Bareback Contraption

Finally, a ride! Jetta was pretty good today.

I grabbed her from the pasture in the middle of a hail storm (ick) and lunged her thoroughly first since she's had 5 days off. Wow, I can't believe I haven't ridden her in so long. Anyways, after lunging her I tacked her up with a bareback pad and her hackamore. This is my "bareback contraption", the arrangement of tack that I consider to be the most comfortable and secure:

• Fluffy, fleecy bareback pad
• Thick western pad
• Western girth (instead of the wimpy little girth the bareback pad comes with)
• Breastplate

Obviously I haven't ever used this breastplate with Jetta before so it's way too big for her non-QH shoulders! But overall it worked considerably better than just my dressage pad and Mattes half pad. Jetta has such a bony back despite all my best efforts to build up her back muscle! Frustrating. Even with the 2, inch thick pads I was still a little uncomfortable and probably could have used a third!

Jetta was quite sassy when I got on and tried to kick out several times at my leg so we ended up backing circles, then figure eights, then more circles until she decided that going forward was a whole lot more fun. She was super good after that, doing shoulder-ins and leg yields.

After w/t/c in each direction I decided that we needed to play with the big bouncy ball. Cutest thing ever! Jetta was really into it today, kicking out at the ball without direction from me, nosing it everywhere and tracking it by herself. I wish someone had been there to video! She was having so much fun rolling it around with her nose - freakin' adorable, I tell you. When I tried to put the ball away, back into its corner, we'd roll it over there and get it in the corner, then Jetta would stretch her neck out before I could tell her no and she'd roll it right back out of the corner, lol. It was quite cute so I couldn't help but smile, but by the third time I got off and kicked it into the corner so I could finally put my pony away!