I finally got out of the ring this week!  Debbie's stable is part of a much bigger farm, and last week the farm owner redid some of his fences since his cows were escaping.  When he did this he gave Debbie's riders a gate into a few acres of his woods and the woods already have trails.  Halfway through my lesson she suggested going into the woods, and I was all for it.  The sun was hot and I was already melting.  So Debbie walked ahead and Mia and I followed.  It was sooooo nice to get out of the ring.  It was much cooler in the woods.  Mia was quite good (except I had to be careful that my knees missed the trees), looking from side to side quite alertly.  She was just curious about what was around her, I never felt like Mia was looking for an excuse to shy.  I just walked, I want both of us to know the woods better before we start trotting.  I was glad Debbie was there, everytime I get out of the ring I feel like my legs are weaker and I don't feel as secure in the saddle.  With Debbie walking ahead I felt more secure, and I am sure that Mia felt more secure, and we both had an absolutely wonderful mini trail ride.  Hopefully the first of many.  I'm tired of the ring and I am sure that Mia is also tired of just going around the ring.

Another wonderful thing that happened this week is that my son can take me out to ride on Fridays again, so I got to ride THREE times this week!!!!  On Friday I tried something new with Mia.  Mia and I have reached the limits of what the Jumping Cavesson bridle can deliver, however wonderful this bitless system is for trail riding there is a limit to the effectiveness of my light hand aids.  Inspired by my mini trail ride I sat down and thought.  While the cross-under bitless bridles give me more control than my Jumping Cavesson bridle I have some difficulties with my hand aids, especially the single direct rein of opposition.  I got my Spirit Bridle out and looked at it, and noticed that the rings on the noseband where the cross-under roundings go through still had enough space so I could attach a pair of reins to them.  So I did, and on Friday I put the Spirit Bridle with both sets of reins and the running martingle on Mia.  I put the cross-under reins through the rings of the running martingle, I did not want an additional downward action on the reins to the nose rings.  I also added an additional Cashel nose pad under the chin strap of the nose band, I knew I had to tighten the chin strap further and Mia does NOT like tight nose bands!  With a Cashel cushion under both the nose piece and chin piece she seemed content with a tighter nose band (this is something she can get pretty vehement about.)  Once I got the reins right--the nose ring reins have to go INSIDE of the cross-under reins, we started our ride.  

After our warm-up walk on loose reins I arranged my reins so I could get contact with the nose ring reins, leaving the cross-under reins slightly sagging, just like the curb rein of a double bridle.  When I asked Mia for contact she cheerfully reached forward and accepted contact.  I was happy, back when it started getting hot Mia had started refusing contact with the cross-under reins and getting irritated with my hands when I insisted.  Now, with my hands even worse, she accepted and kept contact for a while before she wanted to rest her neck, and she asked politely for more rein instead of yanking it out of my hands.  When I ride with two reins I keep the snaffle (or noseband) rein between my ring and little fingers, and the curb (or cross-under) rein around the outside of my little finger.  This way my ring finger can keep steady contact and when I want to activate the other rein I just have to twitch my little finger.  Since Mia was still sore from her trimming we mostly walked, slow, medium, and faster walk (she's still too sore to extend), doing curves around the jumps as well as riding by the ring fence.  When I asked her to back up she gave me two strides back, mostly straight, and while her turn on the hindquarters was not quite as crisp as when I use a bit it was a good bit better than the turn I was getting with the Jumping Cavesson bridle or the Spirit bridle with just the cross-under reins.  I am starting to ask Mia to two-track (half-pass?), and I got a better response on Friday than I had in the Jumping Cavesson bridle, just a little hint of a two-track since Mia is resistant to crossing her hind legs because of her arthritis, but I think she is starting to get the idea.  

I do not think I would have gotten as good results without the Cashel nose pads.  Mia still feels every twitch of the rein still and she is MUCH more willing to take contact with the nose band.  The feel in my hands is more like a bit since the cushion mimics the feel of the horse's tongue.  If the horse has a thick, wide tongue it serves as a cushion that protects the bars of the mouth against the bit.  An uncushioned noseband works directly on the nasal bone or cartilage, with just the skin and hair providing minimal cushioning.  This is probably the reason why some horses prefer bits to bitless systems, their tongues can cushion the bit in their mouth but nothing is cushioning their poor nasal bone/cartilage against the bitless noseband.  Right now I think I have come up with a good solution for when my hands are too bad to use a bit, I can keep light contact with the nose reins, being able to use every type of rein action effectively, and still have the controlling/collecting actions of the cross-under reins with the Spirit Bridle/running martingle combination.  

And today, on Cider, I was wishing I had the cross-under reins!  I was using my Wintec Wide and just a regular quilted pad, and I moved the saddle back around an inch.  The saddle was not interfering with her shoulders.  All of a sudden I got my energizer bunny back with a vengeance.  I had trouble controlling Cider with just the Jumping Cavesson bridle when all Cider wanted to do was go faster, Faster, FASTER.  Next I am going to try a fleece girth cover, and then maybe some fleece over those LONG billet straps where they project beyond the saddle, I don't think she likes the feel of those billet straps.  I am also going to use the Spirit bridle/running martingle with two reins.  I MISSED the added control of the cross-under!  It is going to take me a while until I can handle both sets of reins intelligently since it is still hot and my coordination is off, but it is starting to cool down a little so my coordination should come back soon.  I hope.  But at least with the Spirit Bridle with two reins I can keep contact AND I have the added control of the cross-under when I need it.  

I do not know if this two rein method would work with the cross-under bridles that use flat straps, I do not think there would be enough room in the nose ring for both the cross-under straps and a regular rein.  With the roundings of the Spirit bridle there is barely enough room, and I am riding with the cross-under reins sagging.  I just want to use them for a little extra control and not for contact.  As I get more coordinated I will be able to experiment further and see how far I can go with this set up until I finally get my hands good enough to use a bit again, and then it will be a relief just to have to handle one set of reins and I won't need the running martingle.  IF Mia and Cider agree.

Have a great ride!

Jackie Cochran