What's Up

I've been a somewhat neglectful blogger this last few weeks, I think. Especially because there's actually been quite a bit of "excitement" going on here, what with the arrival of the Thorowgood T8 Jump saddle I ordered from SmartPak. It arrived on Thursday and has been the main focus of my existence ever since.

Tell me that isn't a thing of beauty. Go ahead and try. It's a synthetic/leather hybrid, but I think it could easily pass for leather to anyone who doesn't look close. Don't you? It also feels lovely (especially the leather parts) and the workmanship appears excellent. For a $895 saddle, I am definitely impressed.

Beauty is as beauty does, of course, but half the beauty of this saddle is it sits on Finn's back like it belongs there. Oh thank heavens; I think I almost forgot a saddle could do that! While I'm still not 100% confident of the fit (will I ever be?), there is no doubt that it is the best of the saddles we've tried. I'm still unresolved on the finer points, but the basics are correct.

I had R come to the barn to take some photos and video of me sitting in the saddle so I could get a better perspective on how it fits me. I'm no expert, but I think it looks darn good. No doubt in my mind it feels stellar. When I tried the Barnsby on him a few weeks ago, or the Balance saddles a few months ago, it felt awful. I wondered if I was so used to riding treeless that anything else would feel weird. This, though, does not feel weird. It feels absolutely natural.

Holy cow, am I really gonna jump this horse one day!? Yes, my friends. The answer is yes. The jury is still out on how exactly this saddle deal is going to resolve itself, but I'm confident at this point the end result will be a Thorowgood in my possession. Huzzah!

In other news, I rejoined the Dressage, Naturally Classroom and have been catching up on the videos I missed since my membership lapsed. While there are MANY things I could share about the videos I've watched, my primary observation has been that the information in the classroom is presented in a more fluid way than the book. Watching some videos of Karen herself riding has made me realize I am probably being too much of a perfectionist and dwelling too long on the very basic basics.

This is a tough balance for me to find. Yes, I want to do things thoroughly, but being too much of a stickler can really be counter-productive. If I expect that Finn must come out every day with perfect responses about energy, relaxation and balance before we're allowed to move on, I'll really be holding us back. As long as we can have and improve the conversations through our rides, they'll continue to improve on a more fundamental level over time.

So, I'm resolving to be a little less of a stickler... to play and experiment more freely... and allow Finn to show me the shining, healthy, powerful pony he's always had inside!

Go is Release

Karen Rohlf does this speed-coaching thing on Facebook. The "game" is you have to pose your question or problem in only five words, and she answers in three. She posts about it unannounced and, in theory, only answers the first handful of questions she receives, so a little luck and good timing is essential. It just so happens those things were on my side yesterday evening!

I even had a question planned, one I'd been thinking about asking if I was ever "on time" for Karen's post. I hadn't thought about it in a few weeks though, and I almost didn't ask because I didn't feel like it was such a pressing issue for Finn and I anymore. In the end, though, I decided to go ahead with it. The question (or problem) was: "distinguish 'get ready' and 'go.'"

Karen's answer was: "Go is release."

My initial thought was "hmmm." Clearly the point of a three-word answer is to point one's thoughts in the right direction rather than fully explain anything! So think I did... and not without a bit of confusion and a touch of frustration. Okay, go is release... but how?

It's not like the idea was totally foreign to me. I can recall the feeling of asking for a trot lengthening like that... when you compress the trot a bit and build up energy in the corner and then allow the horse to power up into the diagonal or long side, and it does feel like release. But I was a little stuck on how that applied to other transitions. Halt to walk, for example. And I was even more stuck on how it'd apply to riding on a loose rein or even playing on line. I suppose because I was erroneously thinking of the reins as the only way to instruct the horse to wait while you build the next gait inside the current one. How wrong was I!

I think the best thing about Karen's response was that it reminded me that "go" can and should feel like a release, which is a far, far cry from where Finn and I have been lately! As I contemplated that last night, I could see that I had gotten way off track, because "go" felt like pressure and more pressure, like PUSHING and disharmony. In short, it felt pretty awful!

So, I went to the barn today thinking about that. I also downloaded Karen's audio recording about relaxation, energy and balance, and listened to the energy segment while driving to the barn. That provided another super helpful gem in the form of a simulation demonstrating how the "get ready" and "go" conversations might sound from one human to another.

