January Goals

Obviously I'm already a little ways into January but I'd like to do monthly goals again along with my larger yearly goals. Mainly because I think it will help me keep on track but also because I think it will help me motivate myself to get to the barn more often.

Ride More:

Speaking of getting to the barn more often, I'd like to make it a goal to ride 6 days a week during January. Between the snow and cold I know it's going to be tough but even if I go 4-5 times because I set this at 6 that will still be a win.

Focus on Forward:

While also working on getting the contact more consistent. I haven't ridden dressage long enough or ridden enough different horses to be able to speak to how things "usually" work. However, I know that for Katai, if I push her forward when she's got her head in the air and she's tense in front of the withers it does nothing more than make her more tight. When I do that she also moves her legs up and down instead of forward. That means that I need to use the reins to get her on the contact and taking it forward and down and then push her forward into it. 

This is tricky because when she's like this I can fall into the trap of riding too much with my hands which just makes the problem worse. I'm starting to get the timing right and to be able to fix the contact and then push her into it but it's fairly recent that I can do both at once. I want to make sure that this month while I'm getting her more consistent in the contact again and getting her to reach forward and down that I don't lose the forward at any point.

Groom Better:

I tend to be a bit sloppy when it comes to presenting myself and I'm pretty lazy about my appearance. I usually wear eye liner and some mascara and no other makeup but sometimes I can't even be bothered with that. Normally my hair is just back in a pony tail and I can't even count the number of times that I've gone to the bathroom at work and realized that I've got floofy bits of hair flying everywhere hours into the work day. 

I'm the same way with Katai 

No, pony mascara is not where this is going

I brush the gunk off and that's about it. I'm not good at keeping up with her green spots (thank goodness she's a neat princess pony and stays pretty clean) and one of the only things I enjoy about winter is that the constant blanket wearing means she stays pretty clean. 

It's been tough in the past because she didn't have the patience to stand still and she's still terrified of spray bottles which makes putting any sort of product on her that much tougher. Plus right now she's so hairy that it's easier to just brush her off, tack her up and go rather than trying to groom an extremely hairy pony when it's so, so cold out. However, I really need to up my grooming game asap. 

Her back legs are grimy, she's got dirt spots everywhere, her mane and neck (where the blanket doesn't cover her up) are so dirty and yellow that she almost looks like a buckskin, and her tail has gotten out of control. It's time for a spa day but I also want to make more consistent in depth grooming a thing for January.

My Other Christmas Gift

I got a few amazing things other than the girth and bride but most of them aren't horse related (including some amazing handmade knit socks from my mom). However, I ended up with a very generous Amazon gift card and I've already bought a few fun things including a Polaroid Cube.

For anyone who doesn't know what these are, I didn't until I found it on Amazon, it's similar to a go-pro but at $60 it's a better price point for me and it's just adorable.

I got the blue one

Along with the price point there are a few fun things about this camera. First, it's tiny!

It's also water proof (or maybe just water resistant) and, my favorite, it's got a small built in magnet!

Sorry for the dirt but look how cool that is!
It's securely magnetized to the metal on the wall
just like a little superhero

It takes video up to 1080 and accepts a micro SD up to 32GB. It also has a wide angle lens so it captures a bit more than my phone which is really nice when trying to get videos in the arena.

Clearly I could have positioned it better
but for a screen shot from a video in bad light this isn't bad!

Mainly, while the quality might not be as nice as a more expensive (or larger) piece of equipment it's really simple, cute, handy, and for the price it will be fun to play around with. I'm hoping to figure out how to best incorporate it in my rides and I'm hoping it will help me get more media since that's been tough otherwise.

Little blurry here (very small part of the shot)
 but not horrible and at least I can get media!

I'm Back!

I do love work trips to Seattle though!
So cool to watch this sea plane taking off Lake Union from my hotel elevator

In more ways than one.

The past few weeks have been really tough in being able to get to the barn. First was the accident and being in pain, then not having a car to drive, then the holidays, and finally this week I was in Seattle, WA for work. I just got back today and its so good to be home.

