"Lodge Ropes Day"

the weather last week was horrendous again - a mix of snow, wind AND rain :(

(See below for proof - on one of the nicer days before that)




But today was somewhat nicer - almost like spring.

I was worried Fi might be a bit stiff, as she was moving a bit tentatively in the stable. But she was fine.

So after grooming, I tacked her up, borrowing Rosie's Lodge Ropes Enduro bridle to go under Fi's normal bridle, whacking on the no fuss reins from my half-bosal, and clipping on the lightweight 22ft line. (Hence the thread title :) )

I normally do a little ground work on both reins, all three gaits, just to check she is sound before I ask any more from her. Today she was quite settled and looked comfy, so on I hopped, taking up the reins.

As per 2 weeks ago (which I don't seem to have posted ?!), I ended up riding her entirely on the bitless.

The previous occasion I had used the rope hackamore - but then I end up with mecate reins, 12ft line AND the longer line when I am lunging, and it is just too much paraphernalia. That time I had felt that in the bitless she was more even and less one sided, but that it did bring the times she braced rather than softened.

Initially she wanted to lean into the pressure and I had used lateral flexion using Bob Mayhew's "snake trails" exercise to loosen and soften her (and me) up.

Hmmm -maybe I will start by posting about that, and come back to today: from 27th Jan..

Ok I confess. With Fi's DJD and lameness, she has only been doing short work sessions and those have had an aim of getting her working as well as possible to help her joints and so on.

Plus the weather has been horrendous and she can be a bit spooky

So I've been riding her in "normal" kit. A loose ring french link on the bridle, and her western saddle. Which has been fine and she has been doing some really nice work - when weather permits

But that day as I was tacking up, we got talking about rope halters (we have two - Rosie's and Fi's - but Duds has been "borrowing" Fi's to come up in the evening as he was being an idiot). I was thinking that if I took the mecate reins off her natural hackamore, I'd have another halter to use... and that just gave me the push to bung that on under her bridle ..

so off we toddled and my intention was just to ride on the hackamore for part of the session - but I didn't pick the bridle reins up at all ! It was really interesting to note the similarities and the differences between the two...

She started leaning in to the hackamore, and I had to ask for softness in a different way (using more lateral flexion - I did snake trails exercise with her (Bob Mayhew)). But she seemed more even, less braced on one side (or was that me ). We did work in walk, trot, canter. She did tend to go with a much lower head carriage - or at least offer it that way. But she felt really good

I had the bridle on over so I could pick up the reins if control became an issue. She tends to have a butterfly brain if you don't keep her focused and I was concerned she would come off-focus faster with the hackamore. But she actually felt more settled and less crazy !

Definately a "How interesting" session