We got an "unseasonable amount of rain" this past weekend, and thusly I have not gotten anything done with the mighty mare, except to blanket her for the unseasonable-ness.
Prior to the rain I had made a decision. I have decided that after the mud dries up I think I am going to put shoes on her for the summer, as it seems that all other soundness issues (I'm saying this at a whisper) are gone! And she's just a tad footsore on the gravely patches of the arena. So here's to hoping we can have a successful summer season, which I'm going to define as lots of riding.
I've also been seriously thinking (aka budget crunching) about doing some lessons this summer. I feel like my form is way out of it, and like Bijou and I could use the push of having someone who's going to critique as motivation through the week. So I'm going to go trainer hunting, which is going to be difficult because I feel like most of the trainers around here aren't respectable enough to earn my respect, which would not lead to a very good trainer/trainee relationship me-thinks.
Oh yes, I tried a figure eight with a metal (regular snaffle d-ring) bit. It was horrible. lots of head tossing and evading the bit and general unpleasantries ensued. I had a couple of hits when I put up an ad looking to try someone's bitless bridle or any other interesting bits they had but no one's gotten back to me after their initial responses.
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Finding the right bit can be a trial and error process - I try not to use any sort of tight noseband as that can prevent the horse from telling you what they think. Factors are teeth - if there's a dental problem no bit will solve it; chiro - if there are knots/soreness in back/neck bitting will be difficult; palate height and tongue size. If you search on my blog on bits and bitless you'll find some info about the bits I generally use - good luck!
ReplyDeleteDitto what Kate said. What one horse goes happily in another will hate. It's worth the time to experiment. Sometimes rubber or plastic bits can break the ice. Personally I am not a fan of simple snaffles and always seem to end up with a three piece of some sort.
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