River Tees

but firstly reflections further on last night.

Caroline, I do agree in many (if not most!) respects, and did in fact say I had been working on keeping my hands/fingers right and only moving the little finger in to turn her head slightly etc.....On the other hand, it was also keeping my hand up, when I've had too much of a tendency to keep them low thus pulling myself forwards a bit more than I should be ..... and, as Jean suggested, it was also about keeping her/getting her to be straight; AND to get her hindquarters through and under (it certainly succeeded in that, we almost had piaffe never mind passage with the tantrums!). And yes, that is a very interesting way of getting straightness, but since she wasn't listening to me at all previously (well, she had started to, but then I would end up with her "planting" and setting against me anyway) and we did end up with sideways that I haven't been able to get to at all before! ....RI knows how I do want to end up.

As I said, I can see where the pelham would be of major assistance here, but RI doesn't I don't think appreciate that side of the pelham's use, or at least hasn't admitted to doing so ... interesting contrast between her take on it and Alison where I keep Queenie......we're all the same generation as well. Anyway, will debate that with her another time. I have a Myler combination waiting to be tried, once my friend has shown me how to fit it, and I've a feeling that that might be sufficient to do the needful

For now, she's been teaching me for a long time, and did the same Marji Armstrong clinic that I did (it was on her yard!) so knows that I really liked that (and my balance etc is hugely better now than it was then, and I now have a much better feel for what my seatbones/body should be doing ...

RI says she'd be inclined to lunge the socks off Molly - but since that was always a major issue, I disagree and will continue with rope circling and longlining. Much easier to get what I want, and I think longlining will do her more good for now.

RI has been teaching me on and off for about 17 years now, so knows me and my faults and knows where Molly's come from (the staking incident was on her yard as well, although nothing at all to do with her as the turnout wasn't her decision and she wasn't there at the time, as I recall. And she had to have Molly on her main yard for a few weeks whilst she recovered from the wagon incident 3 years later....). So I think that's an advantage for now.

But I would prefer to have an EE teacher at some point, but they're all so far away from me the mileage would make it really expensive unless there were a few of us....

Anyway, there's food for thought for Molly & I for a while until the next lesson, which hasn't been arranged yet as before long they'll all be in for the night and that makes it more difficult to do an evening lesson at RI's yard

as for tonight .. after I'd mucked out! I decided we'd do a groundwork session and had to get after her a bit again, but not nearly as much as I did the other night. She was pretty good considering. I have no problem moving her backwards, forwards, stopping her coming into my space etc, and she was moving forwards and tracking up when going round, which was pleasing.

And I was very pleased she didn't argue about going out again - had thought she'd decide that after last night she wanted to be in, but she didn't (mind, I helped by removing the haynet!).

And the river tees? well, it was a lovely day to day, and the river was very still (there's a barrage about a mile down river from the office) so this is the view from the carpark, looking across to the shopping mall in stockton. Taken on my mobile phone.... (cell phone to you Jean!)