About a year ago, I started riding Simon bridleless. By started, I mean we had gotten far enough in our training that I could canter around the ring without a bridle. I know this isn’t exactly horse voodoo magic, but it’s something I had never accomplished with any other equine partner before. The reason I like riding without a bridle is that it forces me to identify my weaknesses. When I get tired, I like to lean on the reins…
The weather has finally taken a turn in Texas. Instead of feeling like you’re walking around in someone’s hot breath all the time, the cool taste of fall is back in the air. I love that feeling. It makes me want to sit on my porch all evening and stretch my arms wide open into the chill and let my body begin again. Some people associate January as a time of fresh starts and new beginnings, but for me that’s…
I spent 90% of my time this weekend doing one of three things – drinking, sleeping or hanging out at the barn. As I’m sure you picked up from my pitiful post on Friday, my mood going into the weekend was poor. I had committed the cardinal sin of horses, “Thou Shall Not Get Thy Hopes Up” and was feeling down in general. The best fix for that is good friends and time with the nerd horse, and after a…
I’m not usually one to brag, but today I’m going to a little. Things are going remarkably well with my creature. We’ve hit that sweet spot in our relationship – the time period where you’ve had years of learning each other’s quirks all the while your horse has been aging and learning to become a solid citizen. I had this wave of realization when I took Simon to the San Antonio show in February that we have figured out how to…
I know, I know… eventers already made these lyrics cool with ‘ditch’ instead of bitch, but I don’t do ditches and I don’t do eventing so I work with what I have. Or in this case, what I don’t have. For years I’ve had this little goal of jumping Simon around a course without a bridle. I’ve taken off his bridle before and walk/trot/cantered with relatively little fanfare, but that was about two years and I haven’t tried since. Last…
I joked with a barn friend last night that I am turning Simon into a trick pony… that may or may not be true. Last night when motivation to do proper flat work was at an all time low, I got out a stirrup leather and put it around his neck. My theory? See how he would do riding from just a neck strap. We walk, trot, cantered pretty much without touching the reins at all. He was a little…