Training Wheels Required

I rode J "for real" on Tuesday night, and by "for real" I am referring to anything that consists than more of a pony ride!  We did walk, trot and canter and I found myself very unsure as to how to even approach this.  I had voiced my concerns to Shelley prior to even getting to the barn and she reassured me that J would be fine if he wasn't in "work" mode and to take my time getting my seat back.  But of course, I was concerned that I would ruin all the hard work that Shelley had done with J and all the progress that J had made.  So not only was I dealing with being unsteady in the saddle, I was dealing with confidence issues as well... GREAT! 

Shelley had ridden J earlier in the day, so I knew that he wouldn't be crazy or act up.  I tried to not focus so much on his position, suppleness, roundness, etc. and just make sure he was forward and off the forehand.  His trot felt very different, very springy and bouncy, and I was even posting the trot!  I felt like I had terrible hands, like they were stiff and not as soft as they can be.  It took a few minutes to get my balance worked out, but seemed to improve.  Since his trot is his most difficult gait, I didn't spend a whole lot of time in it and moved on to the canter.  The canter felt great, although I found that if I'm not really on the correct seat bones, he will change leads.  The biggest difference was his canter to the left, where he has always been very crooked and throws his haunches to the inside and bends his neck to the inside (I picture one of those roly-poly bugs when I think of this).  But when I asked him to canter, his hindend actually stayed under me and I had something under my right seatbone!  It was pretty incredible!  And I didn't even have to beg him for it, as Shelley had done such a great job of making him understand that this is the way we are going to canter from now on. 

So all-in-all, it was a good ride in that I got my rhythm and balance back (for the most part) and I had no pain during or after the ride, so my body is telling me that I am ready to ride seriously again.  However I am a little lost in the saddle... I just don't know what to do to help him and what not to do so I don't screw him up.  I won't have a lesson until next Thursday, so I will fumble around until then and hope that J can be forgiving!