Another incredible lesson with Mike

This week I had another lesson with Mike, after a bit of a delay with our schedules.
And - although I worked diligently on my "homework" the first few weeks after my lesson, Willig had about 2 1/2 weeks off because of my work schedule (I spent a week in Colorado, so I really had an excuse not to ride), a short vacation (to TN to visit my family, another solid excuse), but also some general malaise on my part because of Odin and general lackluster effort.
My big question for him was about feeling pulling my legs back - towards Willig's butt - which generally just makes my knees go up. The sitting trot is improving - very very slowly, but at least there's progress, and my seat got really solid with the new leg position.
However, the first thing Mike noticed was my heels. Which will NOT stay down, whether I think to keep pushing them down or pulling my toes up.
And I was complaining and complaining how burned out I was on Willig and what feels like constant shenanigans and me not knowing what I'm doing and not being experienced enough (or good enough) for him, and how it's HIS fault I can't keep my heels down because I'm so busy up above trying to get him to quit flinging his stupid head around looking at everything.
So after a few minutes, Mike went and got draw reins, which I have never used before.

And the angels sang.

My lord. Willig put his head down and got to work, and he was SO easy and delightful to ride, and I could actually semi-sit the canter, and we made these glorious circles and it was another ride where I was just grinning ear to ear, and Mike said, once again, he thinks we can make a nice horse out of Willig yet.
And no, it did not cure my heels. It's my own damn fault my heels don't stay down, so this month I am working on my heels down/toes up and I have no excuse if I don't make progress before my next lesson.

Mike said when I normally ride, to give Willig more breaks - he expected Willig to be sore from such constant work over his topline - and I WAS sore from actually riding (and sweating! I love it!), but to think about the number of times I have ridden Willig incorrectly (18+ months) to estimate how many times I'll need to ride him correctly to fix it.
He also pointed out that it's not like I can sell Willig right now, and if I learn to fix it, then I won't want to sell him.
AND - he said after a while of working like this, he's going to just go right over the ground poles, then the little rails, then the jumps. He thinks (and I believe him) the cure is on the flat. I just don't have the right tools to figure it out myself.
It was great.

Then yesterday I volunteered for the morning at the show. It was pretty cool, because I was the bit (and spur and whip and body) checker, which I haven't done before, and the rules are a little different from eventing to dressage. It was neat to feel all the different kinds of bits and the different ways the horses reacted (the FEI level horses just opened their mouths and let me look!), but what was coolest was watching the riders. The show didn't go from training level on up, so I got to watch a bunch of different levels and different riders.
And every horse is different. (Duh.) But the lower level horses were more consistently spooky (not necessarily in messing up their movements, but being afraid of the mirror, judge's stand, wheelbarrow, noises, etc.), while the upper level horses weren't. So maybe there is hope for Willig, that he just needs that experience and miles under his girth.
AND - they almost all were nastier spookers than Willig! His little jerky spazzy spooks actually looked really mild next to some of these guys! And the riders just rode them through it, so maybe I have been having too high expectations and being kind of a chicken.

Anyway, the ride with Mike felt amazing. And best was how cool it was to feel what it should feel like, so now I have something to work toward (a while back Practical Horseman had that "what kind of learner are you" and I'm kinesthetic, so feeling the proper movement is way more useful to me than having someone tell me or show me what to do). Plus, it was great to know Willig and I can do it. The "real" way is to ride from your legs to the bit, but Mike is going to teach me how after we improve the other stuff (like my stupid heels).

Willig vs. the dead mole

Last week, after lunging, Willig had another turn-out opportunity. He was doing pretty well - following me around but eating, and not too much staring at the barn or running around all crazy man.
But then as we were heading back on our last loop, he was in the middle eating, and then he stopped, sniffed, snorted, jumped with all four legs straight, sniffed, snorted again, and ran over to me and almost ran me over.
So I walked over to where he'd been sniffing, snorting, etc. and there was a dead mole (or something) that the lawnmower ran over.
Willig followed me over to investigate again, and repeated the whole performance.
As we walked back to the gate, he stayed right on my shoulder - like twice he stepped on my heel, and I couldn't get him away from me.
So apparently Willig is afraid of death.

Giraffe on course!

More coming soon, but we looked - like usual - like a couple of yahoos.

Quotes from a Yoga book

I was looking for hip openers, and wasn't successful, but did find these quotes, which may or may not be inspiring:

"That which we persist in doing becomes easier - not that the nature of the task has changed, but an ability to do it has increased"
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Nothing would be done at all
if we waited until we could do it so well
that no one could find fault with it."
- Cardinal Newman

"Practice is the best of all instructions."
- Aristotle