So after a nice soft end to our Saturday ride, the red horse was a giant ass on Monday. I made the mistake of trying to not freeze my ass off be nice and ride in the indoor.
Bailey is the devil in the indoor.
I hate her in the indoor.
We had no canter transitions, no relaxation except for 2 steps at the same point in the circle where she was furthest from the doors and not looking directly at them and honestly, I felt like I was sitting on a time bomb. She was forward without being responsive, she was hanging on my hands while also being super sensitive and throwing said face in my face, and was generally... an asshole.
When I finally cut my losses and went outside, we magikally had canter transitions again and even got some dressage moments I'd actually want in my test at shows. That's it, I am moving to somewhere where I can ride outside year round so Bailey doesn't kill me. That, or she's going on Smartcalm Ultra next year. CHILL OUT, WOMAN.
I didn't ride yesterday. I should have, but it's been a stressful week, and my fiance (that doesn't get old) was taking a break from the weeks of studying he's been doing and I decided that sitting on the couch and watching Doctor Who with the man I love is better than going to the barn. I'll ride tonight, and hopefully set something fun up this weekend for jumping purposes.
I'm still trying to decide if I want to try a new bit; the snaffle has been ok (minus the blisters from Saturday) but I still feel like I need something new. Different. Something. It would be nice to have a legit emergency brake on that horse, but alas. Bits are what we get instead. I'm a little mad that I want to solve my problems with metal, but it's so crazy frustrating to feel her turn off her mouth and ignore me. Especially when yanking doesn't do much of anything except make her lighter in the front end while also continuing to be basically impossible to stop or steer. With Foxie, it was easy - she liked heavy things, and went in a pelham until I got her light enough to go in the cheltenham, which was a great compromise. We had some steering issues (why didn't I realize they make a full cheek version?) but once those were resolved, I had brakes, I had power to pull her back onto her haunches and it wasn't so much she mentally pissed herself.
I guess I have options:
- Try new cheeks(full cheek or dee)
- Try a new mouthpiece (stabilized waterford, slow twist)
- Try leverage.
I don't think I like leverage on this horse; she's already too light in the front and tends to go up. Her face is also really good at nearly breaking my nose. I could add a new option instead of leverage called "try a new noseband" but so far, I either want a PS of Sweden High Jump Revolution (so cool) or Micklem, or I have been thinking about a lever noseband or kineton.
But all of these options involve spending money... and I just don't know if I can bring myself to do it.
In other news, Amazon Prime has bits.Wonder of wonders.
Anyone want to loan me their bit collection?
Bailey is the devil in the indoor.
I hate her in the indoor.
We had no canter transitions, no relaxation except for 2 steps at the same point in the circle where she was furthest from the doors and not looking directly at them and honestly, I felt like I was sitting on a time bomb. She was forward without being responsive, she was hanging on my hands while also being super sensitive and throwing said face in my face, and was generally... an asshole.
When I finally cut my losses and went outside, we magikally had canter transitions again and even got some dressage moments I'd actually want in my test at shows. That's it, I am moving to somewhere where I can ride outside year round so Bailey doesn't kill me. That, or she's going on Smartcalm Ultra next year. CHILL OUT, WOMAN.
I didn't ride yesterday. I should have, but it's been a stressful week, and my fiance (that doesn't get old) was taking a break from the weeks of studying he's been doing and I decided that sitting on the couch and watching Doctor Who with the man I love is better than going to the barn. I'll ride tonight, and hopefully set something fun up this weekend for jumping purposes.
I'm still trying to decide if I want to try a new bit; the snaffle has been ok (minus the blisters from Saturday) but I still feel like I need something new. Different. Something. It would be nice to have a legit emergency brake on that horse, but alas. Bits are what we get instead. I'm a little mad that I want to solve my problems with metal, but it's so crazy frustrating to feel her turn off her mouth and ignore me. Especially when yanking doesn't do much of anything except make her lighter in the front end while also continuing to be basically impossible to stop or steer. With Foxie, it was easy - she liked heavy things, and went in a pelham until I got her light enough to go in the cheltenham, which was a great compromise. We had some steering issues (why didn't I realize they make a full cheek version?) but once those were resolved, I had brakes, I had power to pull her back onto her haunches and it wasn't so much she mentally pissed herself.
I guess I have options:
- Try new cheeks(full cheek or dee)
- Try a new mouthpiece (stabilized waterford, slow twist)
- Try leverage.
I don't think I like leverage on this horse; she's already too light in the front and tends to go up. Her face is also really good at nearly breaking my nose. I could add a new option instead of leverage called "try a new noseband" but so far, I either want a PS of Sweden High Jump Revolution (so cool) or Micklem, or I have been thinking about a lever noseband or kineton.
But all of these options involve spending money... and I just don't know if I can bring myself to do it.
In other news, Amazon Prime has bits.Wonder of wonders.
Anyone want to loan me their bit collection?
Thanks, Tracy! I have a nice collection of big bits from Foxie's eventing days, but never bothered to collect things that were a little more subtle. I guess now's the time to start!
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