Thursday, June 12, 2008

The incredible lightness of Willow

I had a lovely ride on Willow tonight. She was giving me a light but totally connected feeling through the bridle. I hope that's a sign that my focus on getting her to lighten her forehand is starting to show some results. We worked on canter lengthenings, and toward the end I was starting to be able to collect her using mainly my seat to half halt. That's a big change from the giant, galumphing, heavy canter of six months ago. Sitting trot felt nice and light as well, and we had two huge lengthenings with that cool slow-motion feeling. All we've got left for solid second level are walk-canter transitions, ten-meter canter circles, and more work on counter canter.

A frisky cat scared Willow into a flying change tonight.

So, a month ago I ordered a double bridle from Dressage Extensions. I got an email saying the bridle was on backorder. Today I emailed to get an ETA on the backorder. Three more months, I was told. (Dressage Extensions, I love you, but four months on a backorder sucks.) I cancelled the order and am now trying to decide how much more I can afford to spend.

3 comments:

Sarah said...

Glad to hear things are going so well! You must be so proud.

halfpassgirl said...

I'm really pleased! I've been working on my own for a long time now, and sometimes I worry that I've hit a plateau. But I think we're still making progress.

Dressage Mom said...

I can't remember where I got my double from, but I do remember that I got a snaffle bridle about two years ago from Smart Pak, of all places. It was a Collegiate flash bridle and the quality is good. They have a Collegiate double (no bits or reins) for $158. I always seem to have a few pairs of reins so this worked out okay for me with the snaffle bridle. Anyhow, the snaffle was worth the price.