Pushing the limits (or not)

Double update. Sun and tonight went pretty similar though, so I won't make it super long.

Getting Pro between my aides is getting faster every time. He's not leaning on my inside leg nearly as much and he's pretty darn responsive off my outside leg. Which means the limiting factors now are me using my seat to keep him from walking laterally and then pushing his energy forward in front of me. I have a hard time keeping my seat from allowing him to move laterally. The idea of walking my seat bones forward makes sense, but I feel like that's not encompassing everything. Tonight I tried to make sure that my hips were only sliding forward and back, not diagonal across the saddle. I think that might be the missing piece, but mostly because that made it feel like guys would have an advantage in how their hips are built.

Both nights I started pushing him in front of me and then had to take a brief break which threw me and Pro off. Sunday I had to answer a question and tonight some geese were splashing behind the tree as we walked by it. He got his mind right back to business, but it interrupted the flow. Tonight we got things going pretty well and once the trot was balanced I even tried some canter. He was pretty balanced, but not super collected. Still, balanced is a big improvement for him. The highlight of the night was while we were cantering and I realized I was squeezing him just a smidge so I pulled my legs off that extra bit and he POOFED up under me and felt awesome. I can't wait to see what Kate works on this week in her lesson, because I think Pro is really starting to enjoy being between the aids.