Comparing Stretchy Circles: July 5, 2007

So the heroine of "Of Horses and Humans," meaning Nic, has had diarrhea for the past 24 hours thanks to the quite considerate neighbors next to the farm. I guess the fireworks they were setting off didn't agree with her, and as soon as I arrived at the farm today, as soon as I stepped out of my car, she stuck her head out of her window, and made the grunting noise which effectively means "thank God you're here," and pretty much crawled in my lap for the remainder of our visit (except when she tried to take a piece of me as I put on a side rein).

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say something that will forever mark me as a crazy lady: I swear when the horse has a problem, I have the same problem. I swear, I spent all last night with the worst belly ache. I've had menstrual cramps the same day the mare has cramps from being in heat. I've said it once, and I'll say it again: Some people are gelding people, and some people are mare people, and then there's people like me that take it all one step further and internalize their horse's pain.

I wanted to take a moment to compare stretchy circles taken from 2 different periods of time.

May 11, 2007:



July 4, 2007:

The difference is obvious. I've noticed upon reviewing older videos that Nic had a lot more impulsion before I made her slow down and relax. However, that impulsion came from being tense and rushing, and was effectively uncontrollable, as evidenced in the stretchy circle dated May 11, 2007.

However, one of the best parts of Nic is how she can be very electric, so now the task is to figure out how to regain that impulsion while ensuring the mare stays relaxed and carries herself. I'll be damned if I know how to do that, but a month ago I was damned if I knew how to slow her down and make her relax. Any takers want to help solve this dilemma?