With Great Bit Comes Great Responsibility

Driving Thursday Coach Courtney wanted more whoa, so we borrowed Lyricc’s driving bit from Coach Kate. After an initial protest, Milton was fine with it. Turns out Milton doesn’t care what hardware he has in his mouth. He cares about total volume. Loud bit? Your hands better be quiet. Soft bit? Yak away. Thank youContinue reading “With Great Bit Comes Great Responsibility”

The Cone Theory of Interdisciplinary Riding

Saddle Seat Wednesday I think of dressage and saddle seat as a Venn diagram. For a low value of x, both are English-style horseback activities that do not involve jumping. The ultimate dispensation of x will require those more knowledgeable that I. The distance between the two is so small relative to how far awayContinue reading “The Cone Theory of Interdisciplinary Riding”

Milton at SSF

We shipped Milton over to Stepping Stone Farm for a second lesson [First]. I’m tickled with everyone. Coach Courtney has the flexibility to work with us on driving skills without insisting that the horse go like a Saddlebred. Greg is learning from the lessons and from the opportunity to work in an enclosed space. MiltonContinue reading “Milton at SSF”

Dressage June 2017: We Leg Yield, Who Knew?

Rodney and I had our third dressage lesson with Mr. E. [March, May]. We went for the full 45 minutes. No quitting early for us. We trotted. A lot. Probably as much as we have trotted for the rest of phase II combined. We did leg yields. I would not have said that I knewContinue reading “Dressage June 2017: We Leg Yield, Who Knew?”

Anatomy of a Snit

The Short Version Had a meltdown. Decided to stomp away from riding and blogging. Had a great lesson. Decided not to. I meant it at the time. The Rest of the Story Descent into Despair My first lesson after Mid-South was terrible. The bridle was set up in a way that makes me uncomfortable. BecauseContinue reading “Anatomy of a Snit”