Long Lining in the Meantime

This last weekend I got the EQ Saddle Science measuring kit so I measured TC and sent the measurements to them. So now it's just the waiting game until they bring me a saddle to try for two weeks. It's fine to wait IMO, my burnout is getting better but I'm still trying to do a little less and take the pressure off myself and that includes with riding too. I feel bad because I think TC really misses being in full work. He had about a week where he was like "go away, I love my pasture" but now the pasture seems to be less interesting than I am. 

This is where I'd like him to be all the time

This is where he likes to be right now, which is
fine, he's still IFV and tracking up, it's just lower

I've been doing a lot of stuff with him though, but very limited dressage until the saddle comes. In the mean time though, we've been doing bareback rides with the equibands, bareback trail rides, and long lining! 

The long lining has been really cool because there's nothing restricting his shoulder AND I can see him. So I can encourage him to change his posture, know that he can do it, and reward him immediately for trying. 

My main goal is to get him lifting through the base of his neck, as that was the main issue last year. I figure if I reward him for doing it on the long lines, that he'll become strong enough where that's where he wants to be. I am also giving him a voice command ("up") and trying to pair the two so I can say that undersaddle too. 

Such a good boy

He went left first and then right so the right ended
up being better

I was pretty surprised by how quickly he caught on what I wanted him to do. Soon he was pleasantly in front of the vertical with his neck lifted and then I could send him into it to get him to flex his lumbosacral joint. I did a bunch of bending exercises too and the more supple he became, the easier it was for him to really lift through his back. 

He was able to get that in canter too and I could send him on without him coming against me (an issue we have in the canter undersaddle). This was cool because it unlocked a whole new canter! He looked SO good in it that the first time I saw it, I didn't even let him continue for a stride longer, I clicked on the first stride and he halted to get his treat. After that, he surged back into canter to try again and then I had him hold it for a few strides. 

By about 30 minutes in (15 mins each direction), he was so tired. He took a nap when I hosed him down. But I could SWEAR that three days later he had another layer of muscle on him. 

Look at that neck and reach with the inside hind!

Also teaching him to set back on his hind end with
a hand on his chest

I rode him yesterday in Rico's weird bareback pad with stirrups, which I know 1000% isn't the right thing to ride in because bareback pads with stirrups are bad for backs. But I was super curious to do a short ride and see how he felt. I stayed out of my stirrups and mostly supported myself with my thigh (like I'm supposed to lol). 

He felt absolutely fantastic! So much better in the contact and so easy to maneuver. I was chatting with my friends last week saying that TC used to feel like he was an extension of my own body and just like moving myself around, I could just think about moving him and he'd move. Over the last year and a bit though, he's become more foreign to me and I think this is because of the saddle fit issues (among other things). 

We still aren't 100% back yet by any means, but this was one of the first rides where I got glimpses of what used to be. I could get my suction on him well and make changes with intention rather than aids.