Pacific Northwest is Best

I'm sure there are lovely parts of every single state, but I love this state I live in! Previously the past couple weeks when I had time off I went on a waterfall hike or floated the river. Now, I finally a day off with no plans so I decided I was going for a trail ride in one of my favorite places.

Geez, I forgot how far away it was though. I used to board about 45 minutes away and today the drive took an hour and a half. Oops. But it was worth it for a one time kind of deal.

Of course as soon as I got out to the trails I realized I had everything I needed... except my bridle. Dang it. The one item that is arguable the most important piece of tack! I usually have so many extras in my trailer, but this time I had only two. The two options: the segunda I jump with and the sidepull hackamore. Hmm. Last time I rode in the segunda it was WAY too much. It's been an awesome bit for us in the past using it for shows and clinics at different barns but it was too much bit last time. So that left the hackamore. I've been wanting to try it out on the trails since it would be neat to use it for endurance. And Jetta responds really well to it in the arena... so we gave it a try.

Let's just say I won't be doing endurance in the hackamore. But, it was a great trail ride. I didn't die with the hackamore, though Jetta did lose her cantering privileges. After two perfectly behaved canters, the third time in an open field she completely ignored me and I had to use a one rein stop to get her back down. I haven't done that in forever with her.

Minus the one baby brain episode, she was great. It was so hot though that mostly we just walked (not to mention we're both really out of shape). Even after walking a couple miles she was still super sweaty so after stopping to pick blackberries (YUM, so good) we went for a dip in the river.

splish splash

BLACKBERRIES. She always steals the best ones off the bush.

The Amazing Jasmine

I'm back! I had a great trip, though I definitely missed my ponies and one of the first things I did today was go visit Misty and Jazz. 

I mentioned a while ago that I got Jazz back. She was supposed to be leased to a lady for a whole year, but she ended up not being able to keep her for the full time and had to bring her back after nine months which was really sad because they got along perfectly.

The plan is to find Jazz a new home, hopefully permanently. I can't offer her the attention she needs. She could retire at my parent's place, but they are not horse people and after what happened with Grady, I'd really like her to have someone who is actually a horse person to look after her. With that said, she is definitely not ready to retire and while I was worried when she was coming home that maybe it would be time, after simply watching her run around the pasture her first day home, I knew she wasn't ready!

I hopped on her the next day and she was great. Definitely still in western pleasure pony mode, but she felt fantastic. No stiffness at all. This is a horse I rode almost every day for 7 years - english, western, trail, eventing, lessons, you name it, she did it! And I'm just amazed that she hasn't needed injections in all that time. This is what good breeding is all about!

After that one ride, she basically sat for 2 weeks. She did nothing but eat, which was good because she needed some weight unfortunately. Luckily for her, putting weight on is simply a matter of getting turned out on pasture = instant hay belly.

I came home for a weekend and as the sun was setting - my absolute FAVORITE time to ride - I decided to go for a spin on Jazz. Of course I hadn't brought any tack with me, so it was bareback and in a halter. Gosh this horse is amazing! I forgot what it was like to ride a trained horse that I could trust without a doubt.

This lead to me asking my mom in the morning if she'd take some pictures of Jazz and I. My greatest regret is not having pictures of Grady and I that showed what an amazing bond we had. While my bond with Jazz is not quite as strong, I still wanted to have something to show what an incredible horse she is, so we went to the neighbor's outdoor arena and had an impromptu photo shoot bareback and brideless. Gosh this horse is amazing.

Note: I hate not wearing a helmet and I honestly do 99.9% of the time because I know accidents do happen regardless of how good a rider you are and how perfect your horse is. And I also want to set a good example for those around me. With that said, I did choose not to ride with a helmet, simply for aesthetic reasons. These are going to be pictures I'm going to frame and while I think riding without a helmet just because it doesn't "look good" is silly, I'm going to be hypocritical. I still think it's a good idea to wear a helmet at all times. Honestly, it felt really weird and I didn't like not having my helmet on...

I love how they turned out. The lighting was perfect - the sun was coming up and the background sky was a stormy dark grey.

My favorite for sure

You can see her itchy spots where she's rubbed herself raw unfortunately. Which is why I decided to move her up to the barn near school so that she can heal and Jetta can just sit at home until she gets all healed.

I went out to see her yesterday after I got back from my trip and she was way, way better. Hardly any scabs left and the hair is already starting to grow back, whew. She is much happier up here! I lunged her a little bit then did some liberty work. Ahhhh, I love how good she is! She is such a pretty, smart and well behaved horse. Worth her weight in gold and I hope I can find someone who loves her as much as I do! I so wish I had the time and money for three horses because she is definitely one of those one in a million kind of horses.

Sunny Dayz

No, the title wasn't  typo, we've actually had sun! Monday and Wednesday were quite nice and both days I got to go on a trail ride! Unusual for living in the pacific northwest.

Yesterday our ride was ah-mazing. It didn't start out so well since I decided to lunge. She had so much energy on Tuesday that I was having trouble containing it, so I figured it would be in our best interest to lunge. Ahaha. It was a little embarrassing trying to control my horse while she leaped and bucked in her best impression of the airs above the ground. There were other people riding so I was trying to be as unobtrusive as possible, but luckily none of the other horses took exception to Jetta's antics, though the same might not be true for their riders. Normally, I would have let her buck and gallop as much as she pleased, but I didn't want to spook any of the other horses! At one point she was trotting and leaped straight up with all four feet off the ground. I feel like horses shouldn't be as athletic as they are because of their size, but they sure are!

Jetta says "Wha? I iz good gurl. My owner says she wantz to
go see Cavalia, but she cantz afford it. So I brings the trickz to her!

She finally settled down and I got on her bareback (though with plenty of padding because she has terrible shark-fin withers) and with her sidepull on. She was so good. I had a blast riding her. She hasn't been in the bitless bridle since last year I think, so it took a minute for her to figure out what I wanted before she settled down "on the bit". I'm sure the other people in the arena were thinking I was insane for getting on my supposedly "cuh-razy and nasty" TB mare, but she was a perfect angel. I worked on our sitting trot and riding deep into the corners and she was absolutely perfect.

Our sitting trot has come a long way - she's finally accepting my seat when I sit instead of hollowing her back and coming above the bit. For my part, I think my yoga has really helped develop my core muscles and has allowed me to focus on sitting as quietly as possible. Then we headed outside. She is becoming a pro at letting me open gates from her back and has become almost a steady rock on the trails. We were even able to calmly walk through some mud puddles instead of skirting around them! I'm super excited and ready to head to the trail course to practice, the problem is just getting a buddy to come with me... Hopefully the 9th we'll go since by then I'll be done with all my final exams!

I'm also super happy about her hooves. I was prepared for them to soften since she's stalled 24/7, but they've actually continued to improve. They've hardened a lot and even though it's about time for a trim, she hasn't gotten the huge nasty cracks that she usually gets. And she didn't put a foot wrong walking down the gravel driveway. Yes!

Jetta was just so well-behaved and I'm feeling like such a proud mother. I feel totally comfortable taking her out on the trails bareback and bitless and that's saying something! Today I have planned another ride in the sidepull and I hope it's a repeat of yesterday!