FLUIDITY CLINIC- The last time I rode Sue in an indoor clinic, I was overcome by emotional non-fitness by noon and had to quit.
This indoor arena clinic was full of horses and Sue and I rode two days. What a difference.
The first day when we first started riding, Tony told me I didn’t look fully relaxed. I thought I hid it well, but there it was…tension. We can’t have tension in a Fluidity Clinic!
So, I started to whistle without sound. Amazing how whistling, even when you don’t produce noise will make you relax. You purse your lips, blow air out and your body relaxes…like automatic.
I whistled (soundlessly) until I didn’t need to anymore. No one noticed I looked weird -pursing my lips, looking like a fish mouth.
Sue didn’t spook while I was riding her. What she did do, was refuse to go thru spots where she had to be too close to other horses. She is claustrophobic in tight spots.
She would pass horses just fine unless two or more horses were close together. Then we just came to a halt and our feet stuck into the arena sand.
The bigger horse had a bigger bubble. We had a draft cross in the class and it took more room for Sue to be able to get around that horse!
Sue and I played the squeeze game (with the other horses) for two days.
Seven year old Caitlyn got permission from her father to ride Sue at the end of the first day. Caitlyn rode in half the arena…all the participant horses were gathered up in the other half. Caitlyn got Sue to canter. I cheered!
At the end of the 2nd day, Caitlyn got to ride Sue again. This time as she rode past where her little brother was playing out of the arena in the sand…well. Little brother threw something up as they went past and Sue leaped sideways to get away. Caitlyn told me she came within a hair of falling off. whew! I’m glad it wasn’t me riding and I’m glad I didn’t see it.