Bittersweet...

So I have not been in the saddle in 13 days, 18 hours and 17 minutes... or thereabouts.  Fortunately my surgery went well and I did not have any side effects or lasting pain.  According to many of my friends who have had this surgery, I am healing remarkably quickly and moving around much more and more quickly then they had.  I am trying to be really careful about not overdoing it so I don't have a setback, but that is a hard task.  To assist me in the feat, I have, for the most part, stayed away from the barn except for Saturday of last week, I went out with my husband and we groomed J and gave him some love (a.k.a. treats).  On Monday of this week I met Shelley at the barn and watched while she rode J.

Now this is the moment that is bittersweet.  At this point on Monday, Shelley has ridden J three times the previous week and this was her fourth ride.  J is having NO other exercise besides this, except for slopping around in the mud (thank god he is barefoot!) every day.  Shelley gets on him and as usual, he has to start off with some protesting, just to make sure that we all know that this was not his idea nor was this in his contract (LOL!).  But Shelley rides him through it, asking for him to be more active while staying straight through the neck.  She rides him primarily going to the left, as that is his more crooked side.  At first, the ride looks about average, nothing earth shattering or vastly better or worse.  Shelley then takes a break to discuss with me what she was doing with him and why she was doing it.  Basically the same issues we've been working on for the past few weeks- getting him more active in the hind end while staying honest up front, not pushing his chest into the rein and truly carrying himself.  While she is doing all of this, she is allowing (and sometimes asking) him to keep his head/poll really high and not encouraging (or even allowing) him to get round, her theory being that it is hard him to work more honestly as it is, why make it more difficult by asking him to be round.  Also, when he is round, he is more able and/or likely to cheat and push his shoulders forward instead of bringing his back up and hind end underneath him. 

So after the walk break, she starts back up again, but this time she puts everything together a little more cohesively and this time asks him to be a little more supple... and voila!  J has a fabulous trot hiding in there!  I couldn't believe my eyes- it was like his entire body structure changed, his weight shifted to his rear and he really started using his hind end and especially his hocks!  I had no idea that my little yellow horse was capable of this, I had only dreamed of him having this kind of movement.  Shelley did a few straightaways of a trot that was nearing a medium trot!  It was beautiful.  So at that moment I knew that we were on the brink of making a large step in training and I couldn't possibly go back to once per week lessons.  So Shelley and I discussed it and made arrangements for three sessions per week, two of those being rides and one being a lesson.  We are going on a month-by-month basis and just see how well he progresses. 

And ultimately this means that I will not be showing J in March, as I don't have an endless supply of cash.  My feelings are that J's training is more important than showing and we will accomplish more if I invest in his training at this point.  My ultimate goal would be to get my bronze medal and bar with J, and I already have the scores for 1st level, so I need to get him comfortable with the 2nd level work.  And neither him nor I are getting any younger, so if I'm going to make a strong push to get him there, it's going to have to be now.  Shelley thinks that there is no reason that J can't do 3rd successfully!

A Quick Update...

So since the show, my life has been crazy busy.  I am preparing to have surgery this Friday, so there has been many things to get done, as I will be laid up for a little while afterwards.  Upon finding out that I needed surgery, I promptly took care of the most important task, securing a plan where J would be worked and kept in shape.  So my amazing, caring and gracious trainer,  Shelley Day, immediately agreed to ride J for three days per week for the initial two weeks following surgery.  I am hoping that I will be back to riding after two weeks, but Shelley will continue to ride if I need more time to heal.  So that was a big relief to have that taken care of, and it will be nice for Shelley to ride J on a consistent basis without me screwing him up!

Shelley and I had a lesson on Monday, which will be our last one for a few weeks.  Shelley is really focusing on J using his hind end more and being more honest in the half halts.  He leaves his hind legs trail out too far behind himself instead of bringing his hind feet up and under himself while staying stretched through the neck to the bit.  And of course, keep his neck straight and ask his inside hind to step up under the center of himself.  So we asked him to keep his pole super high during the entire ride, which was very exhausting for him, but necessary.  He can be a little sneaky in the reins where he is super supple and can round up in a heartbeat, but he also can shove his shoulders into the reins in a way that the rider does not feel like he is using the reins to support himself, but he actually is. So we did lots of transitions with him, keeping his poll really high and demanding immediate transition and not allowing his shoulders to drop down and out the front.  He did fairly well with it and got to understanding the exercise pretty quickly.  We worked in all gaits with the same idea- poll high, super straight neck, keep his hind legs coming.  This work will make him have a more honest half halt and be more balanced which will lead to proper collection. 

My surgery is on Friday, so I have two more days of riding before my break.  Fortunately I will be able to go to the barn after the first week and at least groom him and such.  So it will be an interesting time!  I'm still aiming to go to the March show at Field's and Fences, so hopefully I will heal quickly and be back on in no time.  But it's a comfort to know that my barn owner and trainer will be taking such great care of him and I have nothing to worry about.