I played with Finn on line only today. I slowed down and was more deliberate. I talked aloud a bit more to help myself focus on the desired feel. And I tried to feel the new gait within the old one, build it up, and find a feeling of simply releasing into the transitions. To some degree this was a leap of faith... I just pretended I expected it to work, and lo and behold, it actually did. Yes, I had to get a bit "bigger" to clarify to Finn what I meant a few times, and a few times I had to remind him to try instead of tuning me out, but the bottom line is WE FOUND IT.

We found upward transitions that felt like release. We found a walk that had a trot inside, and a trot that contained a canter. And in taking things a little slower with the trot, I think we even found a few tiny glimpses of real power (that elusive combination of energy and relaxation) in which Finn pushed and lengthened with each stride instead of hurrying. The silly thing is, he is apt to do that... but I have a sharper eye for quick than powerful, and I think tend to push him quicker than I should.

So, hooray! It felt like a big triumph for us. In addition to all the transitions and gaits being improved, Finn's attitude was also much more willing! Goodness I hope I can find this stuff under saddle next. Crossing my fingers that the Thorowgood arrives early enough tomorrow to take it out to the barn, but I'm not holding my breath.

Onward and Upward

I was fortunate enough to have R come out to the barn and take some video of Finn and I today, like I've been hoping to do for some time. As I'm delving into the Dressage, Naturally material, I wanted some "baseline" footage... this is where we started.

Although I have watched most of the video, I don't have anything to share yet. Shooting with R's fancy cameras often means the process of cutting the video together is a bit more involved, and my time was pretty limited this afternoon, for reasons I will get to in a moment. First, though, I want to at least share my observations.

As usual, I was impressed by Finn's rhythm, general relaxation and natural movement. There is no doubt in my mind that everything with this horse comes from and returns to relaxation (except when it doesn't, like when he totally looses over something that unnerves him, but we're not practicing our dressage in those moments). He may not fully understand how to combine energy and relaxation yet, but I think that's more physical than mental. And he goes right back to sleep in no time flat.

He is also not a horse that has trouble reaching under himself with his hind legs. Finn has a very naturally long and reaching stride. Now, that's not necessarily the same as him actually carrying and/or pushing with his hind end, but at least he's got a head start of sorts. Although his "neutral" trot can feel slow as molasses from the saddle, in the video it looks rhythmic and supple with a still decent length of stride.

Although I still often feel like I'm treading water on our discussion about energy, the fact is I saw a clear change in the video. His willingness to go is definitely increased; walk, trot and canter. Additionally, in the video it was plain that some of the higher energy trots I've been asking for are beyond his ability to perform in balance. To put that another way, I'm running him off his feet.

That, combined with having to watch myself (after already being somewhat discouraged to feel myself do this) fall into drilling him, really made it clear to me that I need a clearer and more appropriate picture of what I'm asking for. Often in my rides I get carried away by something I'm trying to accomplish and I work at it too long without pausing to appreciate Finn's effort or consider what I could change to make it easier for him. In this case, a more moderate idea of the energy I'm requesting and more commitment to getting it crisply and letting Finn understand his success would really improve the feel and productivity of our sessions.

I was really pleased watching Finn's whoosh-y yields out of the walk, too. Both his hindquarter and forequarter yields were really quite lovely, although I did have to clarify a little at the start since our focus had shifted to other things over the past few rides. We will, of course, continue to refine and build on those.

Now, to get to the reason why my time was limited this afternoon... I'm going camping, and I'm taking Finn with me. Yes, you read that right.

This is why I love what I do... because when I'm not working, I'm not working, and I get to do whatever I want. S had this trip planned already and asked me semi-last-minute if I wanted to join and I said: yes, yes, a thousand times, YES! We're going to Montana de Oro State Park in Los Osos, CA... 8,000 acres on the central California coast. And YES, there is beach access for equestrians. In fact, the beach is very near the horse campsites.

While the beach is one of the main attractions, fact of the matter is Montana de Oro is a veritable wonderland of gorgeous scenery. I can't wait to explore it. We're meeting a couple other folks there (friends of S) and we may stay as long as 5 to 6 days. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it.

I doubt I'll make any blog posts from the trip, but I will definitely be taking pictures and hopefully get a video or two as well. I am really hoping the beach presents some options for taking our gallop to the next level yet again, letting Finn hold the faster speed longer to get comfortable there. Yeah, I'm dying for a good, long gallop!

And on that note, I bid you farewell. I still have packing to do. Sometimes I hate being a chronic procrastinator.

