Thursday, December 30, 2010

Christmas Joy, Travel NIGHTMARE and Dec. 30th Ride

Despite being away from Missouri and Yankee for 6 days, I had a pretty good christmas! My mom bought me a new sweet ass helmet since Yankee thought my last one was dinner (my spare was too tight!), winter riding boots (the tall ones), full seat devon-aire riding tights (AH-mazing btw) and some winter work gloves. Brandon bought me a gorgeous horsehair necklace laced with beads and a horse jewel (SO pretty). The bro bought me itunes (yay!). I got lots o' cash and gift cards (uber-yay!) and some more few odds and ends things that I felt very lucky to get this year- I thought that being (almost) 20 that I was excluded from gift giving!
The day after christmas Mom, Mike and I packed up in the car and headed to Wisconsin (to visit the grandparents) while Brandon went back with Zoey the dog to Missouri. AMPED on a caffiene pill, I drove for 5 of the 8 hour trip to Wisconsin. Sadly almost as soon as we arrived I got sick...AGAIN. 5 days after pulling through the flu. WTF. I barely did anything for 3 days, except go watch Little Fockers with the Auntie (tradition to go to a movie). On the 29th I packed up for Green Bay aiport to catch my 6pm flight home to missouri....not so easy. Flight was delayed 3 hours so I missed my connection in Chicago wich was a CLUSTER F*** already, and I had to stay the night in the airport, dreadfully sick.
It. Was. Horrible.
Couldnt sleep so I sat in the airport till my 6:30am boarding flight...left at 7am..arrived in Missouri at 8am...drove 2 hours to make it to an emergency Dr. appt for bloodwork at 10am. turns out I dont have Mono. which is good but I do have a sinus infection....
Which brings me to about 4pm when I drug my filthy mud covered ponyface out of his field. He was really good though while I spent 45 min. scrubbing the poop out of him. Yanks turned out pretty shiny, but look slike he might be getting thrush again so he gets to stay in tomorrow! Poor pony.
Seeing as I'm still sick, I thought a light dressage school would be best, espechially since he had 6 days off. Raquel was in the arena too so I had to lunge on the line-went really well, same impulsion and relaxation as usual.
I started off doing some breathing techniques and relaxed posture my book (Kottas on Dressage) from Cheryl (xmas gift) taught me. I concentrated REAAAALLLLY hard on stayin relaxed and centered. more difficult than it sounds. I just KNOW yankee's sudden, unexplainable crookedness is from me being crooked myself from trying too hard to bend him back the way he needs to go, I need to relax, he will relax. After struggling with him for 10 min I decided to try an excercise I thought up..teardrop figure 8's. On the top O part of the 8, i would walk, free walk or trot and on the stright part of the 8, I would either trot or canter. I concentrated on staying straight and keeping yankee straight too and after the straight-aways I would make a simple, clear change of bend with relaxation and soft hands... it worked about 50% of the time. NEW PLAN.
MIRRORS! Handy to have in the arena! Simple plan, I would walk, trot and canter as straight as possible using the mirrors as guides so I KNEW what we looked like. I would put more weight in the outside sturrup since he swings his haunches in and drifts in lately (I THINK thisis from a week of schooling renver and traver, my fault), as well as had an OPEN inside rein. WHA-la! it worked!
Thank the lord. More of this tomorrow, hopefully with pictures, must drag boyfriend to barn!

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