Kisia back home :)

Kisia came back home this past weekend. While I loved having access to the beautiful facilities as the Mid South Dressage Academy, it's beyond nice to have her back. My herd again seems whole & everything just looks right with that pretty silver mare out there! We both learned a lot while she was in training. She got some much needed time under saddle with an expert rider, comes home with a canter cue & nice start on lateral movements...which by-the-way are a breeze for my side-ways loving girl! I learned that you really have to know how to ride to keep up with a young horse. She was constantly (as her trainer Ila put it) looking for her boundaries. "Her job is to find the boundaries & test them!", "Yours is to set them & be consistent so she understands!" I improved my athleticism in a huge way to be able to keep up with her....& I'll tell you what....she needed & deserved that of me. Certainly one of those good, better, best areas so many of us should improve for our horses in my humble opinion. I learned how to steer....surprising how I really didn't know how to do this...riding a schoolmaster for so long, he knew what I wanted even if I didn't know how to ask for it correctly. I learned to be brave when she cantered! Oh my, there were moments I thought I was riding a warhorse that could mow-down the scariest foe! She's very powerful & that canter is gonna take us places. Her trainer, Ila, also taught me a great deal of the bio-mechanics of riding. An interesting area that's all about how you use your body & strength to ride. There is a lot going on in your horse's body when they move. Getting in tune with them & not hindering their balance or what your asking of them is primarily what I got from this. I also learned to expect my girl to be what she is...a 4 year old. One of my favorite quotes (sorry don't remember who said it) is "Don't make people feel wrong for what they don't know." Same goes for horses...& really, what does a 4 year old know about riding? She's got her predator on her back making her do all these things she really is only interested in doing when she's scared or excited. So a little exuberance, confusion, lack of balance, etc, etc isn't something she should get in trouble for. She doesn't know....but thanks to some help she knows a lot more now. So do I!