Recalculating the recalculations that were formerly recognized as being calculated

Y'all still with me?

Okay, so, ya know those images I've been posting from my March bareback ride? I'm talkin' about these bad boys.

That ride was therapeutic in more ways than one. First, it was directly after my really difficult lesson on Blackjack. Second, it was maybe an after Satin and her owner took a hard tumble in the ring, and I had to call 911 for the first time. They were riding alone, and no one saw what happened, but the gist is that Satin lost her balance while trying to take a tight turn after a fence, hit the ground herself, and sent her owner flying. Luckily, nothing ended up broken. Satin walked away covered in dirt, and her owner fortunately did not have a concussion. I was super shaken up by everything, so the bareback ride basically became a necessity.

Fast forward two weeks or so from then, Trainer G asked me if I would like to start riding Satin. We're more or less trying to figure out what caused the trip. Satin is known to trip when out of shape, and she's only been ridden maybe twice a month at most since December. It puts a lot of pressure on her and her owner to be able to perform at the level they're used to. The fear right now is that it could maybe, possibly, by some chance have been caused by something else. In any event, the current plan is to get her ridden more regularly, getting back to her usual beefcake self, and see if that helps. Even if there is something underlying (which the farrier, chiro, and dentist have all agreed that there isn't, still waiting to hear back from the vet), the extra fitness will probably help her feel more comfortable.

I took a lesson as an assessment ride to see where she's at. The day before, her owner had her in the round pen doing up and down transitions and had her go over poles to see if she would trip on her own. I got on while Trainer G and Satin's owner were discussing the plan of action. I walked Satin for a while, asking her to move forward and bend. There wasn't anything alarming. She was a little stiff and had a hard time stepping under herself, especially to the left. This is all to be expected with a horse that is out of shape and naturally has a harder time to the left than the right. We went to trot, and it was downhill immediately. Satin was off. After some further discussion, it was determined that the round pen session was too much too soon and left her incredibly sore. It felt like her hind end just wasn't even there. She couldn't hold the canter very well either.

Safe to say we kept it short. It was more of an evaluation to see where Satin is at. We picked certain exercises to focus on for the time being. I'm hoping she's snaps back into shape quick because 1) she's fat and 2) she's a damn good horse.