Or the Amazon Bio-orb that's under construction

Even though it's been tough to only be able to occasionally go to the barn and the lack of rides and lessons hasn't made for much progress it has been sort of nice to have a "forced" break from regular riding. I was lacking a bit on motivation both because of the weather and because I think I just needed a break. Now though, especially today, I'm feeling way more motivated. I think it's both because of the break and because I finished reading book two of the Dressage Chronicles and I'm reading book three, for the first time. I love these books and they always make me want to ride and go to dressage shows :)

Or the place where cool car things happen :)

I'm planning to ride or go to the barn every day through my lesson on Tuesday next week and I'm really glad that I have absolutely no plans until the end of February so I can just focus on riding!

Boot Camp: Lesson Recap 12/31

Yep, I celebrated the end of 2016 with a good, tough lesson with Jane. It had been a couple of weeks since I'd had a lesson and my rides have been pretty inconsistent (timing wise, Katai has been really consistent and I've had great rides just not as many of them as I'd like) so I knew we were going to get a workout but mainly we are just at a point where we can both be pushed more which is so exciting!

Since I haven't posted many details about my rides in the past month I just want to post a quick recap of what we've been doing. That is, doing more work on lateral movements, specifically leg yield and shoulder in. My leg yield is starting to get more consistent now that I'm starting to be able to use my outside rein and both legs (so, so, so hard for me!). We've also been doing a LOT more canter than we had been. Jane was pushing way more canter than I was used to and when we talked she basically told me that at second level since there is about as much canter work as trot work I should be trying to do that with my rides as well. SO COOL TO HEAR!! I think I just about squealed like a kid :)

At this lesson we started off getting the trot to a good place. Academically I know that I'm working towards a pushing, active hind leg and that if that's right everything else will fall into place (at least at this point in our training) but I struggle sometimes to really get there. I can instantly feel when it's correct but between correct and when Katai's faking it a bit I struggle to catch the change. I eventually get it when I'm riding by myself but only multiple 20 meter circles later which isn't helpful. It's so helpful to have Jane right there telling me when it's good or not but I'm still a long way from being able to feel it instantly.

Katai was stiff and wasn't moving as well as she had been since she's spent a lot of time standing around. Both because I wasn't able to get to the barn and ride as much as I wanted and because it's icy out so she isn't moving around as much as she normally would in turnout. We ended up spending about 30 minutes getting her moving better and really focusing on my bending. I was also really struggling with my right hand, really really struggling. Jane made me come back to walk and I spent awhile on the struggle bus trying to figure out the feel of what she was looking for.

The problem is that when I'm going to the left everything works, then I go to the right and everything falls apart. I completely blame my right hand but my left isn't much better.  I seem to only be able to move my left arm side to side and my right arm straight forward and back. I also struggle to take a good feel on the right rein so Katai is used to the contact being really light on that side. That means that when I'm going to the right I've got my left arm pointing at the wall (when she's trying to fall in which I'm causing haha) and my right is in my lap. I'm not getting her bent properly because I'm not giving her the ability to take the bit forward on the outside and my right arm isn't supporting her on the inside either. Then I fall to the inside hop bone, a lot, and she falls in more to pivot around that "turning point", ie. we're a bit of a disaster and Jane is very patient.

Of course that's not going to be fixed in one lesson so Jane put us back together to the point where we could continue and I've got my homework.

Then we started working on shoulder in!! Jane had told me to practice it when she saw me before my next ride so I knew she was going to bring it up in the lesson. This was actually much smoother than it has been, maybe because Jane had me using both reins a bit more correctly ;), and after we had a couple good tries on either side we took a walk break and then worked on leg yields.

I'm still struggling a bit with the timing of the aids on these but this lesson was the first where I feel like I had a couple of decent tries in each direction. I actually felt like I rode more evenly to both sides and was able to get the timing of the forward and sideways aids a bit better.

