Amy suggested going right back to basics and having a lunge lesson so we could completely take away my stirrups and work on things like keeping my legs down and long and putting the side reins on Ceaser so I didn't have to focus too much on him.
Agreeing was the easy part - as soon as I hopped on Amy had my doing exercises with my legs I hadn't even done before and trust me I could tell as my muscles started to yank and pull. I knew I was going to regret this in the morning!
We started off by just doing simple exercises like moving my ankle and keeping it long and loose. This stepped up to slowly lifting one leg away from the saddle, whilst keeping the other still. Apparently this was good practice for lateral work where your legs needed to be disconnected from one another and do completely opposite things.
After a while we stepped things up and moved to trot and then canter. After a while I started to feel the strain on my legs and they were beginning to ache - which apparently was a good thing!
Amy said I needed to sit on my bum a little more throughout transitions and just watching me in sitting trot it made all the transitions that bit smoother. So my goal now is to stay sat on that bum as much as possible. (what bum?!)
There was lots of other bits we went through but I wont bore you with the logistics of a lunge lesson. I would recommend though if you're looking at brushing up on your skills then they are a fantastic way to strip things right back and go back to basics. I didn't realise I had fallen into naughty habits that we picked up on, when on the lunge.
My muscles felt like they must have worked overtime as for the next three days I could barely walk I was so stiff. It really does just go to show how comfortable and content you get using your stirrups, yet take them away and the whole dynamic changes of what muscles you're using and how much.
Try it when you next have a friend there to help - taking your stirrups away might be the best thing you do!
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