I rode Shiah again today. Shayna wasn't available because of an abscess in her off-hind hoof. I had to apologize to Katelyn about that. I'd seen the lump which ultimately caused the abscess, but I guess I thought Katelyn already knew about it. Turns out, she didn't; she said she doesn't pick out her horse's hooves. Anyway, last week when I was picking out that hoof, I almost pointed it out to Katelyn. Oh well. I will in the future. I learn something new every week.

Now, the last time I rode Shiah, I did only okay. Wasn't my best lesson. I was a bit nervous when I got on her and didn't control her right away, so I got yelled at for letting my horse be in charge. (I think it's interesting to realize that when I'm meeting a new horse, I do the same thing as when I'm meeting new people for the first time: I just wait, listen, and observe before asserting my personality.) Anyway, when we got to cantering in that first lesson, I got a little panicky. Her canter is faster than Shayna's, so that made me nervous; I always worry that I won't be able to stop. Not only that, but I also kept remembering what I'd been told about Shiah running out of the arena and into the aisle of the barn, so I was worried she'd do the same thing with me. She didn't, but realizing that didn't help. 

The week after that lesson, I had a longe-line lesson on Brava to work on sitting trot (I did really well!). The following lesson (or two, I can't remember), I was back up on Shayna. But this week, given the choice between Brava and Shiah, I said, "I think I'll be brave and ride Shiah again." Katelyn thought that was amusing but liked the idea. And I had a terrific lesson! We worked on sitting trot, trotting w/o stirrups, and changing trot speeds. I even did a change of direction while I was riding w/o stirrups, which was scary for me because I worry about slipping off sideways as soon as I feel the change in bend. But the trot work went well; after taking back my stirrups at the trot (that was an interesting experience!), I even got Shiah to start framing herself up a bit (hard for her because she's a quarter horse). She didn't get soft on the bit, but I did feel her coming up underneath me. Way cool!

And of course we had to do canter work again. Had a much easier time getting her balanced; we did some terrific circles. We also worked some transitions. This is where we need some work; Shiah tends to pick up the wrong lead, especially if I don't give her exactly the right cues. She moves well off my leg, but I tend to hang on her mouth to get her to slow; I don't always remember to "take and give." I still panic a bit when she seems to be picking up speed, but I'm getting a bit better at rating her. I even got a nice half-halt out of her at one point!

Shiah eventually became quite relaxed and obviously felt good. I said to Katelyn at one point that Shiah seemed to be a lot calmer than she had been at the beginning; Katelyn said that was because Shiah, like Shayna, was good at "reading" people and that her initial nervousness was just reflection of mine. Hmmm...interesting thought. Maybe that explains why Brava seems so detached compared to Shayna; Brava doesn't "read" people as well.

I'm riding Shiah again next week to give Shayna's hoof time to heal. I have a lot to think about--a lot of "mental riding"--to do in the meantime. Hope it goes as well! And maybe I'll be able to control her better when I'm not in the saddle--her ADD-like behavior caught me off-guard a couple of times today. But that's a story for another blog!