Negative Thoughts

So it rained. And the worst and best part is that no one else showed up and Walker and I had a lesson to ourselves. This is bad because if I had known that, I would not have wanted it to rain. Walker is fine in the outdoor arena at night without other horses.

Anyway, it was a good lesson because I actually got a lot of attention which is something I've been complaining about for awhile. My instructor started the lesson by complimenting me, saying "I was doing a really good job with Walker since he was not an easy horse." This made me feel really good about myself because she's a very accomplished woman and I sometimes feel like people don't realize how difficult my horse can be (at least to a rider of my limited abilities).

We worked on some fundamentals which is obvious very important. She helped me get a better seat, tipping my pelvis forward and inadvertently making me sit up straight. I have a tendency to sit forward and the small tip really made a difference to feeling (and presumably looking) like a better rider.

We also worked on Walker's stiffness. We did some turns on the haunches to move his shoulders and a lot of canter work, particularly on his bad side. She confirmed my thoughts that Walker was drifting and misbehaving on the turns because he's simply stiff and requires more outside aids to push him around the turns.

It was all very good basics for me to apply to our everyday rides, even though I was slightly perturbed and disappointed afterwards that I had to work on basics at all. Obviously I needed it and I'm glad we did it, but its slightly upsetting to realize that you still need to work on that kind of stuff. But I guess that basics are a constant in riding, and especially with Walker, who I have spent most of my last 6 months fighting with instead of working on those basics.

I guess last night was an important lesson in a number of ways. I spent all day thinking negatively about something that turned our positive and being anxious about something that actually went well. Then I spent the evening after my lesson feeling down that I had to work on basics when today I am clear enough to see that it was actually a really big help and I shouldn't feel bad about it at all. It can only help me progress faster in the long run as basics are, well, basic. I think perhaps I should pay for the occasional private lesson with my instructor instead of my trainer who I've had some disappointing thoughts about lately (with regards to how wrapped up she was with her star pupil all summer and how she wasn't always 100% there for me when I needed her).

Now I promise that I will try to get pictures of my horse to break up these long wordy posts I've been writing, but in the meantime, I found this nice poem: