Better.... hmmmmm

 

(The weather this morning was GLORIOUS. But it did NOT last long at all. )

 Today I was supposed to have a lesson with Jacel. I asked her if we could flat instead of jump in hopes that we wouldn't further aggravate his neck/shoulder (Although I honestly think the third level frame is aggravating it more than jumping, but.... I'm giving it a try). Plus I wanted to see what she thought and saw. BUT... twas not to be. She couldn't do any earlier than 2 pm and the rain started at 1:50. Doh!

 

BUT... luckily I kind of had a suspicion so I changed course and got out to Ashland at 11ish. I decided to ride bareback because I wanted to see if that changed anything with the saddle concerns I noticed and because it was colder than I thought and it would help keep me warm. So we popped on and headed for the trails. I figured I could do a nice long hack and we could just enjoy each others company instead of fighting for a bit. And if it looked like my lesson would get rained out, I could do a little ring work on my own and if not, I could pop the saddle on and go. So we mostly walked, but did a tiny bit of trotting and cantering. It was a gloomy chilly day, especially after the amazing weather we've been having, but.. it didn't rain on us, so yay. We came across some deer and geese but nothing else. Dan was super. I tried my best to let him be on the buckle, but not inverted. And bless him, he was trying. He put himself "on the bit" quite a bit. And every time he did I gave him neck scritches and tons of good boys. 

 

Then when the lesson was officially canceled, we headed back up to the arena for a bit. We were done with our trail ride anyways. We got some decent work. We had good shoulder ins and good haunches in at the walk. We had some decent trot circles and canter circles. Especially to the right.. that canter was divine. Or maybe it was left. I can't remember. But he was good. He was a bit fussy and snatched at his shoulder a good bit. And rooted and kept stretching down or just completely standing, turning, and staring into the distance. But when I (in my mind anyways) quietly and politely asked again for the correct neck posture, he was a good boy. I gave him a TON of walk breaks on the long rein. We even got a nice half pass both ways at the trot and canter although the left canter half pass was a bit fast. Hee hee. We didn't do a ton. And just as I was ready to quit... then got tempted to go for more, there was thunder in the distance. So thanks God. I needed the prompt to not push it. We headed in and untacked and the rain started. As I was pulling out of Ashland there was a huge lightning bolt and thunder crack, so.. good timing. And that was right about 2 pm. 

So... while I don't think the saddle is the magic answer... I do wonder if it isn't creating more discomfort. And I definitely still think the shoulder/neck is bothering him. I just wish I could figure out how to fix it. And hopefully it's fixable.