Today my plan was to work on connection and try to be more correct with my right hand/arm/shoulder. Since we have a lesson tomorrow I only wanted to ride for about twenty minutes. As I was warming up at the walk I asked my trainer how Kaswyn was in turnout today. She said they put him in a different place today and that he was much better. For the first five minutes he did run and scream, but she decided to let him work it out. He eventually settled down and ate some grass and was quiet for the rest of the time. So he's finally figured it out, with one day to go. Brilliant.
When I asked for the trot it was evident that I'd pulled an abdominal muscle. I didn't take any ibuprofen and right away it was hurting me. It's completely ridiculous. Never in my riding career have I pulled an abdominal. My abs have hurt before, and been sore after a lesson, but the discomfort has never held on for this long. Getting old sucks.
It really effected my riding because every time I tightened up to use my abs I got a stabbing pain, kind of like when you get a stitch on your side except this was up high and in the front of my body. It was really annoying and I had to keep stopping to take walk breaks.
I'm not sure if it was effecting Kaswyn, but he was pretty resistant to making and maintaining a good contact with my hand. I wasn't happy with the trot work, but it improved after we went to the canter. I ran through some shoulder in exercises and that helped a bit, but he still wasn't where I wanted him to be. I ended up doing a bunch of transitions from walk to trot to canter and back again, then I'd mix them up to keep him guessing. In the end I liked the canter and was satisfied with the trot work, so we stopped there.
Tomorrow is Kaswyn's last full day at the farm. We have a lesson in the evening, then Thursday morning he's headed back home. I'm going to have to take more vitamin I (ibuprofen) before my lesson. If I don't I'm pretty sure I won't make it through to the end!
All Good Things Must Come To An End
3 years ago
2 comments:
Getting old does kinda suck. Bodies don't quite bounce back like they used to. I'm glad that Kaswyn has finally figured out that being in his own paddock isn't the end of the world.
Thinking about the abs...have you ever tried Pilates? A mat workout takes about 15-30 minutes and will help loads.
I'm about a year in on dressage for the 1st time (rode as a child; came back to it at 37, and somehow throwing myself over fences at neckbreaking pace doesn't seem nearly as fun as it used to!!).
And, I have participated in a Pilates class for the last couple of years. I see immense overlap between the two disciplines...in fact, there's a lady in Champaign, Illinois that teaches both disciplines.
Once your ab sprain heals, might be a method to get the additional strength you need
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