A long post with a lot to cover

As mentioned earlier, Yay, I got to ride out today!!!

Pre-trailer loading snack time

We had a really nice ride...in typical Memorial Day fashion, the weather gave us a brief reprieve...it was only in the 80s today, and just a light breeze.  Perfect riding weather.  The trails were shockingly uncrowded.  I really expected more people to be out enjoying the weather, but maybe people actually traveled out of town this weekend?

Trail buddies for the day: Kenda & Spirit (chestnut);
Chris (Barn Owner) & Tuudy (grey)

Spirit is a big, experienced goofball that walks out at 5mph (*is jealous*) so he was in the lead the whole time.  Tuudy is young and green, so we sandwiched her.  Tuudy was also testing out a pair of Mimi's Renegades on her hind hooves...first time trail test.  Even though I was really confident in how the boots would would stay on after seeing her work in them, it gave me a chance to keep an eye on them and watch how Tuudy did in them.  

Before, bare in the rear, she was pretty tentative on downhills, weighing her front end and protecting her bare back feet.  Today, she planted those rear hooves, tucked her haunches under her, and flew down the hills.  Very cool to see such a difference.

Rear-guard pony and surprisingly happy about it today

I was really tickled with how Mimi did today.  She's been somewhat...strong of late when we've gone out, giving me a bit of an attitude about slowing down, pushing her limits with the s-hack, and she was disturbingly strong against it a couple weeks ago riding around the neighborhood.

Enter remedial training:

Myler Eggbutt MB27PB

This is a Myler Eggbutt MB27PB mouthpiece.  It's a Level 2-3 mouthpiece, I picked it up about a month ago on a crazy-good deal, and have been playing around with it in the arena ever since.  I won't go so far as to call in a miracle bit...nothing will ever make Mimi love a bit...but she goes surprisingly well in it.  The port is low enough it doesn't interfere with her palate, and for the first time ever, she's actually light in the face.

The upper level bit is also making her extremely conscious of what I'm doing with my hands, and it's forcing me to ride lighter, to rely on seat and legs first, then the bit.  Maybe there's a correlation between my lightness and her lightness?

Whatever the case may be...I had BRAKES on the trail again today.  All it took was a couple of light finger taps on one side or the other when she'd start rushing, and she'd back off.  The real test will be speed work, but we kept it pretty much to a walk today.  (Except for a few times she snuck in a bit of a trot.)  But we did a ton of up and down hills and gullies, and she did really well.  No head tossing, no fussing, and minimal pulling weird faces when we'd stop.

Happy Pony

So now I'm convinced there is something to the Myler levels and the fact that giving an advanced horse who understands and respects cues and signals a more advanced bit is a good thing.  (Bit dealers across the country just sent up a rousing cheer...)

And then these got put to the test:

Don't judge my bathroom unless you wanna come clean it

They're the new Tropical Rider tights I got..."PrixTec" variety, in Mango.  They're also the first pair of full-seat tights I've ever gotten or worn.  I really liked the grip and security of the full seat.  I got the microsuede patches versus deer or sheepskin...I don't know if it makes much of a difference or not.  I wasn't as wild about the fact that the full seat isn't quite as cool and breathable.  But that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make if it means extra stickiness in the saddle.  But it wasn't so sticky that I felt like it interfered with my posting or ability to get out of the saddle.  Also, the full seat means the mango color doesn't end up giving the "pumpkin butt" effect.

Photo from barn buddy Angela who was hiking with us

As much as I love pictures, I rarely get ones of myself riding, unless it's at an event.  Since pics are a great visual feedback of what you're doing wrong, this is both a good and bad thing.  Looking at the above...*cringe*  

Could I be any more unbalanced?  Scrunching my left side, but weighing my right?  Wonder if that's related to spending more time on the computer?  I don't know what my right arm is doing, flailing off to the side like that.  I alternate between riding one-handed and two.  I know two-handed is more balanced and effective, but sometimes I like to switch it up...sometimes it's laziness, sometimes it's the need to fish something out of the saddle pack or grab my camera.

But riding posture aside...I love my orange tights!  And they color-coordinate nicely with all my Renegade shirts.