Lesson with Trainer ED

 I opted in for a dressage lesson with ED near the end of September. I figured Gwyn seemed to be moving well enough after her bout of lameness and at the very least, a walk lesson with some trotting wouldn't be bad. 

All of the riding I had been doing was very low key and basically trying to strengthen her hind end more so she could step better underneath herself.  We resisted the siren call of the little jumps when we rode in daylight hours.

And Gwyn continued to make me doubt if she was lame. But she did continue to track unevenly with how far she was reaching underneath her with the left not reaching as far as the right. If her right hind was on the inside, she was stepping into or over the hoof print from her front leg, if her left hind was inside, she wasn't reaching the front hoof print.  I made myself dizzy watching this. 

Gwyn and Zephyr greeted me and Zephyr looked disappointed I didn't take him too. 

Riding in the covered arena, which I try to avoid unless it's been watered, which it now has!

A nearly new BoT sheet and hood popped up on a tack group in Gwyn's size that I snatched up for a steal. It came with a heartbreaking note about a lady's eventer who she lost due to colic and basically asked that I make sure to pamper my horse like he was.  Dear seller, absolutely. Gwyn will be pampered.

Evening lights

The summer shed into fall has occurred and all the horses are becoming fuzzy little by little.

Our lesson with ED was good. Gwyn was still NQR but we kept it simple and she seemed to work out of it the more we rode. One thing I brought up was how Gwyn falls into the inside of the circle. ED watched me ride and told me I wasn't weighting my outside foot enough. 

Sure enough, if I focused on feeling my outside stirrup, it was easier for Gwyn to move off my inside leg and move out. That was my biggest revelation, though I was still not feeling totally balanced as we did this, but some fixes for that came later. Gwyn was a trooper for the lesson so any improvement in me where I'm better able to influence her body is a win, in my book.