Bareback Dressage

There are some days when it takes everything that I have to climb up in the saddle. I know I am not unique in that feeling. Working full time while keeping two horses fit can be a real challenge. For the past two afternoons I've had parent and staff meetings that kept me at work an extra 45 minutes. On top of that, I had to run and pick up my team's t-shirts for tomorrow's Battle of the Books. With all of that, I didn't even make it to the barn until long after I've normally saddled.

He's nearly finished shedding. You can almost see the shine on his shoulder.

Instead of saddling, I decided to forego the leather and ride in a halter. My plan was to just get Speedy out for his mental health. While he has 12 hours of turnout, he really enjoys his job and gets anxious when he feels ignored.

I decided to mosey around the neighborhood loop which takes about a half an hour. If I add every nook and cranny, I can get closer to an hour. I didn't really have the time or energy for that, so I opted for the shorter loop.

This view always makes me smile.

Speedy had other plans though. As we passed the Haner Family Farm's gobbling turkeys, honking geese, and barking dogs, Speedy flung his tail over and his back and grew ten inches. We made it past, but as we approached the little drop down to the next road, it's actually pretty steep, a backhoe on the next property dropped its load. I hopped off. Even I have enough sense not to bareback it down a steep hill onto a road when my horse has just grown pogo sticks for legs.

I led him down the hill and turned him toward the backhoe which kept doing its job. I let him look at while his brain slid back into place. When Speedy's blood gets boiling though, it takes him quite a while to cool off. I didn't really want to walk home, so I pushed him into a ditch and hopped back on - 42 pounds ago, I wouldn't have been to do that, so go me. 

Before he grew pogo sticks for legs.

Speedy pranced and jigged and sassed his bad boy self the rest of the way home. While he was a bit naughty, it's just his way of showing off. Some day I'll miss those spicy rides, but since he had so much energy, I decided to use it. Instead of walking back to the tack room, I turned toward the arena instead. 

For a long time, Speedy refused to trot or canter when I rode bareback. I was positive that he was unsure of my ability to stay balanced on his back. Eventually, my seat got better, and I could coax a trot from him. It's been quite a while since I've asked him to do anything but walk bareback, so I wasn't sure what I would get.

Since he was tight and bouncy, I decided to work on the leg yield across the diagonal. When those went well, I changed the bend and asked for the half pass across the diagonal. If you can ride your horse bareback, I strongly recommend both of those movements for showing you where your balance lies and how (in)effective your aids might be. It took a few kicks with my MUDS (I hadn't even worn proper boots!), but I actually got a half pass while bareback in a halter. Not too shabby.

He always makes me smile.

Then I decided to push it a little further and work on some simple changes. His patience had grown a bit thin by then, but that's when I can get some of Speedy's best work. When his emotions run higher, he gets even more determined. Since his canter was so collected, I bent him through the corner and asked for a canter half pass. The first few efforts were anything but a half pass, but eventually, he gave up the fight and gave me some strides that were correct.

What started out as a quick hack around the neighborhood bareback in a halter turned into a full dressage school. So much for short on time and energy. Where there's a will, there's usually a way.