Then we went to canter and Katai felt pretty darn good. She's actually starting to develop a little bit of jump to her canter which wasn't there at all before. She's also starting to be capable of holding the canter a little longer which means we get to have more fun with it. We're working on doing 20 meter circles at different points in the arena as well as riding the full sides of the arena but this lesson we also added leg yields in on the 20 meter circles while allowing her to trot when it felt to difficult. At that point we'd leg yield out and ask for the canter again. Katai did really well, I struggled to sit straight up but after a conversation with Jane at the end on the biomechanics I think I get it and know what to do differently next time.

In all the lesson went for about an hour and we took up the full thing with riding and not just "easy" stuff so Katai was fairly sweaty. It was the first time that we made it through the full hour since normally I don't have enough horse to make it that long or we only get there because we do a lot of talking or walking around while Jane explains something to me. I was really proud of both of us and how much progress we've made but even better, it's great to have more new homework!

Sorry for no media! Hopefully next time :)

Goals for 2017

Goals for 2017

I'm going to take a crack at this again and will put my big goals for the year here and post more about some of the smaller goals as I go.

Increase Blogging Again

I'd like to post even more this year. Again I'd like to set the goal to post an average of 15 times per month. If I can do that I'll have at least 180 posts next year and that would feel good! I'd also like to increase the number of pictures, increase the quality of my photos, and to do more review posts. Honestly just being able to show more and travel with Katai more would create more interesting things to post about!

This is how Katai feels about having her own trailer

Buy a Trailer

Yes! This is finally on the list. With all of the financial stuff I've been doing including moving to a place with cheaper rent, moving Katai to a barn with cheaper board, and (the surprise blessing of the year) getting rid of my car payments in trade for a slightly uglier car this is finally on the list

Trailer EVERYWHERE

More specifically to shows but I couldn't care less what type of shows they are. There are a lot of "fun shows" in the area that are attended by a more western crowd but with $2-$5 entry fees per class, a relaxed but busy atmosphere it's such a good way to get Katai used to showing just being an ok thing! Of course I also hope to do some dressage shows, trail rides, and hunter paces.

Maybe if we really practice at some point
we can ride here, at the KY Horse Park!

Ride in Another Dressage Clinic

I'm hoping that towards the end of the year Katai will be comfortable enough with trailering that I could think about riding in another dressage clinic. I'm not in any hurry because I'm just learning so, so, so much right now from Jane but I just enjoy participating in things like that and hope that I can do occasional clinics moving forward.

2nd Level Goals

We're working on some of the movements from 2nd level and I have complete confidence that even if our progress hits a huge wall (and I know it will stall out at some point here) we'll be able to ride all of the 2nd level movements by the end of the year. Not sure that showing 2nd this year is a doable goal but I'd like to be completing all the movements at home even if they aren't all pretty :)

2016 Goals Review

I think the only consistent thing about my goals in 2016 is that I struggled with them. I've never been good at setting goals and although I tried in 2016 they left a lot to be desired. I think part of what's tough is that shows/clinics/horse events are easy things to build goals around and I just haven't been able to do many of those. With that being said I'm going to recap my favorite things that happened this past year!

Increased my Blogging

I was happy both with the fact that I posted over 140 times (up from the 90 times I posted in 2015) but also that I just had more interesting content and more pictures. I still struggled to get good riding photos but at least there were some good pictures and lots more pictures of Katai and myself.

I think we got extra points because my pony stuck her tongue out at the clinican

Attended my First and Second Dressage Clinic

Yep, I've been riding for a long time (over 19 years) but in that time I've never ridden in a clinic before this year. Plus, of course, it was my first clinic with Katai and my first Dressage clinic. Even though it was at the facility I was boarding at it still felt like a really big deal.

The picture look better than the show felt but it still felt like a big win!

Attended a Schooling Show

This might not seem like a big deal but this was only the 2nd real dressage show I've ever ridden in and only the 5th horse show I've ever ridden in and it was Katai's first real show experience. It was tough on Katai and she was quite stressed but that wasn't unexpected and it felt like a really big deal that we got it done. I would have really liked to have done more shows since I know that what we both need is to just do lots of shows but it's so tough when I don't have my own transportation to shows.

