Author: Elaine

I celebrated the start of April by riding Lily in my dressage saddle today. (I had been riding her in her Western saddle, which is comfortable as far as Western saddles go, but is not nearly as comfortable for me as the dressage saddle.) Lily seems to have rediscovered her work ethic, lost during the weather caused layoff in December and January. She never did anything particularly exciting while I was waiting for her to find her misplaced training, but there were a few days when I rode her for three minutes and called it good. It is so disconcerting when the horse doesn’t feel like she is quite touching the ground.

Afterward I helped my trainer by giving a beginner a longe line lesson while she worked with the beginner’s older sister, who is starting to jump cross rails. I was baffled by my inability to get my beginner to sit up straight as the horse trotted, until I finally asked her to put the reins in her outside hand and start patting the top of her helmet with her inside hand. She stopped collapsing, and remembered what it was supposed to feel like when she took the reins back, so I was pleased. As always, I was astonished that anybody sticks out riding instruction during the initial phases because it just looks so painful. However, she had a big smile on her face much of the time, and I think she had fun.