Arya: Another Ride

Hopefully all of this Arya-centric content isn't getting old - if so, I promise I'll have something else to talk about soon! Yesterday was Arya's 3rd ride back, after a few days off due to busy work weeks. I gave her the rest of the "overnight" tube of Perfect Prep yesterday morning before turning the horses out, and went out after work and dinner to get a ride in before chores. She was a bit of a challenge to catch this time; I stood and scratched and loved on Bailey for quite a while after I ran out of peppermints, and finally was able to work my way down Bailey's body to where Arya had crept up to hide behind her butt, and was able to reach and grab her halter without her trying to leave/flinch/etc. She was a bit sticky to lead and didn't want to cross the remaining mud between the paddock and the gate, but those two things are kind of the norm here, lately.

She stood pretty nicely, and seemed to enjoy being groomed. I also got the clippers out and did her bridle path and neatened up her mane a bit before tacking up. The vet is coming in a few weeks and I'd like her and Bailey to not look homeless in their coggins photos. I still haven't decided what to do with Arya's mane; part of me wants to take it really short, as a) she has a gorgeous hunk of neck and b) she rubs her mane in the same spot as her blanket (and probably her fly sheet) has, and the hair there is super short and sticks up:

WHY

Anyways, she tacked up pretty nicely, and I made one change to her set up after our last ride, and used Bailey's (fake) micklem and simple 14mm single link loose ring instead of Arya's bulkier Eponia bridle, which currently has a fatter copper alloy french link loose ring on it. 

Ground work went really well - she was obedient, and stretched and returned to more relaxed postures more often than she has previously. We did some more standing in our own space vs drawing and pets/treats for breaks, and she seemed to want to be with me a little more than she did last weekend and tried to creep in towards me a few times. She also showed some unprecedented willingness to do walk/trot transitions on the line - I had a "walk" command vs "woah = stop and turn in" command, so I worked on installing some woah/walk voice cues with those transitions. 

Under saddle she still seemed a bit... hesitant? to walk off from the mounting block, but followed her nose when I turned her right away from it and settled in to walking pretty quickly. She tried to rush off a little less -perhaps because I'm starting to relax and not unconsciously death-grip her barrel with my leg. I also felt more confident letting her hang out on a long rein and stretch. We did some trot transitions; to the left she was much more balanced and obedient, while to the right, a trend I noticed a bit last ride, she tends to trip/get unbalanced and then run a bit. I tried to just open my inside hand, drop my outside rein and wait for her to subside while saying "woah" and "walk" vs escalating with her. She has spun down pretty easy, and I get a clear feeling of her downshifting. When she does finally downshift towards the walk, I usually throw the contact at her and try to encourage stretching, and to show her that I'm not going to pull on her face.

Two things that really got me with the ride last night were:

1) that the bending/head turning I noticed last ride seems to be the riding manifestation of her looking away from me when overwhelmed. It was much better in the Micklem - not sure if that was a bit or a contact thing...

and 2) Arya is super sensitive, and quite smart. I continue to be able to throw the contact at her while she downshifts without feeling like I'm going to die (YAY!) and I noticed that I'd start thinking about trotting, picking a spot to ask, balancing, etc and she'd pick up the trot. Clearly she's very aware of my body and the way I telegraph what I'm thinking, which is super cool and also a bit scary, because sometimes I get scared....

But the takeaways from last night were, overall, super positive. I did some saddle measuring and I'm not convinced my vision is comfortable for her, but I'm monitoring the situation and trying to figure out the best way to move forward with saddling her on an extreme budget. I also want to swap her into the micklem, which I think is nice to use because a) it's super easy to put on over a rope halter and b) it's a "quiet" bridle vs my snaffle bridle with a lot of pieces, and it supports the bit in her mouth.

The only question is, what bit to put her into? I feel like the thin weighted snaffle she wore yesterday may have too much motion for her, and want to try something soft and quiet for her - I'm not sure if her tollerance for contact was better yesterday because of mileage, the bit, or the supportive nose band of the bridle.... I have a french link eggbutt snaffle, a fat single link eggbutt, a single link D, a Dr. Bristol (not rotated) baucher and a fulmar single link snaffle.... any thoughts on where you would go from a loose ring?

Mahm you are the most boring