The Excitement is Killing Me

Timing is a funny thing... not that this really has any impact on me, but it just so happens that today is the first day of the next six-month course in Karen Rohlf's Virtual Arena. I will not be signing up, of course, since it is WAY out of my budget, but I feel somehow more motivated on my own personal immersion plan to dive headlong into her book. For the next six months, she'll be guiding students through her six-step program I outlined in my last post, and I'll be working through the same six steps on my own. For one thing, I think knowing this will keep me on a more progressive timeline.

I'd really like to have some quality before and after video footage, but I don't think the GoPro is really going to cut it. I'm working on getting R to come out to the barn, but no luck so far.

Anyway, yesterday I began establishing our conversation about balance by focusing on "whoosh-y" yields, from the ground and in the saddle. One of the most fascinating observations I made was that there was some unexpected brace in Finn's HQ yield. I believe this is primarily due to confusion/lack of clarity rather than any real defensiveness or concern on his part. When I would ask for his HQs, he seemed torn between disengaging and engaging for a forward transition. We sorted it out pretty easily, though, and I will just have to be careful to be more clear in the future.

This group of exercises about balance is about where I got stuck and gave up on this with Journey several years back, and that has been on my mind. Mostly because I have been asking myself: how will this time be different? I think the key is going to be keeping a curious, open mind, and not allowing myself to get bogged down in everything I don't know. Rather, allowing myself to experiment, to feel foolish, to experiment, and to trust my intuition. That should get us through.

Today we took our discussions of relaxation, energy and balance on the road, and added in a little hill work for good measure. Being outside of the arena, I only worked on our whoosh-y yields from a halt instead of playing with the transition from walk to yield. But the real excitement of the day was all about energy...

My plan was to play with the exercises for maintaining energy, and Finn's initial responses to requests for energy were right on from the beginning, so we got right to it. Going into our two main hills, I asked Finn to bump it up from a 3 walk to a 4, and the response he offered was really lovely. His walk was big and swingy and active, and I only had to remind him a few times to keep to it.

When it came time for our first trot hill, I established a 4 walk and then thought about transitioning smoothly and directly into a 4 trot, which we had been playing with the day before in the arena. Well, low and behold, Finn responded immediately and matched my energy perfectly, which I can partly attribute to the patterns of anticipation I have built into this program of ours.

He powered up the hill, high-headed at times, but going into the second half, he started stretching his top line more consistently and really getting to work. In fact, he even did a few strides of a baby trot lengthening, which felt amazing! I've felt a HUGE trot from him before, but it was done with a completely upside-down posture... those few strides today were easily the biggest trot I've ever felt him STRETCH into. The last several strides he leveled back into a more moderate trot, but still felt super committed to carrying the energy and maintained a lovely stretched feeling. Talk about a Yes! moment!

Although I had planned to ride longer, I also needed to get home early-ish today and I was so impressed with Finn's big effort, I decided to just quit on that note. While I enjoy the longer, leisurely sessions we mostly have these days, sometimes there is nothing like short and sweet, an excellent way to reward a horse for being on point from the start.

Feeling that kind of energy and stretch in Finn is so exciting. He is such a talented mover with so much natural athleticism, I can't wait to watch him own that. I can't wait to help him grow stronger, more powerful and more confident. And you better believe I can't wait to ride the movement that's been in there untapped all along!

While I've asked myself, "How will this be different than last time?" (as in, "What's going to keep me from getting stuck again?"), somehow I just know it will be. I can feel it. I can feel it as though it has already happened. I know Finn and I are going to rock this.

Six Steps of Dressage, Naturally

A little while back, I listed to a webinar with Karen Rohlf in which she listed the six steps she guides students through in her online course, The Virtual Arena. I wrote them down, feeling that just having that guideline to structure my planning was a huge benefit. Unfortunately, I then misplaced my notes and have been wondering what those six steps were.

Well, Karen just release a new series of free videos, focusing on the most frequent questions she hears that keep people "stuck." The videos are EXCELLENT, and if you haven't seen them yet, I suggest you check them out HERE. In the fourth video, Karen reviewed the six steps again, and this time I am NOT misplacing my notes. I am going to list them right here:

1. Foundation Check-Up & Understand the Big Picture
2. Establish Conversations About Relaxation, Energy & Balance
3. Explore & Enjoy the Sweet Spot
4. Sweet Spot for Rider Position
5. Riding in Connection with the Reins
6. Understanding Gymnastic Exercises

I didn't really need to be re-inspired to follow Karen's program, but the videos were a nice shot-in-the-arm nonetheless. And if you read my post "Super Horse!" the other day, you'll know I gleaned some helpful ideas from them! Finn and I are in step 2 of the process outlined above, which is super exciting! I just can't help but grin when I think of all the progress we'll make working through this stuff in the next six months!

