Love That Booty

This post it is a week late, but better late then never. After my not so good lesson on Tuesday of the staycation, I scheduled another riding lesson for Thursday with a dressage instructor who was willing to come out assess Oak, and was okay with giving us a ground work lesson.

She started off the lesson evaluating his back and hind end for soreness. She found a tender area in the middle of his back on the left side that corresponded with a sensitive and tight area on the croup. She said that made sense because he was over compensating for his weak left side. It also explains why he can be resistant to picking that right back leg up. Next, she showed my some stretches that can help with those areas. I was nervous to the back leg stretches but he was actually really good.

Then I showed her my three saddles (the Duett, Wintec, and western). She was not happy with the fit on either english saddle, but thought the western saddle fit him well. After we tacked up she had me focus only on his hind end when lunging really driving him into the halter. She also wanted me to rub him with the whip on his hind end. We ended the lesson by her demonstrating some croup massages. 

What she is trying to do is set me up with a comprehensive program that will address Oak's physical and emotional issues with his hind end. Getting him more comfortable physically is the first step, followed by getting him to use his hind end instead of dragging it behind him, and then finally spending time desensitizing his hind end because he is oh so very nervous about me being back there. She basically told me to love the booty.

I have been working with him on the exercises for a week and we have made slow improvements. I am looking forward to our next lesson. She is everything I want in an instructor, knowledgeable, experienced, open minded, positive, and encouraging.