So, I forgot all about posting last week. But that’s okay, I have time to catch up now, since I am not going to the stables at all today. We were supposed to have a clinic tomorrow instead, with our instructors riding for another instructor, but we have a flu in the stables so it has been postponed.
Which means no hippotheraphy fix for me today. At least I can think back on last week and, once again, say “wow, what a horse” about Murphy. Even though it started off a little dodgy in the stables—he was a bit uneasy, even made a squealy sound and threatened with a hind leg—he was once again very happy to be ridden.
After the preparations the week before, we now tackled actual counter-canter. And not as we usually do, by starting regular canter and then doing something to switch which way were going. No, we actually had to ask for counter-canter. A bit daunting when you’re a) on Murphy, b) have sucky co-ordination and c) have a hard time feeling which canter you got.
Did we get the counter-canter every time? No. But, we did get canter every time, with fairly subtle aids and not much delay. And the more times we did it, the more explosive it got. I was able to concentrate on all the other details, such as my seat which ended up being pretty steady all along, instead of worrying about Murphy not taking the aids quickly enough.
We didn’t trot much, so I didn’t really get a chance to feel that lovely trot he gives me when he is in this mood. And even though he transitioned into canter so much better than before, his canter as such is still not exactly great. But, the transitions were enough to make me a very happy girl. The kind of “lift-off” I am getting on him now is so different from anything he has done before. I just wish I knew what’s behind it. If I am doing something very right, I’d like bottle it for future use.
Maybe Murphy is just having a lot of fun. It certainly seemed like it afterwards, as he was so charged up when I led him to the stables that I was expecting him to start snorting and prancing any moment.