Le pant, le puff ... and holy crap.

Le pant ... le puff ... Man, I cannot slack off on the exercise ever again, can I?!

I had the great good fortune to squeeze in a lesson after Rev got her shoes on. I am SO glad we did -- it turns out that, as I suspected, what I thought was right in my own rides was actually wrong, and I got to experience right today. MT put draw reins on Rev, rode her a bit in them, and then had me use them for the last part of the lesson. HOLY. CRAP!! HUGE difference! I felt her back round up under me! Just wow. That's what it's supposed to feel like, what good riders with good horses feel all the time! I was able to move her forward and keep contact, even though I kept losing it.

So MT said at the end of the lesson, "Well, I think a set of draw reins is in your future." I can borrow theirs until I get a set of my own, which I should be able to do soonishly. Now to practice with them!

Anyway, I have to get back to being really, really friendly with the elliptical, the balance ball, and the bosu ball. I have been slacking, and I need to get back on the wagon, hardcore. Must increase my cardio fitness and my core strength -- it'll help my riding immensely. I know this. I really wish I had a workout partner close; that would make getting to the gym much easier!

Also, the physical therapist for the US Eventing team, Doug Hannum, is going to be in town in about a month. I think I'm going to have him look at Rev; she's so very very stiff in her neck and on her right side. Maybe he can offer some suggestions about what's causing it and how to address it. Yes, it's true that every horse has a strong side, but Rev is a little worse than that. Not much, but enough that I'd like to see what I can do. I'm actually kind of excited!

So yeah. Le pant, le puff ... but wow, I am so glad we had that lesson!! SO glad. :)