So it appears that I got a bit of whiplash from my ski fall the other day–enough to make driving to and from work painful on Wednesday. Thursday I stayed home with muscle relaxants, then started tiptoeing back into activity yesterday.
Today, I rode Miss Mocha. I’d been planning to move up from snaffle to Pelham, just because she’s ready for a bit more collection in counter-canter and outside bend than she’s been willing to offer, and I know that the feel of the curb often helps her balance and relax in a different way from the snaffle. I rode with a collar, just so I wouldn’t do anything stupid and overbend, plus to keep me from popping my shoulders up.
The photos turned out blurry because the camera was on the wrong setting. But I did get some good shots, and figured that I’m clearly slumping in my core. Yuck. But I did like the line of my hands in this shot:
And a few other shots, including one that just makes me smile to remember how it felt:
And oh yeah, counter-canter does exist. With a wee bit of collection.
And it’s a brave man who could sit while the horse ran straight at him, without flinching, and snap this shot as she stopped.
(Or at least someone experienced in the ways of reining horses and their people).
