Lesson #185: Canter Woes

The last lesson I had, we discovered that the saddle I'm using is not well suited for my strange body. That said, it is not going to break my learning trend so I haven't really looked seriously into getting a saddle. In the meantime, I tried a schooling 17 inch saddle to see if it was better. The primary consensus is that I am not struggling with the same pommel issues I was, with the 16.5. But, that doesn't mean that the saddle is necessarily fit better for me. I'm not sure if maybe the height of the pommel is simply the problem because there really isn't much else that seems to bother me. Sheri also said that saddles can be customized quite a bit so it is possible that the "ready to wear" sizing that is generally available isn't the problem.

For now, I'll sort out stuff with either the 16.5 or 17 depending on which is available. As a few readers mentioned, as long as it fits the mount, then the rider can probably make do with whatever is available since lessons usually range 45-60 minutes at twice a week so it's not THAT much. My conclusion is simply to continue with what I have but if something amazing comes by, I'll consider it.

Back to the lesson.

We sort out a pole course again. +ADW said he found it helpful to sort out distance and whatnot since Molson treats poles as jumps. LOLOLOL. I was initially told to add in a wall jump at the end. I figured it should be fine but I spent so much time trying to sort out the stupid canter with Ariel that it just never materialized. We only managed to get through the lesson over the poles because I was all over the place and having difficulty to get that mare to canter. It was so incredibly frustrating b/c I haven't had issues in a while now and I'm not a newbie any more. Because I struggled to get her going, my lower legs were everywhere and it created other issues up top. I was SO FRUSTRATED.

As usual, that frustration was probably translated over and that also contributed to the issue. I did manage the course a few times but it felt completely out of control, again. I hate that feeling that Ariel is going way too fast for me to keep up. But that's exactly it, eh? I am trying to keep up when I should be the one dictating our lesson.

It was pretty sucky that it didn't go too well but life goes on, right? Plus I've got some exciting news for y'all, soon!