bareback lesson bc why not

The welts on Isabel's side from the bareback pad girth grew a little larger on the second day - prompting concerns about hematomas. But we put some heavy duty ointments on them to draw out the swelling and they were very much reduced by Saturday morning. 

But I still didn't want to put a girth on Isabel in case the swelling came back. So I texted trainer P asking if she thought I should just sit out on the lesson or ride bareback. She obviously said to come ride bareback, so off we went! 

We kept things pretty simple, for my own sake. Plus I buckled an old stirrup leather around Izzy's neck as an 'oh shit' strap and used my no-slip half pad for a little extra grip and cushioning. It was sooo much fun! 

P had to prod me to actually get Isabel working over her back while flatting - saying that not having a saddle was no excuse for not working properly. And we actually had some verrrry nice moments at trot! Canter was ok-ish, tho I got pretty tired during the second canter and quit early lol...  

The transitions - particularly downward - were the most worrisome for me, so P recommended that I pay close attention to each footfall and to ask for my downward when her outside hind hit the ground. Then the next beat would be inside hind and outside front - which is also a natural part of the trot, so the transition could happen very smoothly without that fast disorganized trot. Good food for thought!

For jumping, I just kept a hold of the oh shit neck strap and let Isabel do the work. I think she was pretty happy to have me let go of her mouth a bit lol. I also learned that jumping from a trot is much harder than jumping from a canter. 

Isabel made things pretty easy for me - and was moving forward nicely to make the striding no big deal. Tho she did have a few sassy moments - including head tossing and some dolphin leaps / fancy prancing after the lines. It was kinda funny - tho had she put her head down or twisted sideways I would have been a goner lol. 

But overall we just had a great time jumping little Xs while I tried not to fall off. It's interesting looking at some of these pictures video stills bc some elements of my position are better than they normally would be with a saddle. 

Particularly, my lower leg was very well-behaved during the ride and stayed in its place. I'm thinking that I really do brace hard on my stirrups and use my heels for leg rather than my calf. I will have to pay closer attention in the future. 

In any case, it was also a good confidence booster bc I had previously felt too insecure and unstable to do any serious riding bareback. But now I know that the half pad and stirrup leather around the neck are pretty much all I need to feel ok about things. And it was definitely good practice to get my core and leg muscles working properly without being dependent on a saddle. 

We unfortunately only got a couple jumps on video, and none of the dolphin leap excitement... but it's still fun to watch (for me, at least). 

enjoy!