excellent lesson!

Can't remember the last time I was on Monfils, what with  my op to get plate out and him injuring himself thereafter.....

So i decided the booked leesson today was a good time to get back on, the confidence of having RI there being in need, LOL.

Also, on a new saddle - one of heather moffett's flexEE ones with the leather tree - it was only a 17" so a shade small for me, and needed shimming up, but Monfils didn't object to that, in fact he went very well.  and I found it very comfy despite the size, just wasn't prepared to try trot in it as i would have banged off the pommel and I was sitting right at the back of the cantle, of course....

We just worked on the basics, getting me established again, and reminding me re uses of outside rein /inside rein, good work he did - i hadn't forgotten how to ride the corners, however (it's amazing how many people don't ride corners, and TBF i'd always struggled with it, but RI told me how, and now i usually have them nailed).

and i didn't lose the plot when M was thiking about doing so - some other horse some distance away set him off neighing etc, and i could feel him shaking under me when he was - but i stayed with it and he came back to me, so pleased with that

and we finished with some in hand, as a reminder to me of how to do it...

RI doesn't like lunging as she is of the view that you can't have a conversation with the horse lunging....not sure I wholly agree, and lunging for exercise when you're pressed for time in the winter especially does have its advantages...

Next lesson is going to be long reining... M won't do it for me (just like he won't lunge for me, LOL) so we'll see if we can sort it out...

Reason I was trying saddle is that I've concluded the dressage saddle isn't good for hacking, particularly given the number of hills we have - so the question is, do i just sell the dressage and get a vogue GP, or do I buy the FlexEE GP as an additional saddle?