Muscle Memory

I was a little hesitant going into my lesson last weekend only because I wasn't sure where my endurance would be. The fatigue was a bit on and off. I was happy to share the lesson. It meant more breaks for me.

Fuego had a lesson earlier in the morning, so my warmup was a quick WTC. He was a bit spicy with the kid, which made sense since Trainer T was trying a new gut supplement. Good chance that his tummy was a little upset. Hopefully, this supplement makes a difference. When I got on him, I took a long walk break. The tension was palpable. He was weirdly reactive to things happening outside of the ring. My legs also meant pretty much nothing, and he generally didn't want to bend his body at all. I can manage tension as long as he remains generally workmanlike.

When he's nervous but still dialed into what I'm asking, that's all I can hope for. At that point, it's on me to create a positive experience. I'm hoping this continued process will help us out when he feels less confident off property.

After a true walk break, I got him into a working walk so I could push some buttons before going faster. He listened but was still on edge. He jumped into the trot, which caught me a little bit off guard. I'm the worst about feeding into horses' tension and stiffening up in my saddle. We went a couple strides before I got myself together and relaxed into my stirrups. I kept leg on softly and decided to immediately jump into a figure 8. I also very quickly added in some extensions. At that point, he took a deep breath and remembered that going slow is actually easier. Great . . . except now I had no horse to jump with.

As my friend said, "Look at his little leggies"

He's such a double edged sword lately. Yeah, obviously I like that he's mellowed out. On the other hand, we're adding strides. Yes, you read that right, adding. He's so big that he should be able to amble through a course and get the strides, but, nope, he's putting in every little last step possible.

Since Trainer T thought that I looked like an absolute wreck before even getting on the horse, she kept us to a "simple" hunter course. There was a bending line, and we added a one stride, hence the quotation marks.

The biggest issue is what we've been dealing with lately: pace. But at the same time, I do want my position to be better. I'm working on holding my two-point longer, keeping my heels down, and pulling my shoulders back. I'm curious how things will be with a different saddle as well. If it sits better on his back, maybe it'll also help me sit better? Overall, our courses were a lot smoother this lesson than they've been in a while. I've noticed that we get through the warmup course well, but once the fences go up, we start to have issues.

Me: I have a derby horse :)
The horse in question:

As we were cooling off, I started to think more about how if it's difficult for me to adjust my distances with the higher fences, I can only imagine how difficult it is for the horses. For a while now, I've been coming to terms with the fact that I've likely taught Fuego some bad habits just based on how I am as a rider and how impressionable he is. We both find safety in the chip and thrive when underpaced. He also seems to feel relatively safe with refusing, whatever the cause may be (usually rider error, sometimes he's not confident, sometimes he's tired, sometimes there's a rouge neighbor horse off in the distance). I could be harder on him, but, eh, I kind of don't want to be. It's useful feedback.

All this to say, I might need some time on another, more experienced horse. This is another instance where I'm approaching a failure point. I need miles, but I'm not exactly sure where to turn for this. We've both gotten used to going around a certain way. Time to break the habit for myself so I can be more supportive and break the habit for him.

Every once in a while, things come together