Event prep, lessons and feeding

So last night I picked up my lorry yay (5k later, not yay..) - she was so ZOOMY!!

So today I cleaned it out (aka removed last year's mud ready for this year's mud) then took Lexi to Warren's for a lesson to polish things up for Sunday. He said as she is, if she went how she went that day then she would get a lovely mark.

I didn't want to do any major work - often in our lessons we tackle one 'big' thing and I work on that for a few weeks before returning for the next, but given we're so close to the event I wanted to work on how to get the best out of her for at the place we're at.

The main things he wants me to bear in mind is

• She naturally moves in 3 tracks at the moment, so keep a slight right rein flexion especially on centre line to straight her.
• Ride more into corners - at the moment she tends to fall in flat round them rather than really turning.
• Prepare downwards transitions more and keep right flexion through them.
• On right rein, don't let her lean on R rein and support her through left rein.
• On right rein, lateral work asking her to go into the left shoulder, on left rein asking her to bend through her ribcage more
• Lots of quarters in/leg yield on a circle rather than leg yielding across arena
• Also need to bear in mind I tend to sit a bit heavy; I need to sit closer and deeper to the front of the saddle, almost pushing my hips forwards more - use a neck strap set very loosely to 'pull' myself in
• open knee so lower leg wraps round more rather than lift my heel to put leg on.

But she is being a mule to load. Ever since I ried her in my friends trailer she has been so stupid about it. She'll load if another horse is in the lorry - trots up the ramp. If you then unload her, unload other horse and take it out of sight, she goes in.

But on the way back? Nada. In the end Warren looped a lunge rope round her bum and made it into a bit of a noose so I could tighten the pressure when she refuses to go forwards. It took that and a few swats with a lunge whip (god she kicks out, such a mare!) then she was in. Ii had a go at home, minus a lunge whip and it took 15 minutes, then we went in and out 4 times perfectly.

Little frustrating as she was so good for 2 years (she was a pain at first but 2 sessions with an IH trainer and she's been perfect) BUT I'm sure she'll get over it again.

We also discussed feed. STILL need to figure out how to get her building more muscle without fat. Warren reckons copra, I just need to feed loads more than I did before.

Finally, tomorrow's day at Aston has been abandoned, so lets cross our fingers the weather is better tomorrow so Sunday can run! At the moment it doesn't look promising...