Just to update... I have pushed through my nerves. Dom came as foot soldier for our first hour last weekend. We had to do three hours in the saddle at walk/trot only to bed it in, so I took a deep breath and after our first hour, we did another on Tues and the final one on Weds. Yesterday afternoon I went out with Jilly and Albi and we attempted our first canter. Gracie has been TOTALLY foot-perfect throughout so today Jill and I went out again....in squally winds..... and had a gallop! Again, not a hoof out of place. I feel SO much happier now and I do believe that Gracie doesn't give a monkeys about the new saddle and that her behaviour feeds directly from me. She gets tense because I'm tense. I'm also starting to wonder whether she actually needs to be in more regular work than I sometimes give her. I've always assumed that as a little fat cob I can just pull her out of the field as and when and ride away, but maybe this isn't the case with her.
Now just need to conquer my nerves in the school at anything over walk, but I have some plans afoot to tackle this over the next week or two and will report back in due course.
It's been a tense and wibbly time but things are looking up!
Now just need to conquer my nerves in the school at anything over walk, but I have some plans afoot to tackle this over the next week or two and will report back in due course.
It's been a tense and wibbly time but things are looking up!