Today I dared to tack Ruby up for a short arena ride. Short because at 8:30 this morning, she was sweating while standing still. Now that we have the new bridle, it's time to work on our outstandingly atrocious circles.
I have been ashamed to mention this on the blog because it's kind of embarrassing (especially considering how long Ruby and I have been together) but our circles aren't, well, circular. On a good day, we would be able to make a relatively smooth oval. On our bad days, our circles were generally diamonds or, if Ruby was feeling cheeky, a shape that on a kid's cartoon would resemble a lumpy pile of vomit.
I wondered if this issue was being exacerbated by the side pull. It's difficult to have any kind of 'supporting rein' when your horse is wearing a rawhide nose band. This is also one reason why I haven't yet asked for a canter from Ruby - I have steering at the trot, but not smooth, steady steering. It was almost as if we were turning a second or two late which sometimes caused over-correcting on my part.
Let's just say that we made actual circles today, both at the walk and at the trot (with bend, holy cow!). We did figure eight's that actually looked like eights. We were doing so well that for the first time ever, we attempted spiraling in and out. They will obviously need improvement but WE DID IT. ACTUAL CIRCLES.
Ok, I'm done now.
No comments:
Post a Comment