Unlocked

Job interview went well! It's an interesting position, not one that you'd think of when you think of my degree (experimental/research psychology), but it definitely seems like a really cool place to work! It's in PR/Marketing and I would be doing "data correlations" (so like data analysis using zero order correlations?) for various clients hiring the company to do PR for them. I am primarily looking into more researchy positions rather than JUST the data, but the data part is my favorite part! So that could work, plus let me tell you, zero order correlations are super easy, they'll be getting a lot more interesting things! But I have no experience in PR or marketing soooo we'll see what they think. I emailed them to thank them today so that should get me extra points. I've also applied to maybe 15 positions since then so now we just wait and see (and apply to more positions!).

Today, after crossfit murdered my wrists with some overhead squats, I headed out to the barn to see little TC. I've been taking it easy on him all this week, mostly because of the horse show and my questionable mood. I basically just wanted to have fun with him so that I don't risk transferring my (now only occasional, yay) crappy feelings to him. So he's been getting extra pony cuddles, extra easy work, and just plain having fun.

Who loves progress pictures? Our second ride ever in January

Same day

We started at the trot and I worked on my position a bit while he stared at a blanket on the fence much of the time in warm up. I keep getting way way too far forward with my shoulders because he's so unpredictable with his balance and sometimes I get left behind. Well, a slightly closed hip angle is no excuse for leaning forward, looking down, and piano-ing my hands! I miss taking lessons and not sitting at a computer most of the day. 

Back at the walk, we really drilled the leg yields. He's getting much better, especially when I have a whip! I need to make sure not to hit him too hard, Rico needed a good wolap with the whip and I tend to over-whip horses sometimes (that sounds so mean! But it's just muscle memory). The one time I did smack him a bit more than he deserved though, he just shuffled sideways a bit faster and I prasied him and he was much better after so it doesn't help that my behavior is being reinforced. I need to ride one of my clients' mares with a whip a few times. She tried to launch me when I smacked her once. Good. 

First ride in the field (I think in February some time)

Same day

Same day

We tried a few leg yields at the trot but he's really not ready for them just yet. Good to know, he just kind of went faster and got confused, he wasn't upset at all, which made me glad that I could push him a bit harder and not break his confidence. Definitely couldn't have done that a month ago. 

Back to the trot, he was super super forward and wanting to canter, so I let him. 

And let me just say: DAMN.

Suddenly, over the course of like, two days since I last rode him, the horse has started to unlock his back and neck while cantering. For the first time ever, we had some sort of neck oscillation. The canter was MUCH less lateral and much more rocking horse than washing machine. He was better balanced than he had been in the corners and happily half halted (first half halt ever at the canter!) before the corner came. 

With the unlocking of his neck/back, the true quality of his canter is really starting to show. I KNEW it was in there. I always said "well his trot is nice, he'll make an okay third level horse for an ammy, his canter isn't good enough to go further" and I really believed that. 

Maybe in March? I'm not good with keeping track of these

Same day

BUT a few weeks ago, my mom (who knows a fair amount about dressage just by listening to all my lessons as a kid!) pointed out "but Megan, isn't his walk good? Doesn't that mean his canter should be good too?" and that is when I really started to believe that deep inside this horse is a good canter that was being stifled due to tension and lack of topline. Usually the walk and the canter are connected like that. So the other day, before the show, when I really let him gallop at the neighbor's, I could feel him start to change a bit. And now I'm feeling it in the small ring! 

Ahhh yes, I can just feel the stretchy fabric of my shadbelly all around me now! Or maybe he should learn to leg yield at the trot first... But damn, today is the first day that the fog truly cleared and I could actually see where this horse could really go. 

Back at the trot, we drilled the stretchy circle. He stretched better forward and downward than he did during our last ride, and was much more consistent! Love it. He tries so hard. Now that he knows what I want him to do, he basically just works on it on his own, I don't have to do much, just say "good boy!" when he gets it right and ignore him when he doesn't. He's a freakishly easy horse to work with. 

I ride again Sunday, and if I don't have to go into work, I'll be riding Monday afternoon too! 

First show (early April)

Same day, even though he was tense in these, he is SO much
better than the other pictures!

In other news, I've started running (for realsies) again. I'm mostly doing about 30 minutes of running, which at this time is an embarrassing 2.5 miles, about 3x per week. But my future sister-in-law offered to do a 5k with me, as long as it involved running at a 12 min mile pace and a fair amount of wine afterward. I thought that would be great! So we're looking into the Dionysus runs at local wineries and maybe some color/mud runs too. Even my intense runner best friend offered to jog quietly with us at a 12 min pace and talk at us (since SIL and I will be heaving and not talking haha) while we ran and join us for wine after. Fun!

For those of you who hate running, I highly recommend the (paid, but not too much) app: Zombies, Run! It keeps track of all your stats while also making scary zombie noises at you to get you to run faster. There's also a nice storyline about fighting the zombies and you end up "gathering supplies" as you run and then can build up the base. They have the regular app (which I use now) and the couch to 5k app (which I used a couple years ago), both are excellent. I always said that I would never run if I didn't have something terrifying chasing me, so there you go. It's entertaining and gives me incentive to run so there ya go!