Attila The Hun

This pretty lady has some issues to deal with.

According to my chiropractor and my trainer, she probably fell at some point and has since developed a habit of tightening all the muscles in her hind end and walking stiffly to cope with her injury [which probably has something to do with a misalignment in her spine]. And here I was, thinking that her shoulder and fetlock conformation were my only worries! 😖

Now it's all about getting her sound and comfortable again. Mainly through classical dressage and lots of slow and straight work at the walk, to help her really feel her back legs again.

Depending on how well everything goes, I might actually have to swap her for a different horse. 😐

Riding day for this young man today!

How do you start when you work your horse in the arena? Do you get on relaxed and carelessly? Do you feel tense? I used to feel quite insecure for the longest time when getting on Attila's back, even though he always stood perfectly still. It's the behavior during our rides that I dreaded.

So how did I change that? One day, I said to myself: "Don't ride. Just get on his back and sit there. Do nothing." And he decided to start walking and carry me around all by himself. Since then, we haven't had any issues and I've definitely gained my confidence back.