Bareback in a Halter

Man, I love you guys!

It's been raining ... a lot, so a good schooling ride was out of the question on Thursday.  Actually, so was a trail ride.  

Hmmm... a blog post about scraping mud off a horse while standing in the mud is not very interesting.  Neither is a post about cleaning poop out of the mud while standing in the mud.  So I continued to think about blogging while I scraped mud and scooped poop all while standing in the mud.  When I got tired of standing in the mud, I figured Speedy might be tired of it, too.

I dug out my old riding halter and clipped a set of reins to the rings.  I grabbed my helmet and step stool and popped up on Speedy G.  I haven't ridden him bareback in a few months and I've never ridden him in a halter.  The experience was very interesting and quickly became blog worthy and very dressage related.  Here is what I discovered.

Speedy G was VERY anxious and resistant to the feeling of the halter over his nose.  I use a rope halter on him all of the time so he's used to that pressure.  But as soon as I picked up on the reins and asked for some inside bend with a bit of outside soften please, his nose shot straight up in the air.

Rather than let him go, which is what I've done in the past when he fusses, I kept the inside bend steady, rode him forward with my seat, and squeezed the outside rein in small pulses.  The instant he softened his head and neck, I let my hands come forward a little to give him some release.  When his nose popped back out, I repeated the exercise. 

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I know the photos are a bit blurry, but you can tell that he's a lot less stiff in this photo than in the first one.  We did lots of changes of direction and some counter-bending, which is actually a bit difficult with just a halter!  We worked this circle for only 10 or 15 minutes, but he figured out what I wanted really quickly.  

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This shot was the best.  For a rookie dressage rider and a young horse with an amateur trainer/owner, this is a pretty decent little frame Speedy's got going.  Asking for softening and bending without a bit requires much more seat work and a different feel in your hands.  I may need to do more work in a halter like this.  Very interesting experience ...  By the way, Scotty and Jasper's mom shot these pictures for me.

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This is the halter we're working in.  Most rope halters have a Fiador knot where the lead rope attaches.  Standard rope halters are difficult to ride in because there's no place to clip your rings other than the knot loop below their chin.  I bought this halter a few years ago from a woman who "invented" the knot around which the rings are tied.  Her configuration eliminated the Fiador knot.  Who knew I would use it to school dressage bareback?

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Back to why I love you guys ...

During random moments in the day, I think about stuff to write.  Sometimes I have ideas just pouring in and I'll write several blog posts in one day and save them and publish them later in the week.  Other times I sit and think ... and I get nothing.  

Thursday was one of those days.  Try as I might, I had nothing creative to say.  And the thing about having a blog is that you have to, well ... BLOG!  In order to have something to blog ABOUT, you have to DO things, like ride, or at least have creative and engaging thoughts to share.  And since I run a bit short in the creative and engaging thoughts to share category, that forces me into the DO something category.  And so I did.  All because I knew I had to have something to share with you which is why I love you guys!  You helped me learn something pretty cool about riding in a halter.  Thanks!