Swimming... Pics!!

Last night I rode Isis and took her for a swim after. Lately I've been really pushing 2nd Level work with her. Walk/canter, canter/walk, canter/halt transitions, medium gaits, some lateral work, and just working in a generally more collected frame. However, last night I went back and we reviewed the basics, working in more of a Training level frame and doing simpler work. I find that we make the most progress when I push Isis for maybe a week or so and then spend a couple days reviewing the basics and doing simple work. Then I push her again and the quality of her work nearly always improves. Anyways, so she was hot and sweaty after our ride so I took her for a swim. It's been pretty dry this year so the pond isn't very deep. Oh well, we still had fun. Here are some pictures of our outing, but I look like a retard in them. Just ignore me! Oh, and yes I'm wearing jeans. I ride Isis in jeans alot. I also took off my boots and her bridle and put one of those halter dealios on her. I didn't really want to get any of my leather tack wet. I ride Isis in a Wintec, so I don't have to worry about the saddle!

This is pretty much the deepest spot in the pond right now.

Splashing with her left leg...

... Splashing with her right leg!

Our dog was swimming too, so Isis had to keep an eye on her.

More splashing!!

In other news, this morning I took a lesson on Grady with Rocky. It was AWESOME!!!!! WOOOOHOOOOOOO!!! I fell of twice, but I'm happier than I've been in a long time. The lesson started with Rocky saying "Ok, this isn't a dressage lesson or a jumping lesson. This is a lesson to teach Grady to behave." I was like "YEAH!!" First we worked on a circle and we discussed getting his attention when he acts like he's going to spook. She talked about the fact that alot of dressage riders are afraid to get on their horse's case and over bend them. She was like, "When your horse is spooking IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOUR HORSE IS OVER BENT!! Sometimes dressage riders are so worried about dressage that they forget to ride." So every time his ears would slam forward I would smoothly bring his head the opposite direction of the scary object so he'd have to bend his neck and pay attention to me. Then we worked him over ground poles. The first time we tried trotting he spun and dumped me. The next time Rocky had me really concentrate on sitting up and pushing with my butt, sticking my feet even a little forward. She was like, "Don't be nice to him!! He's a jerk and he needs to learn to go when you say!" So the next time, as he was getting ready to spin off, I sat down and kicked hard. He stumbled over them and then got better each time after. He did the same thing the second time he dumped me. He was just being a jerk and Rocky said that even though I can ride him a little more freely after he's done the right thing a couple times, I still can't trust him. So we worked him for longer than the original plan because of that second stunt of his, but by the end he was cruising over the poles in trot and canter and was responding well to my repremands when he started to get naughty.

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It's been the first time in long long time that I truly feel like I have hope for us. Rocky told me that I'm not a wimpy or bad rider, but that I just don't know what to do with him when he's naughty. So we made HUGE strides today with me getting on his case and getting him through it. I don't mind that I fell off a couple times, it really reinforced that I can't let down my gaurd and that I have to get on his case when he's naughty. By the end he was working nicely over the back, paying attention, not spooking or acting like he might, and he smoothly trotted and cantered the ground poles. Rocky said that she has no doubt that we will be able to work through his issues and that we can get our act together. After this lesson, I don't doubt it either...