A Savvy Mom's Journey - Lisa and Duck: July 2009

Life Goals: 1. Ride Bridle-less. CHECK!!!!!!!!

I've been wanting to ride Bridle-less for SO long! As long as I have loved horses (which is as far back as I can remember) the idea of having the communication to ride without a bridle has always fascinated me. The type of partnership required for that kind of riding is the kind of partnership I knew I wanted. And that was WAY before I knew about Parelli or any other natural horsemanship.

When I was 13 I bought a book about riding bridle less, but it never worked. And then with Kira I was getting just to the point where we were getting close to it but then I had to make the decision to send her to her new home and start all over with Duck. So I never got there with Kira.

Perhaps that desire of that type of partnership is why I was SO quick to take on the "Parelli" way when I was finally introduced to it at a tour stop so long ago in Utah in 2002. I saw not only one person ride bridle less, but tons more on the savvy team. People that started as regular as I was and ended up with such great relationships with their horses. That and the whole way of thinking about horses was what I had always wanted. I am totally amazed and love the learning that occurs by constantly trying to"read" my horse and her body language.

So last week we finally did it! Duck and I went Bareback and Bridle-less in our large practice arena. I wasn't going to do it at first, but then I realized that it just comes down to a matter of trust. Do I trust her enough not to take off and buck me off? Did I trust that I had laid down the lines of communication well enough to be understood without the safety net of the rein to stop her? One of my biggest concerns are the sudden "spooks" that all horses can have. The "what if" scenario kept running through my head. After all, Duck is still pretty green, and we've been together less than 2 years.

Turns out I did trust her! But it was kind of like the first time you go rock climbing. You are SO excited to get up that wall and then you realize once you get going that someone else is holding your very life in their hands at the bottom. The higher you climb the farther it is to fall. I had to learn to trust my belayer to climb, and I needed to take the plunge and trust Duck, too.

That being said I didn't just jump on and ride bridle-less because it struck my fancy. No, I've been putting in a lot of effort to refining our communication to the point that I felt safe enough to go there. Ever since I got home from the Carol Coppinger clinic in June I have been practicing NOT touching my reins, so doing a lot of carrot stick riding with 1-2 sticks.

I've learned a lot about balance. And I've learned even more about how to communicate with Duck. I was doing a TON of micromanaging with the reins prior to the clinic in June. So my independent seat has come a long way, too

So here's how it went. A friend and fellow Parelli student at my barn Liz offered to take some pictures of Duck and I with her nice camera so we played with our horses in the arena and then went to the pond and did that. (Those cute pics to follow in the next post). Then we went back the arena and I was in there talking to Liz saying "I really want to ride bridle-less" and she says well "why don't you?" to which I reply "I am scared to take off the halter." So she says "well just take off the lead then and start with that." So I did a few steering and brake checks and then unclipped the leadrope. A few straight lines and a couple turns that went smoothly bolstered my confidence and Duck seemed to be doing well. So off it all came! We were totally "naked" besides the savvy string around her neck.

And off we went! We did walk, trot, halt transitions, played with the figure 8 a few times and even took a shot at sideways (we need more practice on that for sure!). All in all, 10 minutes or so and I was BEAMING! I kept telling Liz how happy I was and how for so long I had waited for this moment. For a minute I really did think I was going to cry!

And then she came up with the brilliant idea that she still had the camera so she went and got it and took some pictures! How cool is that? Pictures of our very first Bridle-less ride!

All I can say is YEAH!!!!

Here we are on the figure 8