End of tunnel in sight

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I am impatient to get there. Feels like it has been a loooong road to recovery, but I realize that many times people have to wait much longer for their horses to recover and some times the horses dont. So I feel grateful that Pippi is nearing recovery.

At this point I am no longer keeping her leg wrapped, and she is doing great. Just a small knot left on the tendon, and I am not seeing any swelling or heat after work. I have asked for the canter twice on the lunge, and had her go about one circle (less actually) in each direction. She was shocked (I think) to get the cue, and kept speeding up her trot, and throwing her head, until I asked her to walk and the whoa. I walked up to her and we took a deep breath, and I petted her neck and told her she could canter. And off we went again.....

Walk up, trot and .....Canter! No hesitation, right lead right off, and smooth going. Trot a circle and walk. Good girl Pip.
Change Direction, and she picked up canter right away. I was pleased.

We have worked a lot on staying calm as Pippi can be a little bratty hot head at times. She will do so much and follow directions for a long time, and then all of a sudden she puts the breaks on. Kind of like "stop bossing me!!" "I'm not doin' it!" "Pre-teen brat"behavior from a pissy mare. Instead of getting upset, I reprimand, and ask again, until she finally understands that  I am not engaging in a battle of wills (cause only my will matter) and becomes compliant again. It is happening less and less, and I think/hope we are working through it.

We are nearing the time when I will once again mount up and ride her. I admit to being a bit apprehensive, as I wonder if she will be a mess after not being ridden for so long. But I am determined that it be me that rides her. Donna will come along and Pippi will be on a lunge line, just to be safe (mostly for my peace of mind.) This will happen near Yule, and although nervous I am mostly excited. Feels like a huge test of trust, both for me and Pippi. Its where the rubber meets the road, and we will see whether those that say she is too unpredictable for me is indeed right. Hubby is apprehensive after seeing Miranda dumped several times while jumping early on, and Miranda is apprehensive, well for the same reason. Pippi can be a little spooky and a stubborn, but I hope that this break and my groundwork has done some good. She is not a dangerous horse, but like I said she can get a little pissy and tests her riders. I can and will use my stick, and I may just have a drink prior to calm down as I hate to give off the wrong vibe.
(Pippi, and all horses (all animals), are very aware of and intuned with my emotional state. I am an open book to them, and when I am distraught I can set off even the most level headed mare. Selena, super mare, just about lost it with me after I had a long bad day at work last week. I was a stressed mess, and Selena became supercharged. And Kara had to stop me and remind me to breathe and de-stress.)

So will try to stay calm, have a drink if need be, and just enjoy the ride. My gut tells me it will be fantastic, and I am just excited to take charge and get on with our future riding together. I am seriously considering dropping jumping though and concentrating on dressage. Might be better all around, and with Pippi's leg she could only just smaller heights anyway.....