BEFORE I get in the saddle.....

I have a new mantra.... and I must remember it BEFORE I get in the saddle. And remind myself as I swing up. And remind myself as I start to warm up. And KEEP reminding myself. ;) 

And that mantra is... We will NOT go choppy, fast, and mincy. We WILL go BIG and BOLD and forward and LOFTY!! No more fast choppy trot steps. From the very get go, EVEN in warm up, I need to sit and wait with each post. I need to encourage Fleck to take big forward long strides and track up behind. He CAN do it. It's just not what he naturally wants to do. But the more I encourage him to do it, and the less I allow the choppy fast stuff, the more likely he will be to stay that way. And it's so much healthier for his joints and his soundness too. 

So anyways, once Cindy got onto me for warming up in that shuffly trot, we had a nice ride. She put kinesio tape on my shoulders and I really think it helped me with not rolling my shoulders forward and hunching. We worked a good bit on the trot with halfpassing and shoulder in to renvers. It was fantastic. I really got some good half pass trots in. :) 

So.... NO MORE SHUFFLY FAST TROT!!! EVEN if I'm just "warming up". ;)