What a week!

Do you have those days where you feel truly challenged, like you're so crap at this sport you shouldn't even bother getting on? I had a day like that this week. Several, actually. It's been a week of distinct lack of sleep (thanks baby!) and very hot days (thanks climate change!) resulting in negative self-talk and lots of crying. All a normal part of parenting and riding, in my experience!! Luckily, my horses forgave me and behaved beautifully. :)

I had a lesson with Fiona Gruen on Saturday and we went through the test I was supposed to be riding (2A) at an adult riding club fun comp the next day. It was actually quite good as I hadn't done that with a coach since pony club days and I'd forgotten all the tricks you can do to make your corners look better, your transitions look more round and through and your halts square! Of course, I've forgotten half of it (Fiona's lessons are always packed so you only take in a fraction of it), but what I've retained is gold.

The other highlight of the lesson was the concept of using the strengths of the horse to achieve improvement in weaknesses. So, for Assegai, his canter is a strength now, and Fiona suggested using his canter to get a good trot. It was quite a fun exercise, because his canter feels easy and I didn't have to work as hard! After some good canter exercises, straightening him and making him use his hindquarters properly, we went forward into a swinging impulsive trot - in the main. He's not the most self-motivated horse so it all died after half a circle, but that was half a circle of awesome. :)

Problematically, sitting trot just wasn't working and Fiona commented that the saddle was not working well. It was moving quite a lot, the pommel was much higher than the cantel and it was no wonder I was bouncing around! Luckily, it's very adjustable (being a Wow) so I got onto the lovely Julia who is coming out in a couple of days to fix it up. Assegai changes shape through his wither pockets quite a bit as he gets stronger so the saddle tends to sit up on the muscle, necessitating a wider headplate and adjustment to the Flair panels to balance it again.

We made it to the MARC day but it had been one hell of a night without sleep the night before and I was literally the last rider in the draw for dressage so I kiboshed stressage for the day and thought I'd just do a couple of rounds of jumping. These days are good to get Assegai's confidence up as the jumps are little and there are good scary ones in there. True to form we had a stop, but it was corrected quickly and he jumped pretty well. I'm learning that he needs a lot of time to assess spooky jumps or jumps with a distinct problem to them so I need to just leave him alone, keep a supportive leg on but let him check it out. He's not dishonest, it's not naughtiness or disobedience, it's anxiety - he absolutely hates hitting jumps and he'd simply rather not jump it if he thinks he's going to whack a leg! I'm sure I will come to love this about him, but right now it can be annoying.

The ground was rockhard and the course was , um, interesting (literally a 180 degree rollback to get from 2 to 3!), so I left it after one round, packed up the family and came home! Nice day, though. Got to catch up with my mates, so that was a highlight!

I've started the process of planning our new property - where the stables and yards will go, where the fences will go, how we'll set up the water and so on. It's both very exciting and quite overwhelming! I'm using permaculture principles and trying for a plan that makes the most efficient use of time and space. I bought book by Jane Meyer (sp?) on managing horses on small properties and it's been gold. Highly recommended! As is her site: www.equiculture.com.au

So, lots to do! And I've got uni assignments and exams coming out the wazoo (that I should be working on right now!).

Happy riding!