Another three months has whizzed past and David was back out to untwangle the pony on Saturday. This time he was jammed up through the *right* hip, instead of the left. So….that’s a bit disappointing. I mean his hips are always a bit dodge but I feel like we need to have a better action plan to strengthen him as otherwise we get to a point and he starts to struggle with the canter.

David says the key is polework! We should be working him until he sweats a bit, at least on his neck, 5 times per week. This is a considerable step up from what we have been doing! I asked on Facebook for some possible polework exercises and here are some links:

• Horse Physio
• Inspire Dressage
• Karla Butler Dressage

So what’s the plan then? How do I construct a 45 mins schooling session? We’re also supposed to do a decent hack at least once per week so we’ll need to crack on with that a bit too. I’ll post a schooling plan separately.

I don’t have a picture of Dino for you all today so have this picture of Urban upside-down instead:

I’ve lost momentum with these updates again, sorry! Not that anyone but me is reading, LOL.

I do feel like I’ve been making progress, but I don’t feel like I have clear plan and work is a nightmare at the moment so I’ve been working a lot. The pony is beginning to be more forward, although I’ve started to encounter some resistance again so I think I need to circle back and recover the basics as a refresher. He will pop into a reasonably forward trot though, which is good. The canter is a bit of a mess though! I need to work on his (and my) core strength I think.

I did have a second simulator lesson with Sue Gould-Wright this week and it was great! We did a lot more work on trot and canter. I haven’t really been doing my stretches so my hip flexors are still an issue. I need to revamp my schedule so these get priority. It’s so hard to sit with my upper body tall and still but let my lower body and my legs completely relax and absorb the movement! But she thinks I’m making progress so that’s good. I need to get back out there again in December. Katie (instructor) seems to have abandoned me which is a bit annoying. I need to catch up with her again but I’m so busy at the moment maybe a break is in order. I’d love to pop out to a competition or two but it’s just not on the cards right now sadly.

I did take some video the other week where you can see he’s more forward, but you can also see how much I’m rowing in the canter and my legs are all over the place! Definitely work in progress: