Today Talana and I did some riding in the morning. It was a little more exciting than usual; I got spilled on the ground. Both Talana and I were so focused on what we were doing that when Alice the dog decided to bark suddenly, we both jumped. Talana felt me slipping, and tried valiantly to stop in time to keep me on her back, but I was just a tad too off-balance and basically slid right off of her. I am convinced that if I had been able to grab her mane or hang on for a fraction of a second longer, I wouldn't have landed on the ground, because I could feel that she was getting us stopped as soon as she could. The fall itself was no big deal, really. I landed on one thigh, sort of sideways to the ground as though I was going to lie down for a nap. I got a couple scrapes and a bruise. The wind was knocked out of me for about thirty seconds, and then I was fine. I reached out and grabbed Talana's reins and asked her to come over to me while I sat on the ground, because she looked kind of worried. She sniffed me and I patted her face so that she knew I was ok. She seemed to feel better about things after that. And then I got up and got back on, and we went back to what we were doing. But first we went and took a good look at Alice, so that Talana knew what spooked her.
Other than that little incident (during which I was glad I have a short horse), we had a wonderful ride! I put out some makeshift poles to walk over. At first I put them too far apart, but once I got them positioned better we walked over them several times. This is what we were absorbed in doing when Alice interrupted us. What was so fascinating about walking over poles? It changed Talana's stride. I put them just far enough apart that she had to reach a tiny bit to walk over them, and immediately she stretched out into this long-striding walk that I've never felt before. She even continued to walk like that after going over the poles! It felt nice. We were moving along at a good pace; not slow, and her strides weren't short and choppy like they sometimes get when she's walking but wants to trot. I guess we were just so focused on how that was going that we forgot about the dog.
After walking over the poles, we practiced trotting some more. I'm still basically pointing her in a straight line and then concentrating on my seat when we trot. But this time, Talana didn't unbalance me by pulling her head down partway through. Maybe she's realizing her back feels better when I'm balanced, and pulling her head down is a good way to make me bounce around up there. So we did very well at the trot today! We even trotted over the poles a couple of times, and she used a lovely sort of jog that seemed comfortable for both of us. I am getting better and better at the sitting trot, which I must admit I've never been great at. But the way my muscles are (so tense, always), I just can't seem to post without stirrups. And I figure, does it really matter whether I post or sit right now? I need to get better at both anyway.
I am very pleased with our progress. Talana is moving more smoothly and evenly every day. She seems to be learning to pick up the pace I'm asking for and maintain it, rather than going a few steps and changing her speed. At the beginning we were doing a lot of walk a few steps, walk very very slowly a couple steps, speed up to a fast walk for two steps, slow down and see if we can stop now... drat, we have to keep walking. Now when I ask her to walk, we're walking, and less of this silliness about seeing if we can get the human to forget what we were doing. I'm sure it helps that I'm relaxing more and not lurching about so much. And as of today, I'm seeing similar improvements to our trotting.
I'm not riding for more than twenty minutes a day so far, and most of that walking. But I am amazed at how far we have come in such a short time. Talana is so much more willing, even though we started out in a good place with that. She's softer to my cues now, and I think she enjoys our little lessons. I am also getting much better at giving consistent cues, particularly with my legs and seat. That's something I've never had an opportunity to practice, but Talana responds beautifully when I do it right. I'm thinking more and more about Dressage, and wondering what we can learn besides the basic things we're already doing.
The other thing I'm thinking about is riding with just a neck rope and seeing how that goes. I am quite sure Talana will not decide to take advantage of that by zooming out from under me. She may, however, decide that grazing is an option. I think we will practice with the rope on the ground first so that she learns the cues. I really don't think she will know what to do at first. She doesn't know how to neck rein at all, and that seems like an indicator that the neck rope will be a little odd to her. I think it will be fun to see if I can teach her. I want to know what she can do if she has the freedom to move her head any way she likes.
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