In my last email I told you the turn away from the fence still needed building. I went looking for the answer.

I didn’t find what I expected.

The bend was better going into this session. The preparation from the half turn in reverse was working — Blondie was leaving the fence with more softness, and the turn felt more fluent. But halfway through the turn, she would sometimes lose her balance.

I couldn’t understand it. The tricky part was supposed to be leaving the rails. The second half — turning back toward the fence — seemed like the easier part.

But Blondie kept telling me otherwise.

I had the session on video. That evening I sat down with the footage, curious — hoping to find something I could improve.

The video is at a good angle. You can see everything.

She leaves the fence — not perfectly clean, but she catches her balance as she moves into the turn. Then, around the centre line, she lifts her head and stalls out. I left you the clip in normal speed first, then slow motion, so you can watch what happens.

Before she stalls out, watch my inside leg.

I am pushing with it. Pushing her inside hind leg too far out, asking her to cross further than she can manage. Her outside leg can’t come forward. I make her stumble. And of course she complains — she has no other choice.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The mistake was obvious. And entirely mine. I had no idea I was doing it — but Blondie knew. With this discovery, I couldn’t wait to try again.

The next day I went back. I rode the turn carefully, keeping my inside leg closer to the girth.

The difference was clear. Blondie moved through the turn more evenly, more elegantly. I shared the footage with Anja. She confirmed what I had hoped — the turn was genuinely improved, not just better in my imagination.

I still have to watch my leg. That’s on me to carry forward.

And Blondie’s left side is still stiffer than her right. We’ll keep working on that.

But for one turn, on one day, everything held.

Michaela

Happy horses make happy people.