Oooh How Frustrating! Just Getting Somewhere

After my last happy post on how well Mysti was going (never got pics, camera a bit of a prob at the moment), we've lost it again, due to her legs. She had too many days off when the back lady came. Only two, but two was enough. Almost wish I hadn't had her come out now. It must drive Mysti mad too. She was so desperate to be worked today as she knows it helps.

So, I was sitting on her tonight, doing her 'physio' type exercises, and slowly progressing from legs trailing out behind to legs beginning to come under again, not because she lacks training or muscle, but simply because she's got this conformation problem that keeps flaring up. It took 25mins to get her to the point where both her quarters and forehand were working equally, then another 20 to get some 'uphill' feeling work, and finally a few steps of her lovely new canter, and some beautiful lateral work, but only on her 'good' rein, as one leg locks worse than the other. I could feel them clicking tonight, horrible after such a run of progress and of them being ok :( .

With her legs so bad there's no chance of competing, as she absolutely cannot tolerate a treed saddle when they're bad (needs more freedom in her back and shoulders to compensate for when they lock), and that's all I've got at the moment.

So, the relevance of this to the Classical section of this forum? I sat there tonight wishing so much that we could just make steady progress. I would love to be so much further on than Novice level, especially with all the hours and hard work we've both put in. She has to work so much harder than other horses for the same gains, and yet she is so willing. I just feel like giving up almost, on my dreams of reaching higher levels with her. I used to ride Sunny too, and enjoy everything being easy for her, and helping her along at a decent rate of progress, but now my OH rides her, and whilst I'm really happy that he is, and I don't really want to ride anything other than Mysti, I wish I could just ride something that doesn't hit this brick wall over and over and over again.

Just feeling miserable I guess. Classical riding is addictive, and it is sooo hard to keep going backwards like this, for unknown periods of time, and through no fault really of mine or hers. Does anyone know of a horse with locking stifles that reached a decent level of training? I guess the back lady's comment about her being so well muscled for a horse with her condition is because people give up schooling.