that lesson

was so needed. we've decided i'll go do that once a fortnight for a while.

i need to straighten myself up.

it was an interesting start. .... baby squirrel in the arena, spuddie hadn't seen it before (fair enough, carole hadn't either!!) and i sat the resultant major spook!!!

it's clear that i've lost a lot with all the time off. It's also clear that the reason i feel as though i'm in a chair seat is because i am.... mind, that is difficult to really tell, as the fhoenix is much more likely to put me in a straight hip heel line that spuddie's saddle, but in the scale of treed saddles it was in fact pretty comfy.

my rising trot it much more the thing on a balanced schooled horse - but, i twist and tip, and am very stiff to the left.

We think I need to insist on a new xray on the foot; i physically couldn't do the excercise stand u in stirrups due to the consequential pain. you could tell when i got off how much weight i put in the right stirrup by the way the saddle had slipped that way. this was on the lunge, you'd expect more weight on the inside and thus to balance out over the total ride, but it hadn't happened....

the saddle did slip during the spook and we probably should have got off and put it right properly, which didn't help/

so i spent a lot of the lesson trying to get the bottom of my leg below the knee to stay back and on.. by the finish we had my left hand on the left shoulder for a while and it was obvious how that helped me loosen and straighten (and that'll probably account for the pain in that shoulder if i lie on it? a thought!) i could feel the difference.

i don't think i'll ever get it totally right; the left foot, apart from last year's fracture, had had a previous fracture (or was that the right foot? ) but definitely a load of sprains - and no physio after any of them....

but if i get myself a lot straighter it'll be a major advantage!

so a lot to think about and i'll go back a fortnight tonight. and i made better time getting there than i thought.

don't think the cars have heated ignition, it's a hdi, different from the engine on a tractor/old style landrover (which had one).

the cat's got gingivitis and if he doesn't recover might have to have a load of teeth out! but we were half expecting something a lot more serious...