From Ground Zero to Cloud 9

As riders, we know first hand the roller coaster ride of emotions we experience on a regular basis. We learn the meaning of sacrifice, selflessness, and appreciation... and if nothing else, we learn how quickly we can be humbled. Without a solid wall of support to lean on when times get tough and we're down on our luck, it can feel like an incredibly lonely podium of success, or pool of failure. Often the small successes may feel like you've moved mountains, and yet to others they seem easily overlooked, and it's fair to assume everyone is busy in their own lives and weren't put on this earth to reward me for my efforts, but we can all get lost in feeling sorry for ourselves at one time or another.

Perhaps i'm being ridiculous, but I feel a little like that, because I had a *fantastic* ride and Kidd and I really redeemed ourselves after our sh!tty ride yesterday... but in hind sight, I realize the fact that we cantered to the right without any issues isn't exciting to most people.

I decided to lunge Kidd today before getting on to give him a good warm up before getting on. My goal was to just put a light ride on him - more for myself than anything. Typically I can't ride on Wednesdays because of Golf, but it got rained out. Luckily, at the farm the weather is totally different, so I was able to sneak in a ride.

I lunged Kidd for about 20 minutes before getting on. I had a lovely and totally uneventful ride, and I am absolutely *over the moon*. I only rode him for about 15 minutes and I kept things really simple, but we didn't need to have 1 discussion; he was totally chill and incredibly steady. I've been choosing not to get too picky with him at this point in time because he's still quite unfit, but we cantered on the right lead 3 times, each time without any issue and he was really coming through his back and it was such a relief to feel that again.

Sometimes you need to believe in yourself, and trust yourself that you're on the right track. Sometimes, you need to be happy for yourself and be satisfied with yourself regardless. It's natural for most people to want to share their happiness, but first and foremost you need to be happy for yourself... and right now, i'm on cloud 9!

As Kidd gets fitter I will work more on lifting his shoulders and encouraging him to push his nose forward into the contact as he often ends up behind the vertical, especially in trot. As well, straightness is not a thing; primarily on the right rein.

For those who aren't aware, Kidd has an issue with his right stifle and it's been attributed to causing the issues on the right rein. The mobile vets will be here in early September and Kidd will be getting worked over, and likely injected. In the mean time, we have been advised to just continue to strengthen it and do regular stretches... so in the mean time, we will continue to work towards this!

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10 Needles

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Alberta Equest

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