Holding on to all the good feelings

Its no secret of my struggles with confidence and taking this riding business way too seriously. I am trying to harness the wonderful feelings I have gotten from recent good rides to remind myself that it took a lot of bad rides to get that moment.

Naturally, after such a high from a fantastic ride, I brace myself to the not so great to happen. This is a habit I am desperately trying to break and I think that some of my more recent rides, I am starting to let go a little bit more.

Tillie always gets to me with her cuteness even after her doses of sass

Thanksgiving morning was beautiful weather and a perfect fall temperature - not too hot or too cold. Tillie on the other hand did not wake up on the good side of the stall because she seemed much grumpier then normal and just very blase about tacking up in general.

I know the feeders fed slightly earlier with it being the holiday so maybe her beauty sleep was interrupted.

So tired....

As soon as I got on I could feel that she was a bit more defensive in her body. Back to holding her neck in that Tillie Tense way that no matter how much "massaging" and shhhiing I tried to do with some spirals, serpentines ground poles to lift her back she was just not having it.

Maybe Tillie would be in a better mood if she didnt poo where she eats

Even changing the rein she suddenly would invert lose the connection and rush especially going from right to left which left tends to be her harder side. Well, we all know how horses are. You nail it one day and the next its foreign. So I tried not to be too frustrated even when she was pulling pony worthy moves of overly reading into my body and slamming on the breaks to trotting too fast to not understanding outside aids or reins.

Nope, not in the mood

So I decided to not get to nit picky and just get her moving and unstuck so lets canter...that did seem to help and get her more through at the trot after and I was able to have a more honest contact in my reins. So we left it at that and I gorged myself on all the good food and thanked my lucky stars that regardless of the fact it may not have been a "good" ride, it was a good ride all the same because I have a sound horse who I thought may never be and I am physically able to ride.

See...its the simple things!