In particular, I am so excited just to get to Step 3. Finn is such an interesting mover... because he can absolutely move really well, with a LOT of fluidity and reach and spring, but his nature often keeps him from moving as well as he might, because he carries a good bit of tension. I can't wait to help him unlock his potential, empower him to find freedom and relaxation in movement, and see just how lovely and powerful this little horse can be!

Super Horse!

I had super and very different sessions with Finn yesterday and this morning. Yesterday, I was still feeling pretty unmotivated and bummed about my saddle, so I decided not to ride and instead pulled out our old "friend" the tarp.

I realize our long and checkered past with the tarp precedes this blog, so to briefly sum it up: we have had issues. We spent a great deal of time working with it early this year, but we were stuck at tolerance, not acceptance. While I could toss it on and around him, have him walk over and across it, and even get him to put his front feet on it for short periods of time, he was not truly calm about any of it.

Finn's injury in March interrupted our program with the tarp, and when he was 100% again, I decided to let it rest a while longer. We were making so much progress in other areas, strengthening my leadership and our mutual trust, that I wanted to see how his feelings about the tarp might change just because so much stuff between us had changed. Well, based on his response yesterday, I'd say this was an excellent decision!



To be honest, I cannot believe this is my horse. I have studied this video and the others I took over and over again wondering if he might be "catatonic," but as best as I can tell, he is simply relaxed, which is how I read it in the moment, too. What a novel concept! Seriously, I am in disbelief.

Next up, crossing:



This might not look like much, but it is SO improved. Earlier this year, I could get him to cross, but he felt like he might leap 20 feet in the air at any moment if the tarp so much as wiggled a smidge. At first he would rush, and I would reward him with a break only for walking. Then he figured out he was supposed to walk, and it was the TIGHTEST walk I had ever seen!

He started out super yesterday, then back-tracked a little into uncertainty, then ended on what you see in the above video, which I consider absolutely awesome. This is a horse I could imagine riding across a tarp without fearing for my life. That is major progress.

There are still a couple things I'd really like to get solid with the tarp. First, actually tying it to my saddle and having Finn carry it through some ground work. Second, having him be able to stop and stand on it 100% relaxed. Third, crossing it confidently from the saddle. And fourth, dragging it from the saddle and even being able to pull it up and over him. The thing is, I feel 100% closer to all of those things after yesterday's session. Now I feel like they are all within reach.

Moving on to this morning's session... I have been getting some inspiration and ideas from a new series of free videos released by Karen Rohlf, and I finally felt motivated enough to actually play with the D,N exercises again. I went out today with the intention to focus on 100% clarity in the simple things.

The nice thing is Finn and I actually have quite a lot of clarity already. I think even an objective observer would agree that our communication is high quality. Not perfect, but certainly above average. What was really helpful, though, was the reminder to strive for 100% clarity, and the high level of focus that requires, at all times. Also, the reminder of how important 100% clarity is to helping the horse be a confident, motivated and willing partner. Of course the horse will be more interested in working for someone who remembers to tell them how absolutely right they are!

After working at this for a while, I shifted to thinking about creating "inspired" movement. After listening to Karen's videos, I was thinking a lot about how to help Finn feel truly inspired and eager to let his power come through. In other words, really getting to the core of the conversation about energy we've been kinda stuck on for the last several weeks.

I asked Finn to show me what freedom looks like. I told him I knew he was so full of power, and I'll love if he could show me some of it. I showed him some freedom in my own body, exaggerating my body motions and really shaking it loose. I went out to really and truly PLAY with it, instead of having a certain way of doing it in mind. And the last thing I changed was I tied my stirrups up, to remove one reason he had to hold back while working on line while saddled. (While he is not afraid of the stirrups bouncing around, he finds it unpleasant, and I can't blame him.)

Well, among those changes we found the key, because we really got it today, first on line and then under saddle. I felt transitions so free and flowing I almost missed being stoked about it because it felt so easy! We quit our on line session on a walk-trot-canter transition in which Finn showed me three strides of the biggest, most elevated, most powerful trot I've ever seen him offer. While the riding was, by design, a little less exuberant, the last transitions felt no less free. And I made sure Finn knew he had gotten it, 100%! Yes, yes, yes! I told him he was my hero.

