Info gathering

 And the emotional roller coaster continues. 

I talked to Rana today and she made some suggestions and had some great thoughts. And also discussed leaving Dan with her for a week. Like camp! Ack! The stress and anxiety that gives me.... he's my baby! And I get it, I know intellectually the benefits... but the thought of having to deal with Fleck trying to kill him when he comes back, Funny missing him, me missing him, him potentially stressing, .... it's a lot. So I told her I'd think about it, but... couldn't promise I could do it. 

And then... my plan was to ride like she suggested. But then I had a moment of anxiety about putting him back in the german and it just wasn't as nice and pleasant of a ride. And to be honest, I'm tired of fighting with my horse. I'm tired of feeling guilty. But she had some good arguments about why her plan was a good one. And I did have some worries that by riding him on the buckle, while he wasn't braced, maybe he also wasn't helping himself either. So Kelli and I chatted about it. And she offered to take some video. We decided we were gathering information and using it to help me decide my path. 

So I started with some ground work. Pillar 1 and 2 and I suppose even a bit of 3, which maybe now today (a day later) I realize we're not there yet. But.... this is so new. Then I got on and walked on the buckle. And we did figure 8's and turns. And I tried to keep him soft in his underneck and I tried to keep his DSP's straight, even on turns. And I tried to keep his center of balance back underneath him instead of in front of him. And then we trotted. And I even cantered a little bit although I remembered now that Rana said maybe not to canter yet. And I picked up the contact a little bit. And I never got a connection, but I had less floppy reins. And Kelli got some video. 

Then, I went and put the german back on and watched Kelli ride for a bit and let Dan rest and chill. Then I got back on and started to ride. Kelli said that I should go back to riding exactly how I rode earlier so that the german was the only variable. okay, except.. that's not exactly what I was going for, but I got her point. So I did. And then I picked him up a bit too. And she videoed. And then she told me to slow his pace a bit, which I honestly had been trying to do, but maybe I tried a little harder. 

And overall... todays ride was not bad. He stayed mostly soft. Aside from the constant ADD distractions of looking into the distance. And at the end, he even felt good. I wouldn't say great, but he felt good. But watching the videos... I do still see a bit of lameness, although I could NOT feel it. So I'm not sure what that means... that it's not a true lameness and more of a head bob from lack of contact/not enough strength to hold himself consistent. Does it mean it's a legit lameness but so subtle that I could only feel it through the reins? Is it a legit "rein lameness"? Is that even a thing? 

So... still percolating. And still learning more about the pillars and that technique. And still undecided how I want to go about attacking this.