Minor Falls, Major Lifts

Quite frankly, the last two days have been rubbish. Olivia's become really bolshy and disrespectful. She doesn't look very happy and I'm definately not. I'm so glad that tomorrow I've got a 1h30 lesson with Terri Martinus, maybe she can help me deal with Olivia when she's in that mood. Or maybe its me! Its been horribly rainy weather, I have a horrible burst blister on my foot that rubs against my boot, and I've just got an injection which has made my arm achey and weak. I'm supposed to be enjoying a week free from school, but I have to spend every minute I'm at home revising for the exams I've got next week. It sucks.

Anyway, I've been watching a lot more of the new levels, and to be honest I find that they have so little structure or instruction. When I'm reading back over the old level 3 booklets, they have so much infomation and detail that's easier to learn from. So I'm going to ignore the new levels for now and work my way through the stages. Stage 1 seems so simple - I've been absent-mindedly playing with the concepts for a while, and I have Olivia trotting sideways and backing up (slightly)quicker. I thought I had canter on 22 ft line down to pat, but now when I ask for it Olivia can barely do one circle at the canter. Freestyle is a different picture. Although our isolations are nothing to be proud of, the simple lead changes are just beautiful, and flying lead changes are really coming on. Yay!

I never explained my title, I was sitting at home feeling sorry for myself and heard the lyric from Rufus Wainwrights (however its spelt) song, hallelujah, And it got me thinking that no journey is full of highs. Recently, the highs have seemed too good to be true. I don't think the last few sessions have been rubbish; they've just not been the standard of our previous sessions.

I like to think I'm emotionally fit, and when I'm happy I am VERY emotionally fit. But, just like my horse, I'm a super emotional person and if one thing goes wrong I can see the wrong in everything. Something for me to work on. It's my attitude thats bought on this dip in our progress.

Savvy wishes !!