Two-point torture and other stuff

Whew! What a crazy life! We've all been go, go, go for what feels like weeks. (My other mode this past month has been sick, sick, sick. Uhg! Worst case of the flu ever and I'm still sniffling - probably allergies now.)

So this will need to be a short, short, short post.

Spring is only beginning to arrive; the days are still relatively cool and definitely wet. Consequently, not too much time has been spent out at the barns. I did have a lesson with Marla last Sunday. I was plenty nervous about it (first time riding with her) and my high-strung, spring-fevered pony didn't calm me any. But let me back up a little.....

E had a lesson the hour before mine. Monte was feeling a bit energetic (she hadn't ridden in almost two weeks) but didn't appear unmanageable.....until they got into the arena. As soon as they got past the gate, he became a pretty good imitation of a rodeo bucking bronc. He bucked about half-way 'round the arena before she got a chance to attempt an emergency dismount, and just as she started to dismount, he bucked again, making her fall to the ground. (She was okay, just shaken, although she did end up with a nice bruise on her shoulder.)

He then proceeded to run like a crazed animal around the whole arena several times, going so fast that he actually fell on a corner. It took a few minutes before E could catch him. We thought something must be wrong, but the instructor (also a vet) checked him over and declared that he was fine....and that E needed to work him so that he didn't learn he could get away with such awful behavior.

So E decided to go on with her lesson and Monte behaved beautifully for the remainder of the afternoon. Go figure.

After seeing all this, and then having my pony start out all high-headed in the round pen, I was plenty nervous. But once she was tacked up and I was in the saddle, Zoe settled nicely. My first challenge of the day was to ride her from the dressage arena (where I was warming up) past the various wood piles (where all the trolls and gremlins live, according to Zoe) to the big arena for my lesson. And we did it! I know, sounds minor, but really it gave me a bit of a confidence boost.

And then the two-point torture began. :) Marla asked us to get into a two-point position and ride...and ride and ride and ride. This is the first time I've ever done this, so I was plenty off-balance. Zoe was not appreciative of my beginner ways and about half-way through the lesson began to lose patience with me. I was able to stay in two-point for most of the hour, though, and even managed to trot while perched on my stirrups. This was a lesson where a steady-eddy schooling horse would have been nice. Zoe is so reactive that any shift in my balance caused her to change her pace....which then made it even harder for me to maintain my balance!

By the end of the lesson I was noodle-legged and could barely walk upright. :)

And I will no longer give E a hard time when she has a lesson like this and then complains. I have a new appreciation for the skills she makes seem so easy.....