Although Mazy had finally given in to long and low work under saddle, had learned to round her back and work more from behind when being ridden, there have also been days when she regressed in training. Times when she just powered into and thru everything without relaxing into the gaits and giving only 100% instead of 1,000%.
She didn't do this in long lines, just under saddle when being ridden. Mazy was making it clear that something wasn't right and that she is much more comfortable and happy in harness, without anyone on her back. With the new farrier and bodywork being done- she was sore in her left shoulder from all of the under saddle work. When I had been driving her more- this all went away.
For the betterment of the horse- we will go with driving more for a while. It's not often we sacrifice things we would like to pursue more (dressage or jumping) to do things the horse is better at or more comfortable doing. Even more rare when the trainer can adapt and do things equally as well in another discipline altogether. Mazy and I are blessed.
Most trainers here in Houston are focused on one discipline or another. A lot of them offer their services for Western horses with a strong background for rodeo events- roping, barrel racing, but there are also a lot of cutting horses and working cow as well as reining. There are also a fair share of hunter/jumper and dressage barns in the area and fewer still- trainers that offer driving. Throw in a handful of breed specific barns and you can see why it's a luck of the draw that I could have found someone that can easily adapt to the discipline that best suits the horse.
