Riding what you didn't create

So today I got on Radar and immediately sensed a difference from my previous rides: he was resistant, stiff and in general not very forward. He kind of felt like the Radar of six months ago, not the horse I'd gotten accustomed to riding. Apparently he had a heavy weekend work-wise, and that definitely effects him. I warmed up as usual, then watched another lesson for a while. Mia pointed out that both me and the other girl riding were riding other people's horses, horses whose owners and riders had created problems or difficulties that we now had to deal with. I guess I never really thought of it that way, but it makes a lot of sense. Now I know that if I owned a horse I would create my own myriad of problems but it's still an interesting concept to think about. We worked on a lot of counter-bending and sitting trot work, getting him to pick his front end up and use his hind end--ending with some pretty successful circles. Mia said that really the only thing standing between us and an intro level dressage test is the circle, and that it's a goal we are definitely considering for the Spring! Exciting. Not that I don't expect to be beaten by some 17 hand warmbloods, but it will still be fun and different.