My only satin for the year but it is sort of enough satin for a full year :) 

Attended a Hunter Pace

Even more than the show this felt like a big accomplishment. Katai trailered well and was only minority nervous to handle and then she handled the pace like a champion. The amazingly large ribbon we won just felt like a really big deal and like the work we've been putting in and the strength of our relationship was finally being recognized. It wasn't needed but it was so, so nice.

Sort of a picture of the new facility?

Moved to a barn that I LOVE with an upper level instructor

Let's be honest, I've loved pretty much all of the barns I've boarded at and I still miss L but none has felt as much like home as this one does. It's just so cozy and quiet and having Jane as both an instructor and as the barn owner/manager is just so nice. Because there are so few horses and so few boarders she does really nice things like turning the horses out in the indoor arena on cold days and really customizing the care for each horse.

I don't have any pictures of Katai being ridable
but will be doing more with that this year!

Ending the Year With a Ridable Pony

This is the best thing that happened in 2016 and it didn't really happen until the last few months in 2016. For most of the time that I've had Katai she's had so much tension, so much forward, so much pony sass, and so much attitude that she's been a really tough ride. As soon as I'd start to get good forward and connection she'd lose it and I'd have to work for another 5-10 minutes to get it back. It normally meant that I only had a ridable pony for about 10-20 minutes during my 45 minute lesson and that made progress tough. For multiple reasons, I think, it's gotten SO MUCH BETTER in the last few months and Katai has been so consistent that I can not only make progress with her but I've been able to really work on myself.

Review of 2016

I've been having so much fun reading everyone's review of 2016 so even though I'm way behind with blogging this year I wanted to make sure I get this one out before 2017 starts.

2016 has been a great year for me overall and while some tough things happened there has also been a lot of good. It's also been a year of less change, overall, than what I've experienced in past years so I think the stability has allowed me to really put my focus on riding and riding related things such as blogging. It shows since I've reached a new high of over 140 posts this year compared with my previous record of 90. I think it's also shown with the improvement that Katai and I have made both in our rides and our relationship.

Without further ado...

January

Started with a bang as I was invited to ride in my first ever clinic, a Dressage clinic with Susanne Winslade.  I also had a rough saddle fitting experience, posted an update on the tack locker I was (still am) working on with my dad, and reviewed my fall favorites.

February

Was a a tough month and was my lowest posting month until November. It started off with an unsound pony who needed a week off and then I spent some time reflecting while Katai was off work. February then progressed with a more unsound pony who needed additional time off. It ended with more reflection on my relationship with Katai and mindset when riding her.

March

Wasn't much better than February for me and the pony. I had a few great lessons and an amazing clinic with Susanne. Then I "broke up" with my trimmer (still one of the best things that happened this year but tough at the time) and had an interesting lesson when Katai was extremely reactive as I mounted. I posted my winter favorites  and then Katai was an unsound pony again.

April

Was a little better and I started off with a tough lesson where I learned some position things to work on. There were some great rides and then another tough lesson where L focused on my position. I also posted about my new farrier and went to the MN Horse Expo and audited a Janet Foy clinic.  

May

I mentioned that I was shopping for a new saddle and posted about a second clinic with Susanne. I posted my spring favorites and then had a great post about a trainer ride for Katai where I finally got some more pictures. Finally, after attending my first show with Katai I posted recaps here and here

June

I was still recovering from our interesting show experience and posted about getting Chiro done for Katai. Then Katai was unsound again  and I posted about lunging and riding L's baby horse. Finally I tried to ride outside more but was thwarted by horseflies. 

July

Tied for my highest posting month with 16 posts. I mainly posted about saddle trialing and going to the National Dressage Pony Cup. I wished I had taken more "bad" pictures of Katai as a baby. I gained more confidence in Katai, finally started looking for a more affordable barn, had my first trial lesson with Jane and decided to move Katai to Jane's barn.

August

Started off with a trailering adventure and then felt a bit odd as I "waited" to move to Jane's barn. I also had SO MUCH FUN at a Hunter Pace and got further in my saddle fitting adventures. I shared a post that really sort of recaps how I felt about the whole first half of the year from a riding perspective. Finally I got moved to my new barn!  

