Wishes she could have a new right side.

Blah... So we had a very good ride today (more on that later) but I really need to figure out whats going on with the right side of my body. My hips are twisted (right hip is about 1/2 of an inch higher) but it usually is ok, and can usually work around and with any stiffness that is present. With this issues over Christmas, and after having the massage 2 weeks ago the joint pain is gone but my muscles are not handling the change well. Basically the muscles that I use to open my hips and wrap my thigh and lower legs around Lucas are extremely tender and weak. Its nice that for once its not a joint issue, but it still hurts!!

So for today's ride I lunged Lucas a lot! Once I got on he was a bit sticky but I mixed up the warm up a bit and did some rollbacks and finally got him to trot off out of one of them. Once I get him going hes ok and he was very good today. Once we got a bunch of long trotting done we threw in some short canter sections (10-15 strides at a canter, not much but we are still trying to focus on quality not quantity) to the right. Transitions were good and solid and he came back to the trot and walk steady and quiet and wasn't anticipating the 'next canter'.

(Just a note here: I've noticed he's getting 'stuck' more when we don't have some poles or trail stuff out, maybe hes extremely board of just going around the ring?)

I've been so worried and worked up over his left lead that I've been avoiding much of any cantering. We both get upset at my inability to cue him correctly and then I end up making us both even madder by trying to 'fix' him. I've been working with him on the lunge line that when he picks up an incorrect lead or gets disunited that I use a vocal command for him to come back to the trot for one stride then to canter off again.

So today I let him come off a diagonal change of direction to go to the left and simply sat and kissed. He took the wrong lead and threw his head around, but I let him come back and tried again twice. I think started thinking and using my brain about how to fix it if I couldn't fix 'me'. So after a bit I tried it again, just sitting, using my right spur and kissed. He got the wrong lead but I used our command, he came back to the trot, I kissed and he cantered off on the correct lead. I let him go a couple of strides then went back to work at the trot for a bit and let him come back to a walk and gave him a big pat. It was good because neither of us was as frustrated today as we have been about the lead, and we got it without a fight.

So we finished off with some one handed work, our correction bit is not the bit for that as he tends to get lighter and lighter and behind the bridle if I correct him too much in it. (Its great in that it offers a correction, but he likes to reach into in and travel level when the bit is at rest, but lightens up his front end when I need it) I think its time we look back into the bag of bits to see what else to try.