The pursuit of balance...

The weather has cooperated enough in the last week to let me work Meadow 5 out of the last 7 days! Not too shabby. And then, when not riding, I dwell. dwell. dwell.

My two main items to work on with Meadow are the following:

• sensitivity to the leg
• balance at canter

Interestingly, I think they are quite related. So with those issues in mind, here are some notes on my last week's rides.

• Friday: First ride in 3 weeks. Was able to get canter depart both directions & trotted over a 1/2 crossrail. Canter fell apart after 3-4 strides. Was at friend's indoor arena so naturally had a bit more forward than at home.
• Saturday: Rode at home. Sucked back, but still able to get canter departs both directions. Again, fell apart within a couple strides. However, tried a set of 3 trot poles with a small ~18" verticle and had a lot of success with that.
• Sunday: Did a walk-only session at home to stretch her out but let her have a rest day. Again, very low energy & dull to leg. Finished quite frustrated with that lack of sensitivity.
• Monday: In-hand work concentrating on a working walk & snappy walk/canter transitions. High energy was the name-of-the-game. I was very pleased with how she responded to that.
• Tuesday & Wednesday: Off
• Thursday: Started with in-hand work, again concentrating on high-energy & sensitivity. Afterwards, I rode and was SO pleased with her forwardness. Got some great leg-yields at the both the walk & trot, but better yet, I got a FULL canter circle to the right for the first time ever. The left was not so lucky, but that is her tougher side anyways. Unfortunately, I may have pushed it a little bit, because I tried the small verticle set at the end, and she was just worn out. Didn't want to lift up her feet & kept knocking it down. Oh well. I'll take my sensitivity & balance success! The strength and stamina piece isn't going to get there until the weather clears up more & I can actually get her out on some hills & hacks.

Tomorrow, I take her to my friend's indoor again, & we'll see how it all builds. I really can't wait for Spring & consistent riding again! If we made this much progress in a week, I think a solid 30 days will make a world of difference!