Yesterday’s lesson was the best lesson I’ve had in several weeks (although it’s been two weeks since my last one, so I suppose that’s not saying as much as I want it to). We used the pelham bit, which is more restrictive and gives me more control, and you know what? It totally works. I’m not saying Tigger didn’t give me any trouble, but the couple of times he did I was able to win back control and exert my will without nearly as much effort. Wendy says it’s definitely not my fault – he is going through a phase, and he’s doing it with everyone, including her. That’s somewhat reassuring.
The other thing that went well was cantering. I’ve had this tendency to post while cantering, and apparently that’s sometimes fine and sometimes not so fine. It depends on the horse, the day, the rider, maybe the weather…who knows. In yesterday’s lesson, it was while starting to canter that Tigger would head for the middle of the arena, and Wendy decided it was because I was posting, leaning too far forward, and giving him too much leeway in the reins. She suggested I sit the canter, which made me heavier in the saddle, and kept more pressure on the reins. As soon as I started doing that, he stopped acting out. It was great (because I felt in control), and not uncomfortable. A little bouncy.
Oh, the jumping was good yesterday, too. Everything about riding yesterday was good!