Where O Where...

Has my left bend gone?  I have stumbled on an old problem recently.  When I first started riding Stinker he had a love for bracing through the left shoulder and letting his haunches trail to the right.  I spent several months at the beginning of this year working on straightening him.  You know when we had panic moments like this....because LEGS CAN NOT TOUCH!!!!

My mamma said that legs are the devil

Then something started to click in his brain and he realized he could do that and we started progressing nicely.  It started small with just a bit more resistance, but then the vet did chiro and I assumed that the resistance was going to be fixed.  Then a certain idiot (*ahem* Stinker) stuck his leg in the fence and was lame/sore for awhile.  And I attributed the resistance to that.  Last week I finally had to face the fact that I had a problem.

He can move like this...he just doesn't

Unfortunately, S was at the AECs all of last week (S and her student totally kicked butt) so I didn't have a lesson.  I readily admit that I am very dependent on lessons.  When I get left to my own devices for too long I start thinking to much which leads to a lot of self doubt.  I think it had been almost three weeks since I had a lesson, but I finally got a lesson on Thursday.

I love his mismatched white on his lips

At the beginning Stinker felt great, he was bending both ways and warmed up quickly.  He was adjustable at the walk and felt really soft.  The trot felt really good too, especially to the right.  The left wasn't quite as good, but it wasn't bad.  Then we came back to the walk and the wheels fell off.  All of a sudden my horse that was ok with moving off my leg didn't want to be touched with it.  He actually spooked when I moved one of my legs...

Giraffe mode engaged...

WTF horse what am I supposed to do with you?  In warm up we had done leg yields and shoulder fore in both directions.  Ten minutes later it was OMG CAN'T HORSE!!!!  I tried walking him on a long rein to settle him (failed), I tried figure eights to settle him (failed), I tried every suppling trick S and I know (failed).  He just kept getting more and more worked up.

Not the crazy eyes I was getting

Finally, I said fuck it and took him across the diagonal(ish).  Every couple of steps I changed the direction (aka the drunken sailor exercise).  Then I made him do some really shity (like really really really shity turn on the haunches) and we did the drunken sailor act again.  I didn't ask for anything except he had to move off my seat and legs.  I didn't care if he shoved his head up like a giraffe and jigged, as long as he was moving forward and turned I was ok with it.

Someday we will get this under saddle

He finally started sneezing and actually giving as we turned.  I asked for some walk and he was back to being loose.  I am sure that there is a better way to break up the tension and get things flowing, but for now we will be drunken sailors.
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