Feel the burn

Kaswyn continues to improve every time I ride him. At this point he's very even, pushing nicely from behind, and willing to work. Now it's just a matter of muscle building. I can still feel that he's weak in his rear, but I can also feel that it's improving and his strides feel more solid and purposeful.

The left lead canter, which has always felt a little funky, is feeling fantastic. This could be partly because I'm concentrating very hard on fixing my riding problems, mainly issues with my left leg. It has a tendency to creep up and slide back too far, and I know this effects everything through his left side. Since my left leg has been weak and often times ineffective it has allowed Kaswyn to be lazy with his left hind and able to bulge through the left side, or pop his left shoulder out. Now I'm getting a handle on it and I can feel the results. I can also feel that my abs are finally getting a workout now that I'm able to canter and do some sitting trot. Gotta love those burning muscles! That and sweating while I'm riding makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something.

Our rides are about 20 minutes long right now. I think when we hit 30 minutes I'll call Dr. B. and see if we can start doing some circles and suppling exercises like serpentines and shoulder-in. Because that's what I see the next stage being - suppling and gymnastics. It's not like I'm letting Kaswyn go around stiff or anything, it's just that there is only so much suppling you can do when you can't do any circles or lateral movements.

When I told my husband how great my horse is doing, he felt like he needed to say "Remember, you went too fast last time and ended up going backwards. Remember to go slow this time."

Yeah, go slow. Got it.