I am realizing how important and powerful it is for the horse to feel safe to make such a big offer, and how critical it is to make it SO clear to them that's exactly what you wanted when they do. Especially for a quiet, timid type like Finn! This is how we inspire a horse through 100% clarity.

So, both days offered big victories, and opened the road to so much more I want to play with! That's always a good thing. While it's lovely to dwell on moments like these, one makes progress by continuing to move forward... onward and upward.

Student Skills

"We also need to realize that although 'practice makes perfect', it is the practicing itself that is the art. Not only do we use techniques to create something else, but also the way in which we apply technique is an art in itself. It is this artful application that will lead to harmony no matter what stage you are in and will make the journey a pleasure." (Dressage, Naturally 44)

Of course I brought Dressage, Naturally to Texas with me. I've reviewed the relaxation and energy exercises and moved on to reading about the balance exercises. The review of the first exercises was an excellent reminder that "study" doesn't mean "read once." After a few weeks of experimentation, reviewing the text revealed several new insights and questions and potential tweaks to my approach.

Being an independent student is hard mental work. It requires a greater degree of self-discipline and self-management than learning with frequent coaching. Happily, I'd say my skills in this area are stronger than average, because I've practiced more than average. I haven't taken regular lessons since I began studying Parelli in January 2003, so although it's still a fight sometimes, I'm usually at least conscious of what I need to do.

As I delve deeper into the D,N text, a few important reminders have surfaced in my mind. Mainly, reminders to let feelings of overwhelm, confusion, or skepticism roll off my back. Some of the things Karen Rohlf describes, even in the most basic exercises, can sounds pretty abstract and esoteric. For example:

"Whenever he is in this better balance, I leave him completely alone, allowing him to explore the new sensations for as long as he is thinking about it. [...] My reminder for him can be as small as a glance at a specific body part and, in the end, he seeks and explores this himself. His focus becomes internal in a positive way as he is thinking about his own body. He is calm, free and energetic." (D,N 66)

At times, the subtlety and intimacy of communication Karen describes, the mental engagement and willingness she expects from the horse, is confounding. My internal skeptic wells up now and again, whispering to me, "That's not possible. You'll never get it." It is then when I must step in quickly and interrupt the thought. I have seen Karen accomplish too much to truly believe she is off her rocker! I have made a choice to believe her and to dedicate my honest best efforts to the exploration of her teachings. So I cut off the skeptic and reinforce my optimism, encouraging myself with the thought that open-minded exploration of quality information (which I have in this book) will lead where I want to go.

Which leads me to my next reminder for myself: be an explorer. For most humans, myself included, it is hard to maintain an attitude of exploration, because there is too much feeling confused, frustrated or foolish involved. When we don't KNOW the answer, we EXPLORE... which means there may be quite a lot of back-tracking, missteps, and general fuzziness involved. This is definitely NOT a comfortable place to be, and it is easy to let frustration get out of hand and despair to set in.

So, I am committed to keeping positive and light-hearted. I know I must allow myself to not know... to experiment and try my best. I must remember to be kind to myself and even kinder to Finn, and that we are in this together. And if I can do those things, I am well on my way, even when I don't know what I'm doing.

D,N: Exercise 1 and Pre-Reqs

Last night I began reading the exercise section of Dressage, Naturally again, and realized at once I was guilty of never having actually done Exercise 1: Assess Your Horse. This, you see, is exactly why I feel the need to declare this "big commitment," because I want to do something other than my usual pattern... which is doing the reading, but not doing the work. So, I went and did it.

For the exercise, Karen asks you to go out and assess your horse, pretending you've never seen the horse before. The idea is to try to look at the horse as objectively as possible and record your observations so you have a clear idea of where you're starting from. After playing with the horse for approximately 15 minutes, Karen instructs the reader to "pretend I call you on the phone, and you must tell me, as concisely as possible, as much information about the horse." (D,N, 48)

As suggested, I played with Finn both on the ground and in the saddle, for about 15 minutes each, and if I had to summarize it as concisely as possible, this is what I'd say:

He's a good-natured horse with an attitude of partnership and a strong basic foundation of relaxation and understanding. He has a steady rhythm and basic balance at all three gaits, generally even and swing-y movement, but lacks energy and freedom. Tight through his back at the trot and canter. He hasn't found his power.

