I know "luggy" isn't a word, but I think it describes how B gets on unusually warm days when he's forced to work hard. I know that I'm creating this luggi-ness-- he's just heavy and bulky and "stuck"--not in a stubborn way, but in an unresponsive way. Yes, I know I must be creating this. Try as I might, I can't find that balance between light aids and getting the impulsion (notice how that word has kinda gone out of style...I will have to research that) I need for a really randy, uphill forward trot. I try to remember "quick legs" -- a sharp, definitive bump--and then "breathing legs"--that just lie there against the horse's side. But too often I get some combination of nagging legs and pulling hands and a luggy horse. Go figure. It's times like these that I want to go to Germany and enroll in the remedial riding program for middle-aged American women. What a business idea that is (oh, yeah, I think somebody tried it). Maybe I'll just go ride with Nicole for a month. I know if I could lighten my aids, B would be lighter (no kidding). But when you're trying to keep you eyes up, your hands and shoulders quiet, your leg on, your hips straight, you just simply forget. I wonder if B was less luggy two years ago. I seem to remember when I tried him at the auction at Horses Unlimited that I'd put my leg on and he felt dead to it. Hmmm. Maybe it isn't me after allll.... Scot bought me a pair of Eurofit Houndstooth/Piping breeches for Christmas- they fit great- yesterday I decked out in full DQ outfit to ride- green breeches, green shirt, light green jean jacket. Fun... It seems these days I have more fun dressing up to ride than I do dressing up to go to a party.

 

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