Another wowza lesson with Mike

Despite my growing anxiety about a big deal thing for work tomorrow, it turns out lessons with Mike have been one of the best ways to calm down. I completely focus on what he is saying, and the 45 minutes just flies by without me thinking about work once. I usually go back and tackle it with more gusto after the lesson is over - AND I don't spend that day feeling guilty for not riding. My office should pay me to ride - I bet I'd be more productive (and I know I'd be happier!).
Anyway, today we worked:
- Scary end of the arena (one head bob, then not a big deal at all)
- HEELS DOWN (Mike called my heels lazy. I agree with him. I am amazed at how much concerted effort it takes for me to "relax" my heels. The second, literally, I stop thinking about them, they spring back up.)
- A big trot, with a bounce in it. I have already forgotten the word for this. It is the moment he lifts up (like skipping, instead of shuffling) and I feel the float. It turns out he is quite capable of moving quite nicely - I just haven't been making him do it.
- And then some work at the sitting trot and canter without stirrups. We did me looking up, me adjusting my seat (on the pubic bone, on the tail bone, and then balancing in between), and holding on. We also worked on the transitions - turns out that when he does something that surprises me (this is wildly obvious in sitting trot with no stirrups) I clamp my thigh, he thinks "Cougar on my back!" and then his head sproings up and he tries to bolt. If I hang on and feel it coming and force my body to relax, he is able to use his hind legs for the down transition and come underneath himself.
- We also worked on how to change the whip from one hand to the other (kind of like the canoe paddle), which I had no idea how to do, and I'm going to venture, this is going to be one of the embarrassingly hard things for me to do.
Willig was great - yet again.
Still got hives though.