I rode like

I rode like a rock star tonight. Whatever that means. Actually, I put the widest gullet plate back into the Wintec Isabell, a sheepskin pad underneath and a shim under the pommel to compensate for my tilted pelvis (yeah, whatever) and as soon as I sat down into the saddle, I felt much more able to ride. I mean, the treeless is nice and all, but biomechanically it isn't working for me. And until I can cough up the money to invest in a high end, well made saddle and get it fit and checked and refit once or twice a year thereafter, I have to make the Isabell or the Flexion work and get rid of the other to recoup some cash. I'm hoping I can use the Isabell with the widest gullet plate, and maybe have it flocked to fit Clover better in the meantime. She went well in it tonight.

I've been lunging Clover for a few minutes before getting on each ride, and it's made a difference in getting her loosened up and moving more forward; warming up is more productive and less of an argument. I'm starting to feel more here and there: how it feels when her shoulders lift when I've engaged her hind end and gotten her straight, sometimes I can even tell what I did to get her there (ha ha). Sometimes I don't think or feel like I'm riding any different than I ever have, but then sometimes I watch a video of a lesson or look in the mirror to make sure we're going straight, and I see that I'm not pulling back or hanging, or riding backwards so much. So maybe things do get better, hah.

We did some work over poles, just three poles on a 12-15 meter circle, which you think would be easy, but it's not just a matter of getting over the poles, it's also maintaining the quality of the gait, and the correct aids and the accuracy of the circle itself. You wouldn't believe how many times it took me to get over the poles and the rest of the circle correct. It's a rider's exercise. So I finally got it all together, and then it's time to change direction, heh.

We also did some leg yields at the trot (quarterline to wall) and shallow broken lines at the canter.