A Scary Interlude

Yesterday I was trailering Cruz to a lesson. En route I had to brake (luckily not for an emergency stop) and my foot depressed almost to the floor before anything happened. Even then, the stopping power was negligible.

I was on my way and decided to continue, thinking that I only needed to adjust the setting of the electric brake box linking to my trailer's brakes. When I got to a quieter part of the route I played with the settings, but that made no difference.

I forced myself to concentrate on the lesson, then worry about the brakes on the way home.

During the lesson I was made aware of how little my left leg does. I need to keep my left calf on the horse, which putting my whip in my left hand will help.

We worked on leg yields, which we both find difficult to the right, as Cruz doesn't move off my left leg. Not surprising as I've never really asked him to! He got pretty pissy when I insisted, both in trot and in canter, but we got through the "no way am I doing this, mom" barrier and developed some exciting bend and thrust in both gaits. My homework is clear! I need to work on it today without upsetting Cruz as we have a show tomorrow, First Level 1 and 2. All I want is NO BLOW UPS during the test. Total submission would be a terrific bonus, too!

Anyway, I started off home, with my brakes soft and virtually non-existent. I got pretty scared, and drove ultra cautiously, keeping a good distance between me and the vehicle in front, and slowing down early for approaching downhill slopes.

As soon as I'd unhitched the trailer, I drove my Expedition to the auto mechanic, who is thankfully very close to my house. He's also next to the dog grooming parlor, so I took my Border Collie, Ruggles aka Fatso, to get his hair shaved off, as he's getting hot and bothered this summer. So I killed two birds with one stone.

It turned out that some screw or other had got grungy or loose or something. It was quickly fixed  at no charge (hurray!) and I drove home with real brake power. I now don't have to try and beg, borrow or steal a towing vehicle for the show tomorrow!

Wish me luck and I'll write an update tomorrow evening.