Finally.....

Argh.... After the horse show and my one dressage ride.... I developed the flu and was out for a week.... then had to work too, so it was 10 days before I got to ride again! Egads! Luckily that day dawned sunny and warm and beautiful!! Fleck and I had a most excellent trail ride.

Today.... did NOT dawn sunny and warm and beautiful! It dawned dark, dreary, windy, rainy and cold. Ugh... Luckily it was dressage lesson day in the indoor! Todays theme was "Be tough... this ain't training level anymore"! hee hee...In other words... he's no longer trucking around in a long and low frame. We are COLLECTING!! Mostly on that outside. So I cannot let go or drop him in the outside rein. Don't give up... He CAN do it... and looks quite lovely too when he does. I really need to remember to own my elbows and keep them down (thus my hands up) and my thumbs up. Especially through the transitions. Cindy had me do many walk trot walk trot walk trot, then again in SI. Instantaneous!! And ON the bit! It was harder than I thought it would be. Same with the canter to walk to canter to walk. That was almost easier. Then once we got that... we changed it to a three loop canter serpentine and half halt but don't walk. Ha!!Fleck kept walking... so I had to keep my hips and seat cantering but still get the half halt and wow!! Did it work! Fleck really rocked back and had a lovely counter canter. Sweet!!!

So yep... don't give it up!! Collect that outside of his body so he can't lengthen it and then he can't put himself together.

Fun, fun!!