I got up Sunday morning and went out to the barn thinking, "It's 40f and raining. There will be no one else around and we can just ride in the indoor."
Surprise!! There was another boarder out there. This was a nice lady I'd never even seen before. Why do people start riding once the weather turns nasty? No clue. Anyways. Izzy and I hung out in the indoor and got used to the sound of rain on the roof while the lady finished riding. When she came out, I took Izzy in with her halter and chain on. We walked around and look at any potentially scary stuff. She was super good.
Next, I put the bridle on. It's a mechanical hackmore, so I lead her around in it for a while to make sure she was used to the leverage action. I decided to use it because we're both very comfortable with a bit and I tend to grab it instead of really use my body to ride. Izzy isn't wild about the leverage function and I'm not wild about losing the ability to turn her in a circle if things got crazy, but it was the best option I had. I also put a leather neckstrap on her to grab when I got insecure, which was most of the time.
I rode for about half an hour, and we never left the walk. I didn't realize just how much I was doing wrong. I tend to slide off one side or another. With my saddle, I can just brace against the irons to compensate, but bareback is a whole new world. I spent most of my time just trying to stay centered and balanced and moving with the motion. Yikes. I feel like an awful rider.
Last night, I ran down to the store and got myself a sidepull with roping reins to use for our continued bareback experiments. That will removing the leverage that Izzy dislikes and give me the lateral steering (hopefully) that I like to have for those tense moments. I'll take a picture of her today. I'm sure it will look adorable.
ETA: Lunge lessons would be fabulous. Unfortunately, they're out of range for now. Hopefully, if I do this for a while, I can afford to take some later on.
I love my sidepull, I hope it works well for you and Izzy.
ReplyDeleteIf you were closer, I'd offer to do lunge lessons with you for free. Love giving them, and could use a couple myself. :)
ReplyDeleteIf there's another boarder who wants to trade lunge lesson for lunge lesson, you might work something out. In the meantime, the bareback is great. As you are discovering, it really does bring out the flaws in how you are sitting. You'll get the hang of it fine. Just enjoy--and do try to relax. It helps.
ReplyDeleteGood for you facing your fears. I just finished a clinic that included lots of longing. Best thing ever for your seat. See if you can trade off with someone. :)
ReplyDeleteDitto on what Jean said... you'll get the hang of it - and relaxing is the only way to go.
I once rode our horse Savanah bareback for months. It was incredible for my seat. By the end of it I could sit into her and follow her in a completely different way.
ReplyDeleteThen when I switched to my young horse I became tense and started 'perching' on top of him. I haven't achieved that seat with him and would have to be longed bareback - I tried riding him on my own without a saddle and had no control and he knew it :) This post is a good remonder to get back to it though.
Ditto on all the comments here. You can never go wrong riding bareback and working it into your training rotation. I think some horses are actually much more comfortable being ridden bareback as there can be no closer contact, really. I know my nutbar mare Scout relaxes most when I ride bareback; she seems to find security in it. And walking - good for you! So much can be accomplished with good walking, for both riders and horses. Don't ever sell yourself short for "just" walking. The way I see it, you had a great ride.
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