Turn That Frown Upside Down

The weather is not as humid so it's much more comfortable to ride.  In the afternoon I sent a text to Cynthia enticing her to come ride.  She was part of the distance to my house but didn't have her riding clothes. But I reminded her that she has left breeches at my house just for emergencies like this. 

A few more persuasive texts later and she and her husband were coming for supper. The guys were making some modifications to my trailer dressing room while we rode. After we are they shooed us out to ride while they cleaned (major husband points were being earned).   In the barn both horses were half asleep. Irish was chilled enough but Carmen gave me her 'less than  impressed ' look that only a mare can pull off.

You can't be serious?
It's a lovely day. It will be fun. 
I'm not in the mood for work. 
I'm not planning on it being hard but I guess that will be up to you. 
*sigh*

She was quiet getting ready but not too happy.  When she was a bit cinchy I was wondering if she was in heat.   I decided to spend some time doing groundwork before I got on. It didn't take long and she was with me. When I got on she felt a bit sluggish. I spent some time trying to get her loose and making sure that I was keeping my riding form. It became apparent that I needed to work on straightness. Carmen has a tendency to throw her haunches in- most often when traveling to the right.  I really really really want to correct it by pulling on the inside rein but that doesn't work. If I just use the outside rein she falls in so I have to use inside leg to outside rein. The other issue (related) is that she's a bit hollow on her left side and I tend to sit more left. It takes concentration to stay even in my hips and I'm not always sure if I am or just think I am. All these thoughts are probably why Cynthia posted this to my FB page:

By Sara Lee Equine Artist
What I've been trying to do is keep my focus on my plan and not let her distractions derail me.  And this really works- she comes back to me rather then me chasing her attention.  I even managed to work further into the area at C with no issues- other then her going hey this is the REST AREA.

After she yawned and yawned in the barn. She looked sleepy and happier.  She also confirmed that she's in heat.

What was excellent was that it took very little to get her working with me. She didn't stay grumpy.  While she started sluggis, I didn't have this huge battle to get her forward. The balking seems to be a thing of the past. Spooking occurs but it's not  life threatening or frightening. I've been trying to keep this idea in my brain:

Emily Cole illustrations/

I guess what I'm saying is that she's more rideable. Which means that my accounts might be a lot more boring.