Bailey Jumped A Thing (The actual post)

I was so ecstatic with BB after our jump school on Friday.

Admittedly, I did her absolutely no favors; I rushed our warm up and as a result, had problems with balancing her (especially in the canter) and basic things like half-halts were nonexistent. I was willing to let it slide, because I wanted to jump, and she was jumping out of her skin for me. Bailey has never been all that... bold in the indoor. I have recently joked that she tries to slide her hind quarters under the fence and jump it from there because we can't possibly get close enough. Friday night included a few fliers of her own making, and she tackled a super badly set 3' vertical like a boss, on an angle, with a bad turn to put her on the angle. And she did it several times.

With a stylish back end, too.

We got a few more changes over a pole, but I'm still struggling to capture and get the change through her hind end, especially when seated. It's a work in progress, and as I'm writing this, I'm wondering if we need to take some time and work on sitting down, and also her ability to be even and slow in the canter. Bailey was super speedy on jump day, and was explosive and hard to balance last night in dressage tack. Put those two things together, and I think we're lacking some strength.

Still a badass.

It's been busy the last few rides; I ignored Foxie on Friday, and made up for it by getting her all ready to go last night, only to discover that stone bruise (I am assuming) season has come early, just like shedding season, and she was off on her left front. I also am horse sitting J's quarter horse mare, Ginny, who is funny, if angry at me because I make her canter soooooo much. It's also been warm, so Ginny ends up steaming herself damp, and Bailey even managed to work up a bit of dampness last night.

I figured Bailey would be pretty sane after all of the cantering and jumping we did on Friday... Either I am deluding myself into thinking that we did a lot, or she is in better shape than I think, because she probably could have used some time on the lunge line before I rode. Instead, I hopped on and she was lovely in a new bit (and snaffle bridle) for the walk and the trot. The canter was a hot mess of hanging on my hands, bracing through the jaw and occasionally deciding to bolt. The reaction got worse when we started practicing walk-canter transitions, and while we worked through it, I probably should have been more proactive and either swapped into my normal bridle, or done something better to problem solve.

I've spent tons of time with this mug lately and not enough time riding. As per usual.

I still need to get up the guts to try long lining her again, I think. I haven't done it in probably 2 years, but it would probably help re-introduce flexing the hocks. I also want to get her into the BOT to make sure that we don't have any soreness issues from jumping or general existing in slippery winter (side note, still really like the BOT pad, but not sure it's on her long enough to make a difference) and try to ramp up her strength. I've always felt like Bailey wasn't strong because she really doesn't have any muscle tone... but I'm not sure how to build the muscles we need, so I may need to get desperate enough to pay for a lesson. Foxie always had a lovely, powerful canter, and could almost do canter pirouettes for how well she could compress and sit down once she figured it out. Bailey was not blessed with a canter (she always had and still has a fabulous trot, and lately has developed a really nice forward walk) and I'm lacking the tools to build one. Suggestions?

Not a life altering canter, folks.