Photo Reflection: Walking

This is a very busy time of year for me.  The first marking period is ending and the grades will be due very soon.  My students are finishing and turning in their final projects and completing their tests, which means that I have been bombarded with paperwork.  I am burning my red pen at both ends, which doesn't leave much time for blogging.  I am also off to teach therapeutic lessons after school today and it is cold outside.  Have a mentioned that I am not a fan of cold weather?  We actually had snow yesterday, but it has completely melted as of now.  The New Jersey coast and New York have really gotten more than their fair share of inclement weather recently.  I hope things calm down soon.  My husband and I bought an infrared space heater in preparation for losing power during the colder months.  No AC in July was the pits, but freezing under blankets almost sounds worse.  Yesterday's early snow was not a good sign for what may be to come this winter.

In lieu of one of my lengthy posts, I decided to post a photo that I really like from October.  This shot was from the very beginning of our warm up, which is part of the reason that I like it.  We have barely even begun to ride and Harley is soft in the bridle, starting to engage from behind, and listening.  I like the bend through his body and the fullness of his back behind and his neck in front of the saddle.  If only I had a photo from five years ago for comparison.  He looked much more like a llama, back then, even if he was a cute llama.

I am happy with my position in this photo, too.  My leg position and upper body look correct.  I am really down in that saddle and my elbows have bend, but my wrists are still soft.  I think that I am correctly lifting up in the corners of Harley's mouth with the bit in this photo.  He has nodded forward like his nose is "resting in a basket".  Aside from a little encouragement to move forward in the warm up, I am not doing much of anything except sitting as well as I can and holding the reins.  I like it when my horse rewards me for keeping it simple.