September

Felt like the first month where things really started to fall into place for me and Katai. It started with some fun with friends at an amazing eventing facility and then Katai tried to start the pony apocalypse with Bridget from Oh Gingersnap! I posted about my breeches collection  and I continued to improve by leaps and bounds with Jane as an instructor.

October

Started off with me and Katai's four year anniversary! Then I had a great lesson and a not so nice relationship thing.

November

In November my blogging, and other things, fell apart a bit with some seasonal depression and a tough change of season. In fact in November I only posted twice including this really cool improvement video of me and Katai.

Roommate and friends (from AZ) playing Croquet in the -10*
temps we had the weekend before Christmas

December

This is where things really started to fall into place for me riding wise. I'd been having great lessons throughout November (despite my seasonal depression and not posting much) plus some other personal things fell into place later in the month. To start off I posted this recap of what I'd been doing since I last posted and then I joined the blog hop that was all about location. I complained about the weather and then got into a car accident :( I ended the month with some reviews on my Christmas presents to myself, namely the Stretchtec Girth from TSF and the Flying Change Bridle from PS of Sweden!

I have enough to post about goals that I'm going to do that in a separate post and that will be up soon!

PS of Sweden Flying Change Bridle Review

I've been doing my seasonal "favorites" posts but haven't had much to review recently since I haven't been purchasing much. Thanks to saving up some money I was able to spend a bit more on presents (for everyone including myself) this Christmas and finally got the PS of Sweden bridle that's been on my list for over a year.

Based on the information I had I decided to order the pony sized bridle. I had messaged asking for the bridle size but never heard back. I really should have messaged again before ordering as you're about to see.

Unfortunately when the bridle arrived and I compared it with a bridle I had at home that fit Katai I was pretty sure it was going to be too small. I brought it out to the barn, tried it on her and sure enough it was way too small. Not even close enough to be able to punch extra holes. So, I brought it back home and got it packaged up to return.

In the meantime I spent a lot of time admiring the pretty sparkly broadband

After a couple of emails back and forth and many days later (I shipped it back on 12/5 and it didn't arrive until 12/19) I finally received confirmation that it had arrived and they would be sending me the exchange. They were incredibly helpful and kind throughout the whole thing and I completely take all responsibility for any issues since it's on me that I both ordered the wrong size and was trying to ship back during the Christmas season.

With everything else going on this really wasn't at the top of mind and I've been more worried about figuring out my car. Once I heard that the bridle arrived safely I put it out of mind. It was a bit of a rough week since my car went into the shop mid week last week and I spent a week without being able to get to the barn.

That made it that much more wonderful that through some Christmas gift from the universe the package was waiting for me when I got back from my parent's house on Christmas Day :)

It was more fun and less stressful to open up the package this time since I knew it would fit. I took my time checking every inch and I have to say that I'm completely in love. I should mention that I've only ever owned cheap bridles (under $100) so I don't exactly have much to compare this with but after some of the comments about the leather I was curious what it would be like. Although I may not have an educated opinion I will say that I'm really happy with it and feel like it's completely worth the price.

Perfect for my princess ladybug

I went back and forth on what to order but my total order from PS of Sweden was the Flying Change bridle in cob size, a sparkly broadband, and the throat latch. I was tempted by the reins but in the end I just couldn't justify getting them for $80 when my favorite reins (so far) from Horze were $23 for Black Friday. I may be a bit of a tack hoe but I'm also a cheap tack hoe for the most part ;)

I really like the shape on her face!

I was able to bring it with me to the barn on Tuesday for my lesson and get it fitted to her. As the leather softens and everything starts to mold to her I'll need to adjust again but for now it's, amazingly, right in the middle hole on both sides. So, yeah, my 13.2 hand pony has the same size head as some 16 hand thoroughbreds ;) The only thing that was way too big was the flash but that's easy enough to punch holes in. I haven't used the throatlatch yet as I really got that just so that I can legally show in this bridle. 

