Arwen: Watch right hind leg for being lazy. Use spiral in and out to get right hind under. Use voice in upward transitions to make cleaner, if needed. Don’t worry about what the head is doing…if she gets flippy, it means she is not moving forward so use the stick and go to the hind end. Remember to stretch left side.

When she feels fussy on the bit, it means her neck is not long enough and she feels restricted. Lengthen the neck and she settles better. Don’t rush the trot!...

Just a quick type up of lesson notes before I go to bed.

Arwen (3 year old, Training level ish): Remind myself that she's just a 3 year old, and not to nitpick on her. On lunge, sprial in then step forward and in front of her shoulder while asking for the canter transition. Send her back out to make it easier for her.

Careful in trot that she doesn't get short in the neck. (Always!) To get her quicker off the leg and not the voice, close the leg and use a little tap with...

ETA Quick update: Since the last time I tracked the progression of things, Arwen had MORE time off due to MORE stitches! Between that and the rain, progress is slow and she hasn't spent a lot of time under saddle. Probably another reason I'm so pleased with how yesterday went.

Baby girl is growing up. It felt SO weird yesterday to leave Bella at home and just take Arwen (3 years old!) to my lesson. We spent the morning up in Austin and had a total blast.

It was...

Doesn't mean we should have airs above the ground! I took a lesson with Harald Bauer yesterday (one of the head riders at the Spanish Riding School), and we spent most of the canter work on the hind legs. He's a firm believer in the "deep and round" philosophy, and my mare did not want to do the flying change "deep." She put on quite a show, I'm afraid. She doesn't like to feel constricted, and he took away my giving rein and made me keep my hand fixed. She didn't like that...

It's been a while since I tracked the progression of things.

Bella and I started going to a new instructor in April, and at the same time I got her acupuncture for her back. Both of these things have made a HUGE difference in the flying change. Bobbie (new instructor) is having us take the change out of a much free-er canter, and it's helping. We've also unblocked her shoulders, and her brain has been really good. No standing on the hind legs at ALL since our first lesson with...