Tuesday: Ruby got a pedicure, a la me. Usually she is very good, but on this day she was trying to snatch grass and kept moving every twenty seconds, grrr. I had to tie her really short so that there was no hope of reaching any grass, then she got the hint and stood quietly. The heels on a couple of her feet have cracks so I finally worked up the nerve to really bring them down. I was so nervous about this that I took her for a walk down the street to make sure she was still comfortable. Afterwards, I decided to take her for a spin and try out some things I learned yesterday. When I went to put the bareback pad on, she tried to avoid it (insert irritated face here) but she did let me clamber up on her like a drunk monkey when I asked her to. And, she was a very good girl for our ride.
Wednesday, I just groomed and visited with the Redhead. By Wednesday afternoon, I'd received my new 2-in-1 bitless bridle. The owner of Moss Rock is still out due to surgery complications, so I got antsy and ordered something similar from a relatively new vendor.
Thursday: I decided to rig the bridle as a side pull first, since that's what we normally use. I don't know why I didn't notice in the website's pics, but for the 2-1 bridle from this particular vendor, the side pull is not the usual style. Instead of the cheek pieces coming down and splitting into two that then attach to the nose band, there is one solid cheek piece all the way to the nose band and they are sewn together. Where they join there is a D-ring that the reins attach to. I don't know about other folks, but I had no brakes with this set up. I'm not sure if it was the beta biothane or the way that the bridle is set up. Now, I normally don't need a lot of brakes - Ruby will stop when asked, even though she oftentimes just tries to speed off as soon as she is given some slack. This time, I HAD to one-rein stop almost like she couldn't tell that I was requesting a stop. I walked her back to the barn, tied her up, and changed the setup to the bitless bridle. Unfortunately, the entire headstall may be too big for Ruby. The pieces that cross under the head keep catching on the bottom of the nose band. I'm currently waiting for the vendor to get back with me - it's likely that I'm doing something very wrong.
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| Thursday - it's a beautiful blue! Now, if I could just get it adjusted properly... |
Friday: I didn't hear back from the vendor yesterday but I did do some research on how the bitless bridles are supposed to be fitted. The nose band is supposed to be much lower (hackamore area), than the picture above, then it's supposed to be tightened to allow just one finger between the jawbone and the nose band. This one is far too big for the Rubes. I can take the nose band up one more hole, but then the end of the strap goes through the D-ring on the side of the nose band. This, obviously, interferes with the way the chin straps work. I have sent another email to the vendor; this time asking if I can send it back to have it re-sized. I would do it myself, but some of the straps will need to be cut as well. Crossing fingers here. More Ruby torture ensued as I hooked up to Lee's trailer and did some loading practice with her. I don't know much about her background - for all I know, she's never loaded in a two-horse straight load. She was not enthused. The scariest part, of course, was backing off the trailer. She was getting so worked up over backing off the trailer that she was making me nervous for her, sheesh. We practiced, took a break, practiced, took a break. I don't think we'll have a problem when/if Lee and I ride together next week.
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