The way to heaven is on horseback

I really really hate my elbows, why can't they just co-operate instead of sticking out and being damn annoying!!!?? Keeping my elbows tucked in can be the difference between getting the outline with Gatsby or Gatsby shoving his head in the air saying 'forget that I am NOT listening to you, til YOU sort your elbows out!!' so that is what I am going to do.  A few weeks ago my mum said that if I couldn't get my elbows tucked in place while riding she was going to tie them in place so that I got used to holding them in position whilst doing normal jobs. So that is what I asked my mum to do today. There is pictures so that you can see how I have done it. I also spoke to my riding teacher about doing it and she said as long as I did it so they were tied infront of my ribs and not behind my back I was welcome to do it. So every day I am going to do this, don't care how stupid it looks because I think it might work. I've only had it on for about five minutes so far...

My arms are really starting to ache, but as the saying goes if there is no pain then there is no gain. Well my muscles are definitely screaming at me to stop moving them, but no I have to be stubborn, for my riding I need to get more in to the habit of talking my elbows in and keeping them there cause at the moment I find that I keep my elbows in place and then the next minute I think about something else and I don't have them tucked in. So it is something that I want to work on whilst I am doing the day to day things for example typing on my laptop, so that is what I am doing! I am sitting in bed with my elbows tucked in and can feel my muscles starting to ache but I am going to keep doing it. My mum spoke to my riding teacher and they both agreed that this is my main problem so the next step is if I don't do it naturally I am going to tie my elbows in place but not tie them behind my back I was going to tie them in front of my ribs!  Any way I just wanted to show y...

So yesterday me and mum and my nephew went up to west hallam riding centre to brave the cold weather so that I could ride Gatsby, i got him all tacked up, brushed and nice and shiny and all though it was cold I loved every single minute of it. We decided that we were going to do some pole work, to give us a break from the complicated moves that we have been doing mainly the shoulder in, but that we would still try to incorporate the moves in to warming them up and through out the lesson.  The main thing from the lesson that I was buzzing about was the fact that for the majority of the lesson me and Gatsby worked in a really good outline, he dropped his head down when asked to and was perfect he's such a good fella when he wants to be that is, so the trot work was great and the main improvement was that I managed to keep my elbows in which is something that I am practicing now while I write this so that I get in to the habit of doing it while I'm riding, because I think the...