Rant-orama

I have been chewing, (stewing?) on this subject for a while now. The longer I blog the more alternative opinions I run into. I try to be open in my thoughts, I really do. I have been given some interesting things to think about and have learned a bunch.
There has been one subject which keeps looming larger and higher in the horizon and is about to drive me crazy. It has to do with ground work and riding. How much is good? How much will keep me safe? How can I guarantee I've done enough? I think groundwork is becoming an excuse not to get up and ride. I see a tendency to stay on the ground longer and longer and spend more time avoiding getting into the saddle.
My horses have some basic groundwork I want them to have.
1.They have to lead. I mean freely and willingly walk with me on a relaxed lead rope.
2.My horses must stand tied. Alone and in groups. They don't have to like it, but they have to do it.
3.My horses must be respectful of my space. This is at all times. They can't bang into me, rub on me, or kick me in the heels when I'm leading them. This is when they are loose or tied, in the stall or out in a field. When I walk towards them I expect them to look at me with a pleasant expression and clear their hip away from me. Always.
4.My horses must stand quietly while I tack them up. This is when I saddle them or am just catching them in a field. They must keep their feet still while I tighten their cinch, clean their feet, or anything that makes me drop my head below their chest level.
5. My horses must stand quietly for the vet and farrier. They don't get to rear, kick, wiggle or goof.
6. My horses learn to longe. They walk, trot when I cluck and lope when I kiss. They take their leads in each direction. They stop when I say whoa. I don't worry about transitioning down.
7.Round Pen...see 6.

That's it. My concept of groundwork. The kicker here is, I consider all of this stuff a work in progress. An ongoing project, along with what I mainly do with my horse, which is ride her.
My whole goal with a horse has always been and always will be to ride. Not to spend days analyzing them at a walk or occasional trot as they go around a round pen or a longe line.
I have made sure I'm educated enough to know if my horse is lame. Or has a sore back.
Other than that, I'm going to ride. Period. I'm going to work on the ground stuff at the same time I'm working on my riding stuff.
I don't need my horse to learn to stand on a box, in a box or by a box. Unless I'm on her and want her in a box.
The only despooking I'm going to do is to make sure she doesn't buck me off when I put on my rain slicker. Which I do by rubbing her all over with said slicker until she doesn't care anymore. Then I get on her and take my slicker on and off. Then I hang my slicker on a fence and off a fence and sling it around. You know when I do this the first time? When it's going to rain and I need my slicker. It takes about ten minutes. If it takes longer I get wet.
As my life goes on with a horse I'm riding, things come up. I need to pull a kid on a sled? Well I guess we learn to pull. Going on a trail ride with 11 water crossings? I bet she'll be broke to cross water when we're done. Need to reach my Diet Pepsi off a fence post? We learn to get things off the fence post. See what I mean?
I'm a big believer in addressing things as they come up. As time goes by my horse gets better and better at doing what I ask. Because every ride entails successfully, or not so successfully, taking on a new challenge.
If it doesn't work out there's always tomorrow. The key point here is I'm riding my horse. I'm not getting hung up on the what ifs. The reality is if you don't just ride you won't ever get anything done. I'll work on my ground work as I catch him, saddle him and ride him. If I don't know how to do something I'll find a way to learn it, while riding my horse. She'll learn it when I do. In the mean time we'll be working on what we do know.
I feel the same way about bad attitudes, crooked ways of going, inability to take a lead etc. It's all stuff I have to work on, but I work on it while I'm riding. I don't feel a need to fix it on the ground first.
I had a horse come in for sixty days. He was a cute little paint colt. As I worked him I noticed he was curved to the right. He moved around like he was being set up to take his left lead. Which he did. All the time. He would pin his ears and wring his tail if we tried to move him around to the left on the longe. He obviously was uncomfortable.
I was still training out of the Big K's place at the time, so I asked him about it.
Keep in mind we knew the horse was sound and healthy.
"I've seen horses like this before," he said, "I've heard it's how they lay in the womb.
"I've always thought it could be as simple as the mare nursing them in a cramped stall, or they have a water bucket set funny. But I wouldn't worry about it, keep it in the back of your mind and make sure you have control of his ribs before you lope him."
So I didn't worry about it. What I did do was start him under saddle right away so I could start shaping his body with my legs as he travelled.
I long trotted the little paint a bunch. I focused on helping him travel straight lines and following his nose. I spiraled him up and down, at the trot, about 70% to the left. My reasoning was he needed to tighten the muscles on the left side of his body and loosen the ones on the right.
I taught him to trot deep with his head down and his nose extended, (think cowboy "chewy stretchy"). We worked on 90 degree turns, square corners and maintaining speed. I loped him, but I didn't ask for a lead at first. I simply got him to lope when I kissed. I ignored his slinging head and grumpy attitude. He never became lame or sore, but bending to the left felt completely wrong to him.
When we finally got around to the right lead I had control of his feet and shoulders. I stayed off his face, kept my inside leg at the cinch for support and my outside leg pushed his hip into the right lead. His head slung to the outside, he missed it a few times and then picked up his lead. By the time his owner took him home he was still crooked, but could WTC, was happy and responsive and knew his leads. Because of the consistent exercise, while I rode him, he became comfortable travelling to the left. As the years have gone by he has gotten better and better. But he will always be crooked and his owners will always have to work to keep him balanced. By riding him.
I am crooked. I have mild scoliosis and horrifying posture from an inbred "dowagers" hump. Gotta love that description. I look a little like a Turkey vulture with a list to the right. When things get bad I have to go in for some serious physical therapy. How does my therapist approach this? With strengthening. He gives me exercises which stretch my muscles on the right and strengthen the muscles on the left. Hmmmm.
I will always be crooked. I am achy. I limp when I first get up in the morning. I pin my ears and wring my tail until I get at least two cups of coffee. But as soon as I quit forcing myself to move I'll be done in. I have started running with my dogs. It sucks, but I refuse to lose any more of the mobility I started to lose as soon as I got chained to my desk. I have to keep riding. I don't want to have to stay on the ground. So I run. I stretch. I exercise. I can't imagine not doing the same for my horses.
There's a part two to this rant-o-rama. But I would like to get some input and thoughts.