Smart is the New Black

I received two packages in the mail this week: both item's were black in color. When you put together the whole picture, black and purple look so good together ;).

The first item to arrive was my Smart pad! Next was new, black stirrups. These were the kind I used to have with my dressage horses, but I just went with cheap ones when I got my wintec. Now that I have a great saddle, a really nice pad, and am riding more, I thought better stirrups would be a good investment.

My phone is on its death beg, which is why the photo
is so awful. But you can see my pad and new stirrups!

Turns out I was right! Yesterday I rode with both my smart pad and new stirrups. The stirrups are a lot nicer than the old ones because the bend, allowing you to really stretch your heals down. I had no idea how much they helped until I rode in them after using non-bendy ones for so long. They were so nice; really made me whole lower leg so much more comfortable.

The pad was great, too! I am not sure if it has to do with his feet, the red light, or just the saddle pad in general, but my saddle felt so secure today. Yesterday was my first day riding since Jesse helped me with all of the above, so I can't tell what the variable is. Regardless, the smart pad is a keeper!

I forgot my shims, but not a huge deal with the same pad! Had I forgotten them with my theraflex, the dry spots would have been atrocious. But, even without shims, and a very light sweat, he only had a minor dry spot behind his withers. How cool is that? I am going to try to play with shim patterns next week and will post my findings here.

Sonny must have been pretty happy about the pad and stirrups (okay, maybe not he stirrups), too, because he was fantastic! One of the best rides we have had. I was planning on trail riding down the lane to the road that my new farm is on, but that didn't work out. As we road down the lane, Sonny was calm, responsive, and forward. He wasn't trying to eat grass, he followed the trail (the road) better than ever before (maybe is has to do with all the follow the rail we have been doing lately?), and was overall just a joy to ride. On the one side at the end of the lane is a mess of trees; in those trees is a bunch of garbage, mostly old tree trunks, branches, tires, etc. Needless to say, Sonny usually get's a little on edge as we go by there because everyone knows mountain lions hide in tree piles in Ohio. Yesterday, he barely looked twice. We walked all the way to almost the end of the road without even a flinch; he just followed the trail! I was ecstatic! Towards the end of the lane I saw a Doberman, who in-turn saw us. He was barking madly and I wasn't sure the fence around him was sturdy so we headed back; I wasn't going to risk ruining all of the great things Sonny was offering me to get chased by a huge dog. So we headed back and rode around the front yard.

He was being so good; he was oddly relaxed and maintaining this beautiful gait, at the trot and canter. He loves to blast around when we are outside but he was being so great yesterday! I played with circles and figure 8's around the trees and he really put effort into the patterns. I used the lines in the lawn to practice straightness and overally just tried to keep him interested and guessing what was coming next.

I ended the day with some canter serpentines. I used to do them all the time with my dressage horses, but never with Sonny. My intention was to just practice a combination of a) picking up the correct leads based on my body position and b) to practice turns without using my reins. The turns were a bit of a challenge, but when we made big, wide ones I didn't have to use my reins. But, the transitions were fabulous! We were going canter-walk-canter, picking up what ever lead I wanted, without using reins or barely any leg. Awesome! So excited about how our freestyle is coming along. Most importantly, I am completely enjoying it. I have never loved riding so much. I hope Sonny feel's the same!

Summer breeze.