She's so tough to get pictures of because
she just wants to follow me around

Sorry for the wonky flash in these pictures. I took these after I rode and I always take the flash off right away. I had it in a loop on top of her nose, like a lot of people do, but she had a mini "Bobby" tantrum and kept running her nose into the walls of the arena so I adjusted it for the princess.

My only complaint is the crank noseband. I've never had a crank noseband before and while I love the extra padding for Katai's face I'm a huge believer in leaving everything really loose so I'll never use it as a crank. Plus, it's just so fiddly to get fastened up! It does make us look very official though so that's pretty cool.

I'm sure that this will end up on one of my seasonal favorites posts in the future after I've had more of a chance to use it!

Christmas Updates

Wow, I've been a bad blogger. Between not having a car, Christmas stuff, family stuff, and personal stuff it's been a crazy few weeks. I also tend to not take much time off around the holiday so I've been fitting Christmas stuff in around a mostly full workload.

It's looking like I'll be able to pick up my car tomorrow morning, more on that later, and holiday stuff is starting to quiet down so hopefully I'll be back in the full swing of blogging very soon. However, I did want to post a few updates starting with my gift from the Blogger Gift Exchange!

I sent my gift just before the deadline of 12/19 and haven't heard anything so plan to follow up soon. However, I received my amazing gifts a week or so ago and it's just been so crazy that I didn't get it posted right away. My gifts were from Kristen at Stampy and the Brain and they are awesome! This is my first year participating and I'd mentioned that coat care or hair care items would be good.

Kristen got me a spray bottle, wonderful flicker brush, and some hair moisturizer that I'm anxious to try out! I also got an adorable note pad and a really cute card. It was so great getting a surprise for Christmas, I had a great time participating and can't wait to do this again next year :)

I also wanted to post an update about my car. I dropped it off at the shop on Thursday morning last week and they've had it ever sense. Of course Christmas delayed things and they've been great to work with. Unfortunately my car was totaled but in this case since it's very drivable and just ugly I'm going to retain it and keep driving it. I can't wait to get it back especially so that I can go to the barn.

Sadly the only times I've been to the barn in more than a week are for my lessons the Tuesday before Christmas and the Tuesday after Christmas. Understandably for my ride yesterday Katai was stiff and felt a little tight and sore especially since she was very in heat. All of the crazy weather changes we've been having lately certainly aren't helping. My goal is to make it to the barn every day through Sunday once I have my car. I'm missing my little ladybug so much!

Total Saddle Fit StretchTech Girth Review

This time with a black and orange hat
I've already got the grey and pink which are Katai's colors

Yep! I ended up getting it :)

This was at the bottom of the invoice and made me smile :)

I'm also in the process of getting a PS of Sweden bridle and although they are ergonomic and meant to be very comfortable for the horse that is really for me. This was for Katai and since I know her girth is gapping I just couldn't wait any longer to do something about it.

Attachment piece that I probably won't end up using

Prior to this girth I've used TSF girths for the past couple of years. They're the only girths that work with Katai's conformation and don't pull her saddle too far forward or run too badly into her elbows.

I really went back and forth on whether to get the Neoprene or the Leather. I think that both have really great benefits and likely both have some negatives as well. In the end I went with the leather option just because that's what I've been using with Katai for the past couple of years and it's worked really well for us with no chafing or soreness. Why mess with a good thing!

So cushy!

As mentioned previously I already have two PS of Sweden girths. One is a Havana 18" and the other is a Havana 24". The 24" has the older leather that has almost a plastic feel to it and I can only imagine that it's because there isn't a huge market for brown dressage girths, or wasn't when I got it. The leather on this one is nicer than either of the other TSF girths that I own. I'm not sure if it's because it's black or if it's just that they are perfecting the design but I really, really like this girth and the quality is very good.

