Bad Back?

Sigh.

Well, I should have paid slightly more attention to P's short stride on Tuesday, because yesterday she was LOCKED UP.  tight tight tight. I could see it on the ground, but we were planning a short ride just to have Sabrina show me what she had specifically gone over with Pia on Monday.

P was tight, and we got on without lunging (whoops), which I think didn't help the situation... only kept her tight (though she wasn't hot).  Sabrina took her around a few times, explaing her small adjustments and while P was starting to relax I could just see how much tension was in her back...

She popped around a few times (small hops, small prances) with one larger outburst/kick/buck thing, but nothing disastrous, or that different from what I've been considering a usual test/objection to a new rider and new aids...

I popped on thinking NOTHING of it, and had walked around the ring approximately twice before P went UP, UP, UP and then bucked, bucked, bucked. Now, I pride myself on having a pretty solid seat, and staying fluid, and being pretty handy and spinning a horse enough to get their feet back on the ground, but Pia managed a NUMBER on me.  Here's what happend (I think)
1) We were up against the fence so I couldn't spin her the direction that she was already going.. and there was no way I was going to change her direction and risk a flip
2) While I know I used to be excellent at emergency dismounts off both sides back in pony club, I'm not sure I could pop off to the right anymore if my life depended on it... and I was up against the fence on my left.
3) I lost my stirrup (DAMNIT). I'm fine without a stirrup on the rears (aint no thing), but when she started cowboy bronc-ing it with her back rounded out, I sorta wanted my stirrup back, and I just totally failed.
4) She finally gave me a little room on the fence side so I (don't know what I was thinking), grabbed the fence and thought I would just pull myself off and salavage my dismount

but

5) it's flexi-safe fencing... so my attempt to "hold myself up on it" meant that it bent and stretched and really just helped dump me back on the ground.  And of course this all happened about 4 ft from the covered portion on the ring where there's some fantastic muddy sand going on.

Of course at this point Pia decided to romp around the ring and harass the cute hunter who was hacking around quietly in her lesson with her 12 year old. .. (thanks P). Now I have a loose mare (with reins swinging) nosing up another mare's butt and a rider who isn't thinking to turn her horse around so we don't have angry hooves aimed at heads/chests...

It all turned out fine, aside from being somewhat embarrassing, but in retrospect I think it's totally my fault.  1) she tried to tell me she was tight. 2) I didn't let her stretch out on the lunge and 3) those two things should be more than enough to cause me to think..

Then to top it all off, the farrier called to say his dad passed away and he won't be trimming toes.  Obviously bigger fish to fry in that sentence than Pia's feet, but still. DANGIT. I was really hoping to get her feet up to snuff and her back loose so that I can figure out if there's something else contributing to this...

My plan today is to head out to the barn, palpate her back a little, see if there's any stiffness left and either lunge her and let her loosen up, or if she's really happy, hop back on and see how she feels.  I'd rather give her a few days off to get her feeling good, then keep pushing on a tight back, so we'll see.

Oh mares...