It's gross and foggy and chilly and rainy today, so that meant no pony riding. I'm hoping the rain will melt away some of the snow, but it will probably just make everything gross and slushy instead.
I did manage to drag my not-so-enthused self out to ride Moose though. What a horrible ride we had. She has become so fussy and resistant ever since we started some harder work...I'll be interested to hear what Michael has to say about her persistent resistance. I am thinking that I'm going to try putting her back in a plain cavesson tomorrow to see if it makes a difference. I switched her to a drop noseband when we started working in a shorter frame as she started to experiment with opening her mouth rather than accepting the contact...I felt it necessary to put the drop on to convey the message that opening her mouth was not the response I am looking for. But even though I still have the noseband adjusted quite loose and she can still move her jaw comfortably, I feel like she's convinced that she CANNOT move her jaw. She's a passively sensitive mare, so I wouldn't be surprised if she felt the drop is cramping her style. So we will see what she does in a regular noseband tomorrow.
If the switch doesn't improve her behavior, I might try switching to a more stable bit, like my good ol' baucher. She's currently in a Sprenger KK ultra loose ring, which honestly I've never been thrilled with it on her as she never seems happy to reach out to the bit. She's either too light in it or very fussy and inconsistent. I haven't switched the bit yet because I figured she was just being a baby horse and just needed more education, but now I'm questioning if this bit is just too busy and distracting for her. I'll wait and see how my lesson goes Wednesday before experimenting.
Tomorrow I have to clip the beast for the FOURTH time this winter. She was drenched from our ride today. I have never seen a horse that grew hair this fast before.
I spent most of the rest of the day digging through my old tack that I need to sell and reading some books and articles to help me refresh some of general knowledge of tack and riding basics...my brain has become muddled from lack of use over the past two years. I came across a website I used to reference all the time that details the action and uses for different pieces of tack. I am glad I found this website again, it's a great resource and I think my student ought to read at least some of the stuff on bits...it's time to think about what you are using on your horses and more importantly, WHY you are using it!
www.sustainabledressage.net
Time to go stare out the window and mope.
No comments:
Post a Comment