Not an angle I'd seen online so the gap surprised me a bit.
You can see the strong elastic in the girth vs. the
lighter elastic in the separate padded pieces.
The white thing is the tag with the girth measurement that I couldn't get out of the picture

I know it's odd that Katai needs a 22" girth as a 13.2 hand pony but because of where her elbows fit next to her very well sprung little rib cage if I use an 18" girth her elbows run right into the buckles with every stride and I can't get a girth short enough to not interfere that way. The other way to fix that is to get a longer girth. I had the 24" because of the short billets on my Heritage Monoflap but it is a bit long for this saddle and the ends of it run into her saddle pad. I played with different lengths and decided to order a 22" as I figured it would solve the length issue while still being long enough to avoid interfering with her elbows. Besides, with TSF's amazing customer service I figured I could always exchange it for a different size if needed.

The 22" is exactly the right length as it no longer runs into the saddle pad on either side but the buckles are far enough up on the sides to avoid Katai's elbows.

This was before I tightened it. It ended up going up to the 5th hole where it was
further away from her elbows but I didn't think to get a picture of that.

18" original in havana, my first TSF
22" Stretchtec girth in black

24" original girth in havana
22" Stretchtec girth in black

I've ridden Katai in it twice now and haven't really felt a difference but with this pony that's a good thing. She's never really been girthy and I knew that if she disliked it, or even felt like it was different, she'd buck going into the canter or would just refuse to canter completely. I was happy to find that her canter transition felt that same that it has recently.

I'm really curious to see if over the next few rides she feels any different but at this point I'm really happy with it! I was going to wait longer to review it but I figured that if it goes well (which I'm sure it will) it will likely end up in one of my favorite things posts in a few months.

Good Ladybug

Edit: I wrote this before I was in the accident but I wanted to thank all of you for your comments. It means a lot :) I was extremely sore yesterday and actually went to the hospital. They told me I had whiplash and gave me some pain meds and told me to take it easy for a few days. I dodged not being able to ride but we had a snow storm yesterday and today so I won't be going to the barn. Tomorrow the high is -9* so we'll see if I go out then. Luckily next week is still forecast to be in the 20s and 30s so I'll be there every day!

First, to explain the title I always used to call female horses Lady. Not as in the name but the way you might say "Hey ladies!" to your friends. With Katai, since she's my adorable little bug it turned into Ladybug :)

The adorable little bug herself

Second, I just want to say that Katai is a good girl. The reason that I don't talk about her spooking, bucking, leaping, bolting, kicking, biting, etc is that she just doesn't. Especially after working with Jane, she just doesn't do anything other than get a bit tense, rush a bit, trot sideways a bit, or possibly giraffe for a stride or two and that's more confusion or when she's feeling a little stiff than an actual "no" response.

You can just feel the pre-ride excitement 

As an adult amateur who personally doesn't have the guts to deal with a big powerful horse that  doesn't always want to play this is absolutely perfect for me. It's the most amazing feeling to go to the barn and know that one way or another we're going to have a productive ride. Of course sometimes I feel better about rides than others and I'm consistently on the struggle bus with figuring out all of these new skills that Jane is patiently trying to teach. However, Katai has been right along for the ride which makes the struggle bus a much less lonely place.

P is for Pony and also Perfect and Princess ;)

She's still a horse and sometimes she still decides to blow me off. Sometimes when it's chilly out and you're a pony and your feet have grown wings and you're stretchy trotting so your rider has less half halting ability it's a lot more fun to go fast than to listen. I wasn't asking for much, just that she slightly slow down based on my escalated seat cues but slowing my posting wasn't working, using my seat wasn't working, picking up my reins wasn't working so I went to pulling on my reins and to be frank, it took a pretty big pull to make a difference. I HATE pulling on her mouth but a "trotting" away pony needs to listen at some point and I'd given her almost too long (more than half of the arena) to make a change.

We're riding at 3* like a badass

After I corrected her we walked for a bit, did a transition to trot (which was beautiful :-) and then I asked her for stretchy trot again. Going down the long side again her feet grew little wings and we were nearly cantering. I started with my posting, then my seat, and finally barely picked up the reins and this time she immediately slowed her trot. What I was really happy about was that there was no over reacting and she stayed stretched down into contact. I ended on that because we were already at the end of a great ride but it's being added to our homework for the next few weeks.