I am considering sending Karma to a trainer for 30 days when I get back from my TDY.  The more I ride her, the more I realize she has more to learn than I can teach her.  I just don't have the knowledge or experience to teach her to do much.  Yesterday I started calling around for prices and services offered when training.  I think I have found a good barn.  It's reasonably priced and the owner seems like a nice lady.  We had a fun conversation yesterday when I called.  They also offer lessons $10 cheaper than the person I took lessons from earlier this week.  I told her that Karma is broke but I'm not sure how much professional training she's had.  I asked a better rider to try to canter her yesterday...the way she reacted (willing but completely off-balance - she looked like she didn't know what to do with her feet/body) makes me wonder if she's ever been cantered before.  The problem with all of this is going to be convincing the hubby that I need to spend this much more money on the horse, lol.  Fortunately (or not) he has an even more expensive hobby than my own - his car...I don't even want to think about all the money he's poured into that car.  So I have a bargaining chip at least.  The other problem would be getting Karma out there in the first place considering I have no truck or trailer.  I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

I finally got around to checking a place out and taking a riding lesson yesterday.  I have been wanting to for over a year now, but finding the time and money (especially when I already have a horse) can be a pain.  I was very impressed with the lesson horse I rode.  A 28 year old Paint gelding that no one would have guessed was that old.  He definitely had the been-there-done-that look but was a good weight, good coat, good feet.  I was shocked when told that he was as old as I am, lol.  Not only that, the boy kept up a steady trot for quite a while during the lesson.  Nora (instructor) said that I have a great seat considering how green I am.  She told me I was great at keeping my heels down, back straight, legs steady without reminding.  She did have to keep telling me to really grab the reins.  I have a tendency to not hold them tightly at all.  After walking a few laps, she wanted me to try the jog.  The horse's (Danny) jog was so incredibly slow and smooth that I had no trouble sitting it all.  I was in heaven -- must teach Karma that trotting doesn't have to be an all-out kinda thing!  A few more rounds of that and she wanted me to try posting.  Just a little squeeze and Danny picked up a working trot.  He was good at keeping a steady pace, so besides the burning in my thighs I had no real trouble posting.  I did have a little handful of his mane though, lol.  Towards the end, I was able to post without leaning on my hand though.  All in all, it was a good lesson.  And Danny was so responsive!  You'd think a lesson horse (especially one of his age) would be numb to cues but he could turn on a dime.  I really had to tone it down when asking for turns.  With as much pressure as I use for Karma, he would've turned all the way around.  Definitely gives me something to aspire to with Karma.  I hope we are able to get to that level some day.  Anyways, when I get back from this TDY I think I'll continue lessons with Nora.  She's a nice lady who likes to tell stories, but wasn't afraid to correct me when I did something wrong.  My biggest thing besides my grip on the reins, was looking at the ground.  I'm always on the look-out for something the horse can spook at.

This morning I was supposed to go riding with a friend but she had to cancel last minute.  I decided not to let that stop me :)  By the time I got Karma tacked up, I was itching to just ride, and not have to lunge first.  Karma isn't the kind of horse that needs to lunge to burn off energy - she just needs to be 'turned on' mentally.  I decided to see how she would do anyways, and climbed on.  What a brat.  She's never moved off while mounting before but she decided to today.  She decided to be curious about everything, and would take a step towards whatever she was looking at when I went to put weight in the stirrup.  After some circles, she stood still so I could hop on.  We flexed some then I asked for a walk.  She was definitely 'looky' but was still doing fine.  This morning, I wanted to actually ride out of the saddle club so we headed that way.  The saddle club is set back from the main road.  It's 1/4 to 1/2 mile down a twisty, gravel road with a pasture on either side.  When we came to the road, Karma wanted to head back.  We argued for a minute to two before I got my way.  Every 10-20 or so, I would stop her if she didn't try to stop herself.  We'd flex a little and move on.  It took a while but we did eventually get all the way down the gravel road and across the main road!  She wasn't too bad.  Clearly nervous and alert, but not blowing or spooky.  I got off and walked her in some circles.  I tried to let her graze but she was a little too nervous for that.  After 15 minutes or so, we headed back.  She was doing so well, when I saw a truck coming down the gravel road towards us.  It was another boarder's son, whom I had seen a little earlier.  He seemed to be traveling pretty fast (pretty fast being 20 mph or so) and I knew he hadn't seen us yet.  I got Karma off the little road in a hurry; he waved but didn't slow down as he went past.  Other than it being a little rude, I didn't think it would be a big deal.  Karma's not a horse that tends to spook at everything - she's pretty comfortable in her own skin.  I don't know if it was the sound of the gravel getting thrown around, maybe the gravel hit her legs, perhaps because she'd been outside of her comfort zone for a while, I dunno, but she did a big spook as he went by us.  It could have been really bad.  We were as far off the road as we could get, but that was only 4-5 feet from it, and we were right next to a wire fence, on uneven, HARD ground with lots of rocks and a 6" deep ditch.  Somehow, even though Karma jumped straight up, I didn't fall off and she got calmed down.  I'm a little peeved about this incident, though.  This is not a person that doesn't know horses...he owns a huge Appaloosa/Thoroughbred cross.  Next time I see him, I'm going to mention our near-mishap.  I don't like to fuss at people but we could have gotten seriously hurt.  He knows Karma's laid back, but it's just common courtesy to pass very slowly.  Especially on a one-lane gravel road with only 5 feet or so on either side.  I'm nearly positive her legs got hit with gravel.  That or the sound of the gravel spraying made her spook.  Either way, he needs to know that he could have caused a bad accident...