Tosh.0

Since my last post about riding, I have ridden Skylar in a saddle (it went well), Chi in a surcingle (also went well, although cantering left was tricky as I couldn't get my left seat bone off his back and he didn't care for that feeling -- at least we knew what the next thing to work on was!), and yesterday I got to ride Tosh, a grey anglo-arab gelding who was bred to do long distance endurance by one of T's good friends. 

T had texted me on Wednesday or Thursday to ask if I wanted to try him since he is not normally available on Sundays. I quickly replied, "Sure!!" And the rest is history. 

Me when I got the text about riding Tosh on Sunday!

She gave me a choice of saddle or surcingle, and I chose saddle, knowing he is a bit cold-backed. I wanted to experience his version of cold-backed (compared to Promise's version which often included a very tight back and lots of bucking) before I tried fumbling onto his back with a surcingle! From what I had seen of Tosh prior to yesterday, he basically gets a bit tight through the back and then just kind of scoots around T as she leads him off in a circle. He walks out of it pretty quickly.

T suggested I lunge him since the temperature has dropped 20+ degrees in the last few days, and it's been raining so much that they were inside for 3 days. So, I lunged him for about 20 minutes or so before my lesson time. Between that and me being new to him, he walked off with just a bit of tightness through his back. 

Tosh was AH-mazing. 🤯 I thought G was sensitive, but this horse is a level or 2 up from him! I was feeling a bit uneven through my hips, so T had me trot a lap in 2 point in each direction to level out. I turned him to the right first, since that side was feeling shorter, got into 2 point and was just thinking, ok, let's trot, in my head, and Tosh started trotting. Same thing to the left, I got into 2 point at the walk and thought about trotting, and off he went.

After that we got down to work, she had me pick up rising trot to the right. I got my diagonal quickly and easily and immediately started focusing on keeping my body up and back and also not over-using my hands. Since he was so responsive to my thoughts, I knew he would be very responsive to my body. Plus, one of the smaller things we've been working on the last few weeks is keeping my right hand quiet and still -- through all of these different horses, we've realized that my overactive right hand has a big part in prohibiting my left side from working properly. Once my right hand takes over, my whole right side takes over. A couple of times, taking my right hand away from me completely (in the air, on my head, on my hip, whatever) has made me fix my body and ride properly. Weird? 🤔

We did lots of circles and loops, changed direction through the sitting trot in a serpentine so I could focus on changing the bend through my body. The whole time my shoulders were staying where they needed to be, I was turning my body, riding inside leg to little squeezes on the outside rein, and keeping that right hand quiet and steady by his withers so I wasn't tempted to pull him around the turns. She did have to remind me to breathe a few times, though.

After a few laps, had me do a thigh release to halt in front of her, and asked how I was feeling now. I said, much more level although I felt like I was tipping forward. T commented that I was really even left to right now, even though 1 stirrup was markedly longer than the other 😂 She wasn't too worried about the tipping forward (and it did seem to lessen as my ride continued -- defense mechanism, I guess?) since I was so steady left to right.

After a little more trot work and another break, she had me head right again in a working walk and told me to put my left leg back and think canter when I was ready. Holy shirt. Chi's canter last week was like a sitting on a big cushy cloud. But Tosh's canter is like nestling into your favorite recliner for a nap. I instantly had a huge grin on my face. My butt didn't even move in the saddle, and as long as I kept thinking about cantering, I didn't have to work very hard, he just kept going. We circled at C, and on the second half of the circle, I felt myself start to crimp to the right. T reminded me to sit up and we finished our circle and then came down the long side at halted at F. She said, so what do you think? I said, omg, that is a REALLY nice canter!! I stopped for water, and then reversed and walked a lap before asking him for a working walk and again putting my outside leg behind the girth, exhaling and thinking canter. His departure was instant and like the gorilla I am, I snatched his mouth as soon as he started. He kept going, I relaxed my hands and relaxed my body into the gait, and we were fine. After a couple of laps and circles, she told me to thigh release to either a posting trot or a walk. We slowed to a trot, I lost control of my body and slammed on his back, so scratched his withers in apology, and then we came down to a walk and a halt.

After another lap of walk she asked if I wanted to canter in either direction again. I said, yes, I'd like to try the left again and get my hands quieter in the depart and my body quieter in the downward transition. She said, ok, rest your knuckles on his withers and when you're ready ask. So I did, and it was a quiet, prompt departure that earned lots of clapping from her. We did a lap and then she told me to come back down to a rising trot. I squeezed with my thighs and engaged my core, and we started trotting and I didn't lose my balance! So we halted in front of her and she clapped more!

All in all, it was a great lesson. She asked if I wanted to canter to the right one more time and I said, I think I am good ending where we are. I don't want to push it too much and go downhill. She agreed, so I cooled him out and as I was getting ready to dismount, she said she thinks the normal people that ride Tosh are still gone next week and asked if I wanted to ride him again next week. I was like, if he's available, definitely!