2 good rides...

Late ride last night, mare good again (inside). Going to the left, her back just wouldn't quite get soft and swingy and she couldn't quite come through. I TRIED to help, but couldn't really get more than a couple strides here and there after a lot of effort. I could feel her back very clearly though- it's interesting how my feel has become so visual to me. I could "see" a line of the muscle along each side of her spine, each one like a glowing yellow line- feel when it felt too high, (not the same feeling as when her whole back is up in a good way, good way = "I feel the entire horse getting round and turning into a donut") but that the muscle was resisting, being held tense. I could feel when it would soften and ripple to allow the motion through- to the right it was pretty easy- (and I only really can "see" when I'm sitting- when I'm posting it's too much time away from the saddle/her back). But how awesome to be able to work on REAL WORK, instead of dealing with a lot of overt and overwhelming tension. Yes, she still had tension, but just in this area, she was soft and concentrating otherwise.
My chest seems huge when I ride, like it affects our balance so much. I'm not so sure that it's really the issue- probably my core strength and wretchedly wonky limb position has more to do with it...
But still. So cool to be able to dig into actual work.