+ 2 weeks

2 weeks on. I started riding her again last weekend and she went well - no signs of lameness and didn't catch the wound at all.

The first day I rode her the canter was rather "lumpy", especially on the right rein. It was much better the second day and pretty good this weekend. I suddenly had one of those BFOs ... for some reason it hadn't clicked that if I could use Mark Rashid's concepts of footfall to do lateral work (and hence be "not straight") then I ought to, within reason, be able to use the same concept to get straighter.

Obviously Fi is still going to have some physical limits to how straight she can be. But rather than trying to mechanically straighten her canter, using rein, legs, seat, instead I can use the footfall visualisation to "think" the canter straighter.

I didn't work on it too much - in right lead canter my right leg is swinging so I need to sort my own brace and stiffness out first so I can move with her better.

Rosie did well at the dressage last week with a number of "firsts". First test on gradd, first test with canter (prelim 4), first time to do two tests. It was a hot day and we were both rather puffed (I had to wear a jacket !!!).

After that I thought she deserved a break from dressage for a few days and we went and played around the straw bales on the stubble. Then back in to the arena and I figured she might enjoy some jumping. But she didn't think much to being back in the school rather than out having fun and had a bit of a bolsh. We worked through it and popped some cross poles so ended on a good note both days.