Lisa's Blog post # 26

Well, when I got him in from the pasture on Saturday morning his back was fine so I started loading up for the show but he reacted pretty severely when I squeegied him off after his bath so we stayed home - bummer. 

It turned out to be the best waste of $50 ever!  The “every cloud has a silver lining” and “all things work together for good” sayings are really true for some people.  Missing the show and XC schooling afterwards, which is what I was really looking forward to the most, gave my husband time to give me a pep talk.  He brought it to my attention that I had become “obsessed” with my riding and it had gotten out of control.  He encouraged me to relax, be patient and let things take their course.  He reminded me that an “amateur” is someone who competes out of love for that sport – not out of pressure to perform - and being so goal oriented was robbing me of the joy God intended I get from Cotton.  Also, my main responsibility is to take care of him and our boys so I needed to be content with what I can accomplish with less time in the saddle than I would like.   How sad would I be if I missed time with Jim and my boys just so I could get a blue ribbon one day?

I rode him today at a walk and was able to get him round and reaching down to stretch his back. The good part is that I was actually able to get him to do that on a long rein – something Cheryl said she could do but that I hadn’t been able to accomplish yet!!  I could tell when he was round and when his back legs had gotten out from underneath him.  Every time I asked him to go round again he responded just from the cues from my seat.  I haven’t experienced that before!!  He was swinging and relaxed at the walk so we eased into a rising trot.  He stayed round through the transition and when he hollowed I could easily get him to go round for me again.  He sped up as we turned toward the barn but I was able to keep him slow with my seat and he still stayed round.  He stretched pretty well at the trot and after a ½ hour of riding we headed home.  His back was fine after that brief workout – he didn’t react to the squeegie on his back after his bath – yay!

What I’m learning about Cotton is that when he is relaxed and does not have his own agenda he is such an easy horse to influence.  But when he tries to anticipate what we are going to do or when he has someplace he wants to go I have a hard time taking charge and over riding his agenda.  I figure that if I can learn how to ride correctly when he is calm, those skills will carry over so I can influence him even when he has something on his mind.

Moral of my story - enjoy your horse!! And thank God you have one!!