Happy No Stirrup November!

It's the most miserable time of the year! Now go back and sing that line otherwise it's not funny.

I started off No Stirrup November with a bang, if I must say. The leathers and irons came off on Monday and they're not going back on until December (honestly, I'm counting the days). I'm kind of glad to be rid of them; I bought my leather brand spanking new and they came to me marked unevenly. I haven't had a chance to put correct holes in them for jumping an flatwork, so they're been affecting my horizontal alignment. If you're confused, look at the photos from my last lesson. See how much I'm leaning to the left? That's what I'm talking about, and it's those little body shifts that easily throw your horse off balance.

Anyway, with my stirrups gone I was not only more centered, but I was way more relaxed. It seems like everything except the rising trot and jumping are far easier to do without stirrups. I should do no-stirrup work more often, it's fun. Of course, it has it's downsides. While My riding was better, I still struggled with my balance at times (it got better as the lesson went on, but it was difficult at first). We practiced flying changes again, and I didn't get a single one. It was mainly because I was having trouble holding on with Baby jumping as strong as she was on Monday. It's a work in progress.

It started to get dark, so we moved to the indoor to work on canter transitions and rounding the gait. It was beautiful. It was all just beautiful, except for that one ugly trot when I asked Baby to the right. No, Baby, stay round. Relax into the transition. Ain't nothing bad gonna happen.

I'm the only one celebrating NSN at my barn, but I hope my other fellow equestrians out there are feeling the burn with me. We can share Tylenol and complain to each other. Isn't that what friends are for?