I've been trying to get in some riding in between the chaos of buying and selling houses, chasing down information on the new property, keeping my current home clean despite a muddy dog who doesn't wipe his paws and being intensely busy at work.
As you can tell, it hasn't been leaving a lot of room for blogging. Last week Wednesday, Bailey got to do some jumping, and she was a very very happy girl. We just did some simple fences under 3' (I think one vertical may have been 2'11 but maybe.) but she was so forward and willing, it was a lot of fun. I can tell I'm out of shape for it, and she's just basically out of shape, so we're a bit of an awkward pair occasionally. I won't complain, however, about a happy forward jumping horse. I got back on her on Saturday, and we ended up doing flatwork outside as the arenas were full. It was probably 45+ degrees, and the footing in the upper outdoor wasn't bad at all. It is, however, badly located in the middle of the farm hubub so Bailey was very distracted. She did, however, put down some nice flat work and stayed generally rideable through some YAHOO moments. I also hopped on Fox that day, bareback pad and Back On Track pad combo again instead of a saddle. She was a bit stiff but ended up taking me back outside and was her usual sane and reliable self while also wanting to zooooom a bit. I can tell she's happy to be back out :)
Monday night was another 40s - 50's sunny day, and because I know I'm going to have to stop running to the indoor (well, I won't have that option) when we move, I've been pushing myself outside. I took Bailey out in the afternoon sun, and she was one hot chili pepper. She was looky, but not overly spooky. I did try to ride her forward and down, and she did actually do that for me. We played on the XC course a little bit (it's wet, and one can't do much without leaving divots in the grass, which I don't want to do). Bailey was overzealous to the max, leaping up and down the banks with gusto and trying to take off afterwards. She was a dink about the ditch, but then decided she could do it happily - from a trot that snowballed to a canter, only. We did the half coffin ditch to barrels (which she bombed over no questions asked) and a few other small things, but mostly I struggled with control and brakes.
We'll probably do more of the same today, as we're due for some rain in the next few days and I probably won't be able to get outside again til the weekend. I have my crash vest along this time, which will make this outing a bit more safe, but I still can't decide what to put in the horse's mouth today. The last time she wore her slow twist she had to fling her head every time I touched her mouth for the next two rides, so that's probably out. But what else is there? I got so used to big guns when it came to bitting up the Fox that I don't really know what to do when I need a bit more... assertiveness in my half halts and woahs but also have a sensitive horsey flower who doesn't like pelhams, waterfords, wide mouths or twists, ya know?
So, a question to my readers - what kind of bits do you use when you need a little more "woah"?
I guess I need to spend some time on Amazon and Smartpak looking at bits, instead of drawing barn floor plans...
As you can tell, it hasn't been leaving a lot of room for blogging. Last week Wednesday, Bailey got to do some jumping, and she was a very very happy girl. We just did some simple fences under 3' (I think one vertical may have been 2'11 but maybe.) but she was so forward and willing, it was a lot of fun. I can tell I'm out of shape for it, and she's just basically out of shape, so we're a bit of an awkward pair occasionally. I won't complain, however, about a happy forward jumping horse. I got back on her on Saturday, and we ended up doing flatwork outside as the arenas were full. It was probably 45+ degrees, and the footing in the upper outdoor wasn't bad at all. It is, however, badly located in the middle of the farm hubub so Bailey was very distracted. She did, however, put down some nice flat work and stayed generally rideable through some YAHOO moments. I also hopped on Fox that day, bareback pad and Back On Track pad combo again instead of a saddle. She was a bit stiff but ended up taking me back outside and was her usual sane and reliable self while also wanting to zooooom a bit. I can tell she's happy to be back out :)
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| Bay mare go powerwalk nao |
Monday night was another 40s - 50's sunny day, and because I know I'm going to have to stop running to the indoor (well, I won't have that option) when we move, I've been pushing myself outside. I took Bailey out in the afternoon sun, and she was one hot chili pepper. She was looky, but not overly spooky. I did try to ride her forward and down, and she did actually do that for me. We played on the XC course a little bit (it's wet, and one can't do much without leaving divots in the grass, which I don't want to do). Bailey was overzealous to the max, leaping up and down the banks with gusto and trying to take off afterwards. She was a dink about the ditch, but then decided she could do it happily - from a trot that snowballed to a canter, only. We did the half coffin ditch to barrels (which she bombed over no questions asked) and a few other small things, but mostly I struggled with control and brakes.
We'll probably do more of the same today, as we're due for some rain in the next few days and I probably won't be able to get outside again til the weekend. I have my crash vest along this time, which will make this outing a bit more safe, but I still can't decide what to put in the horse's mouth today. The last time she wore her slow twist she had to fling her head every time I touched her mouth for the next two rides, so that's probably out. But what else is there? I got so used to big guns when it came to bitting up the Fox that I don't really know what to do when I need a bit more... assertiveness in my half halts and woahs but also have a sensitive horsey flower who doesn't like pelhams, waterfords, wide mouths or twists, ya know?
So, a question to my readers - what kind of bits do you use when you need a little more "woah"?
I guess I need to spend some time on Amazon and Smartpak looking at bits, instead of drawing barn floor plans...
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| But barn planz are fun planz! |
I generally keep the same bit and add a running martingale and/or a figure 8 noseband when I know I might need bigger brakes :) I know a lot of people also have success with a pelham but neither of my horses can deal with it lol!
ReplyDeleteA running martingale is an every day wear type accessory for Bailey, and it definitely helps! I will probably swap her out of her micklem into a less "soft" bridle and see if that will push us towards more control... The pelham was a miracle cure for Fox, but I didn't realize it's "a lot" until I put it on Bailey and there was lots of rearing XD
DeleteSounds like she's having a grand old time haha! Idk what your current bit is so idk what constitutes a step up from that, but the flat plate French links can help with some horses.
ReplyDeleteBoth of my horses seem to looove this 12$ "weighted" single link snaffle I have. It's ever so boring - I do have some other snaffles, including a couple of different french links. We may have to try that!
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