quiet on the set, please!

Happy New Year, y'all! Hope it's been a good one so far. The last few years have been so unpredictable, so much has changed... It's hard to even really know what to expect or even what I want to happen in 2025. 

sweet mare walkin up to the ring

I've got a few ideas bumping around in my head tho -- not really necessarily specifically "goals" or "intentions" for the year, or whatever... but maybe not that far off either. So maybe more to come on that later. For today, tho, more shopping!

finally pulled the trigger on testing out a Sprenger nathe

You might recall we marked Doozy's one year anniversary with an updated post on her day to day management,** including her current tack / equipment setup. In particular, I wasn't super satisfied with our bitting situation, and y'all encouraged me to try other styles of mouth and/or cheek piece bits. So I finally did it -- and acquired this lovely and simple Sprenger nathe!

(**Assuming I ever do get around to writing a post about setting goals / intentions / whatever for the coming year, one key evolution in my brain right now revolves around being better about self assessments versus self judgements. In that linked post, I wrote "I've never had good hands," which is squarely a judgement on myself, right? Perhaps a better way to think about it is, "Doozy has difficulty settling into contact when my hands are busy." This is more of an assessment of a situation or action, and therefore more actionable... or something LOL)

not to confuse you -- these two pics are from an earlier ride, from the last dressage saddle test ride

I've actually had the bit for a little while already, but with all the saddle trials and lessons and whatnot, it never seemed like quite the right time to make a big change like that. 

I suspected that Doozy would like it, but... Well, to be perfectly honest, I also suspected it was entirely possible that I'd have zero brakes dear lord jesus take the wheel. Ahem. So I didn't wanna introduce the change at a time when she was maybe already a little tense or frazzled like she'd been during the saddle test rides. 

the footage was not great bc a) it was not a great ride, and also b) that giant over-exposed sunspot front and center made it hard to see any details farther away

After our lovely relaxed ride earlier in the week, tho, the time seemed right. And it was! 

Well. Ok, actually it was kinda a difficult set of circumstances. The wind was absolutely howling all day. Not particularly cold, but constant and noisy. The indoor ring was occupied by a large group when we arrived, at which time they all exited almost immediately. Doozy is used to horses coming and going since we often time our rides to coincide with the changes of lesson groups... But it was still a lot.

she's still a cutie tho!

I had the trusty metronome going, tho, and just tried to stay laser focused on being stable and strong and quiet in my position. And if it felt like the wheels were coming off and I needed to abandon my position to do crazy things with my hands... Just shorten the reins and reset my position and focus on that steady tick-tock-tick-tock. 

the tack evolution continues

I'm not going to say that the contact was like... perfectly fixed or whatever... But Doozy had way more moments of finding it and staying on it, vs bouncing and chattering around at the end of the reins. Especially at canter, she seemed really at home.

It's a very quiet riding bit -- there really is not a lot of movement in the mouth piece, even tho it's still got the loose ring cheeks. It didn't feel like Doozy was running through it at all either, too. 

powdered up like a bebe's butt before getting blanketed to the gills for the impending polar vortex

I've never really had a horse who seemed to care one way or another about the finer points of bitting. Isabel was always lovely in her Sprenger KK, and with Charlie it was always about whether I'd be able to stop him or get him up off from leaning on the bit. 

Doozy is... obviously an entirely different animal haha, that's for sure. But I'm happy when she's happy, and guys.... she might just be happy with this nathe, omg! Obvi more testing is needed, and we'll wear it in our next lesson to get Trainer C's thoughts... but I'm optimistic!  

In any case, we'll see what happens. It's about to get pretty chilly around these parts so who knows how much riding will actually get done. And ya know. Limbo week is over, it's time to get back to real life and regular working hours LOL. C'est la vie, amirite.