Overthinker

Cisco seems to have learned yesterday's lesson about not bulging the right shoulder out and turning into a pretzel. Unfortunately, he's a bit of an overthinker. There was no way that he was going to push that right shoulder out, and when tracking left he wasn't going to get on the track because that might have been why he got the spanking. So instead, he stayed off the track and overcompensated by bulging through his left shoulder.

Le sigh.

Stop thinking!!

It took the whole ride to get a decent lap trotting around the track to the left.  I tried not to make a big deal about it, as he's a bit of a worrier. I slowed it down, and did only a few steps of trot until we lost the shoulder, then back to walk, and another transition to trot. Keep it simple. To the right he was great though. We only had one moment when he bulged to the right through a transition.

I only cantered him to the right, since the steering was so not happening to the left I figured the canter would be a gong show.

The (hopeful) miracle bit finally arrived at the tack store from South Africa. I'm hoping to have it in hand on Monday, Tuesday at the latest. Fingers crossed that he has a quieter mouth with it.

Please, please, please love it Cisco!

Phantom had her first ride in a week. And she was fantastic.

She started off more forward than usual, and trying to curl. I figured this ride would be of the burn off some energy sort, so I didn't really ask her to be in a frame. I just wanted her neck long and throatlatch open and going forward.

I blinged up my brown One K helmet with this monogram in copper metallic. I luvs it. 

At one point she motored across the diagonal with her nose tucked in and I sat up, engaged my core, let my arm out and closed my thighs. And her neck came up, she opened her throatlatch, lifted her withers and took me across that diagonal. And then stayed that way for the rest of the ride.

She's been offering this bigger trot the last few rides. I'm pretty sure she's getting to the point that her hocks need to be done, so I don't think it's because she's feeling super fantastic. I'm wondering if it's because I've been working so much on my position when I ride her. Whatevs, I'll take it!

And then I redid the one on my charcoal schooling helmet. This one is in mirrored rose gold. Very pretty.

She's eating her spirulina (mostly) with apple sauce, and what I think is the main factor - because I added stevia sweetener to it. Her breathing has been sounding good so hopefully the management changes I've made will make a difference later this summer when her coughing generally starts. I'm trying to hold off on getting her hocks done in case the coughing starts, as that is going to be the priority to fix. Being the princess that she is though, she'll end up sore in her back under the saddle, so they'll have to get done and I'll have to spend the money anyways.