saddle.  I lost physical abilities when I had my last MS exacerbation (attack) 20 months ago, I have improved somewhat but there is something that causes me to feel and be very insecure in the saddle.  If I was a normal person it probably would not really matter which saddle or stirrups I used, but with the current state of my body I cannot seem to stay still and feel secure in the EZ-Fit saddle.  From my knee downward there is nothing under my leg unless I grip the horse’s sides hard, and I find it hard to stay centered in the saddle.  When I rode in my Stubben with regular Prussian sided stirrups I felt more secure, but my lower leg still was not stable.  But in the Stubben with the double offset Prussian sided stirrups I did not get this feeling of insecurity, my lower leg felt stable, I was able to keep my front-to-back balance, and I was better able to keep my side-to-side balance.  And Tercel responded positively big time, a few times on Thursday I actually felt like I was riding Tercel instead of being a passenger, riding effectively and getting the results I wanted without too much difficulty (except for the first twelve halts.)

Last Sunday Cider was still trying to twist herself up like a pretzel.  All the straightness I had cultivated disappeared.  I had to stop once to recenter the saddle, so obviously my side-to-side balance was pretty poor.  Even through her gyrations Cider cheerfully kept contact and was pretty responsive to my rein aids.  This is not necessarily because my hands were good, Cider will keep contact even with beginning riders, she seems to want to know what her rider’s hands are doing at all times.  However it was a beautiful day, the sun was not too hot and there was a gentle breeze, and Cider did not seem too mad at me.  She just wants me to ride PROPERLY before she gives me what I want.  I am sure when I finally get a hunt seat saddle that fits both her and me and put my second pair of the double offset Prussian sided stirrups on her, my riding will improve enough so Cider will grant me what I most desire now, a free striding on a straight line.  It is up to me, Cider is a lesson horse and I won’t get what I want until I ride her RIGHT!

I am still spending a lot of time rasping down Mia’s fast growing hooves.  On Friday I was wishing so much that I was steady enough so I could get her leg between my knees, and I could use the hoof trimmers instead of just the rasp.  Alas, I cannot, I would probably fall down under Mia and upset her.  I did her hooves out in the aisle before we brushed her, that way I was not as tired as usual and there was a bit of a breeze.  She did not cough, therefore she did not kick violently, and the rasping process was pretty peaceful.  Then I collapsed while my husband curried and brushed her, and when I recovered enough I gave her head, ears and mane a good grooming, something that Mia really enjoys.  Mia gets all dreamy eyed when she is brushed, she just gets into it and “tells” us how much she enjoys it.  Since she did not cough my hopes are up that I will be able to ride her again, I want her opinion on my increased stability of my lower leg.  I can always count on Mia to tell me exactly what she thinks of my riding ability, and she is always willing to tell me if I do not come up to her standards of equitation.  She is a good teacher.

Have a great ride!

Jackie Cochran         

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