To sum-up the exercise, Karen poses three questions, again to be answered as concisely as possible:

1. What is a positive feature that I would like to keep? His goodwill and desire to connect.
2. If only ______ was better, I think everything would be better. If only Finn had more enthusiasm for energy, I think everything would be better.
3. How would my horse answer those questions about me? "I like that my human ______," and "if only my human changed _____ I think everything would be better." I like that my human is attentive and understands my ideas. If only my human consistently kept her cool when we're confused I think everything would be better.

Some thoughts worth dwelling on right there, for sure! Some interesting vocabulary choices. Thinking about developing Finn's enthusiasm is sure different than thinking just about getting more energy out of him. And looking at my emotional fitness issues as a simple instance of us both being confused makes it feel a lot more fix-able... and a lot less like an excuse to beat myself up. Which is a good thing, trust me. Being aware of my flaws is helpful; beating myself up is not.

After my initial assessment ride, the ride sort of morphed into checking on the prerequisites Karen lists for beginning the D,N exercises, and I'm happy to say that Finn actually exceeded my expectations on that front. Many of the pre-reqs are more directed at the human's understanding of the principles of natural horsemanship, and while I ran through them quickly, I also took them to heart as an always useful reminder to stay true to an approach based on psychology and understanding. The two that gave me pause last night were these:

1. You are comfortable riding bridle-less walk, trot and canter.
2. You and your horse can do all the basic yields (forward, backwards, HQ, FQ and sideways) without using your reins.

On the one hand, the answer to the first is, "No problem." I'd ride Journey bridle-less anytime, anywhere. Also, having ridden bridle-less as much as I have, I'd be pretty willing to get on most horses bridle-less and tool around in a small arena if I've seen enough to be confident they aren't going to do anything too out of whack. On the other hand, I had not actually ridden Finn without a bridle yet, so it was tough to just say "check!" to that.

As for the closely related number two, well I've checked out most of those yields without using my reins, I haven't spent nearly as much time working on that as I had with Journey at this stage of her development. Thus I didn't feel confident to say that they consistently work, and, believe it or not, I had never actually asked Finn for direct sideways before!

So, I started by checking on those yields, with my rein hand fixed on Finn's neck, and lo-and-behold they all worked, even the sideways after a few steps of trial and error on Finn's part. I was also able to steer in figure-8s, circles and around the rail at the walk and trot. In fact, this went so well, I figured I might as well just take the bridle off and prove to myself we had number one down as well.

And that's how my first bridle-less ride on Finn happened, and it was really a non-event. We rode at the walk, trot and canter, and even popped out a few simple lead changes. I had to use a neck rope for some steering corrections, which I will definitely take note of for the future, but if the pre-req is to be comfortable bridle-less, we're definitely there.

So, all in all, I now feel I can confidently declare we are good to go on this Dressage, Naturally journey. It's a nice feeling... let me explain: I've mentioned before that foundation before specialization is a primary tenet of my horsemanship. But, developing Finn has been really different from developing Journey. I'm no longer following the cut-and-dried Parelli path, and while I love what I learned with Journey, among the lessons were a few about what I didn't want to repeat. Primarily, I didn't want to allow or encourage Finn to move with unhealthy posture for several years before I felt "ready" to discuss posture with him. This is a major reason I have ridden him so much in the bridle from early on in his development - it has helped me encourage better flexion from the get go.

I also wanted to spend more time in the saddle with Finn, so haven't done as much elaborate ground work. These things combined often make me doubt whether my foundation is really strong enough to progress to the next stage. Well, based on my ride today, I'd say it is.

Which is not to say my foundation is finished or perfect, but Karen allows for that. Her thoughts on this were so helpful for me to hear. First, that as you progress to the beginning of dressage training, you may find holes in your foundation, at which point you have the opportunity to go back and fill them in. If we practice our dressage artfully, we will continually expand our foundation. So, if I find something missing along the way, it's no reason to be disappointed. It's part of the process.

Secondly, Karen says if your foundation is strong in the arena, but still needs work on the trail... well, practice your dressage in the arena and continue to work on your foundation on the trail! Simple as that. This was definitely a good reminder for me, because the fact that Finn and I lose some connection outside the arena shouldn't prevent us from beginning to discuss physical things that will be beneficial to his health and well-being. Our ride today definitely confirmed that our foundation is solid in the arena, which makes it a safe, promising place to begin our conversation about dressage.

So, that's that. We're doing this. And I'm awfully excited about it!!!