I showed her the bridle before I was gonna put it on her and she understood the assignment and tried to put it on herself. She put the bit in her mouth and tried to force her head into the rest but it was not in the proper position. When I fixed it, she gave me no issues putting it on and stood like an angel while I adjusted it.
I am aware the one rein is in the wrong position lol. I wasn't doing anything with her other than try the bridle on, so I left it where it was and fixed it after we were done lol.
I'm gonna get a better bit and prettier reins on Saturday. I'm gonna get her a bit that has a lil roller on it so she can play with it and keep her mouth busy so she doesn't get bored.
According to her old owner, she's been ridden with mostly bareback pads and bitless bridles/hackamores. I'm opting for a snaffle bit for now just so I can have more control in the beginning in case she gets wound up. I have a really nice bareback pad on the way that has safe stirrups and an "oh shit" handle. I'm more comfortable in an actual saddle, so this bareback pad is the best parts of both lol.
She hasn't been ridden in at least 7 years, so I'm going in expecting her to be green broke again. She might surprise me tho! She's always surprising me with how smart she is! I have some friends who are pro trainers/horse flippers who said they'll hop on her first to get a gauge on how much she remembers. That's if she's cleared for riding on the 30th. Everyone expects her to be, but you never know.
Sissy was bigger than Sandy, but that's how I learned to ride a horse, completely bareback.
My parents aren't normal, maybe they shouldn't have sent me out riding Sissy at age 7 with no gear, but I learned to ride a horse bareback before I learned to ride a bicycle..
I know a lot of people who were just thrown on horses like that as kids. I have always ridden with a saddle and a helmet, but I was thrown on horses as a kid that I def should not have been on lmao. All green as hell except for my mare. My childhood mare was an old white Arabian that was a chubbier version of Sandy. Same attitude and coat pattern lol. She and I were going to do competitive barrel racing. She knew the pattern herself, so all I had to do was get on and say "let's go" and she'd go through the barrel pattern on her own as fast as she could. All I had to do was hold on. She colicked before we could start racing for real, though.
You caught an opportunity that I missed.
Sissy got struck by lightning..
Wait what. Fr?
This is sadly for real.
We had a ~40 acre horse ranch at the time, I was only 7 years old..
Parents arrange a party under a tarp and a few pine trees with many of their friends.
I'm only 7 at the time, parents waking me up in the rain, basically saying get out of the rain..
Later that evening, I learned we lost Sissy...
I'm so sorry
If I could send Sandy an apple, I would.
Thank you for understanding.
That's so tragic, especially for a young child. I am so sorry.
Barrel racing is fun! I'm sorry about the colick.
It's how I learned.