Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony. ~ Thomas Merton

Monday, February 7, 2011

Neither Pleased Nor Satisfied

I am in an unhappy place with my riding.  Not with my actual rides, with my riding in general.

I feel as if I don't have general control over Cricket's direction and speed.  She doesn't get the whole idea of "maintain gait, maintain direction."

The litany of reasons for this sad state of affairs is a long and pathetic one.  Cricket's bucking, my confidence; Cricket's headshaking, my confidence; Cricket's dominance, my confidence.

It seems she has all these little ways of putting me just enough on edge that I don't push the issues that need to be pushed.

Horsenality is not an excuse. It is a piece of information that gives us a strategy.

How much have I not been taking this to heart?  I am still making excuses for Cricket because she's a smart, LBI.  I'm still using the excuse that she's a LBI to cover up how much I hate repetition and pattern work.  But here we are, preparing for a L3 Freestyle audition and I cannot elicit a consistent trot or a rhythmic walk.

I think it's time for a warm glass of "suck it up and deal with it."  I think it's time to get serious about pattern work.  She's done great with the FTR and Corners Game.  It's time to take it to the next level and start tackling the Cloverleaf.

3 comments:

inchwormwv said...

You are making progress in leaps and bounds - I think tackling body imbalance is a clever way to bring more harmony into your riding. Your confidence has grown a lot :-)

Tina said...

You'll get there! The first step is admitting you have a problem, right? ;) Blaming the horsenality is so human, we all do it!

I'm in much the same mindset about my riding. And, believe it or not, a new saddle didn't help. (Much to my chagrin.) Someday, when I have space, then we'll get back to the riding. Trying to do it in the odd-shaped, not flat, cluttered space I have is just setting me up for failure. I hate the repetition and pattern work, and so does Dix, so I just don't do it and use my lack of space as an excuse. So, I'm focusing on driving instead! Problem solved!

Lisa said...

Thanks, Ladies.

Tenley - Have made huge strides and I'm trying to be appreciative of how far I've come. I'm not nit-picking each ride and I am having fun with Cricket.

Tina - I wish there was a magic bullet, like a new saddle or a new anything. I'd gladly throw money at the problem if that were a guaranteed solution.

I think the fact that Cricket hates it is as much a reason to do it as any. She's almost 10 and it's time she had a little dose of "suck it up and deal with it." I should be using her horsenality to develop a strategy to bring her into better balance. Instead, I seem to cater and kowtow to her every whim.