I was going to head down to the arena again today to try out one more bitting option on Jetta (a low port solid mouth Kimberwicke) but instead I headed up the canyon with a friend. It turns out I made the right choice since I had a super fun ride on Jetta.
We decided after all the rain yesterday, we'd try the Corral Road. Normally it's a rocky hard-packed dirt road which I avoid this time of year, but today the footing was great! Still rocky in places, but damp enough to give a little. The road climbs two thousand feet in about two and a half miles-so it's a pretty tough climb, but let me tell you, Jetta trotted out like it was nothing. NOTHING. She made it seem easy. My friend's quarter horse Toby told the truth, though, and the truth was it was hard. We walked when we needed to let him catch his breath! It was cool and breezy, and Jetta was loving it and felt like she could have trotted all the way! It was a great feeling to know that her conditioning is really coming along even though we are still "just" trail riding. Our trails are in the mountains and that gives her a workout!
We walked all the way back down (Tammy jogged because she is a self-punishing type! Haha!) and I did get off and walk a little, too. Jetta was relaxed and comfortable in the bitless bridle all the way! I still love this girl!
I took her home, hosed her down, turned her loose with a couple of flakes of hay, and loaded Keno to head out to Dog Valley for a short ride in the desert. He felt great--we trotted a couple of miles, galloped a long stretch, and did some "dressage-on-the-trail" training all the way back to the trailer. He is always a good boy and a fun ride!
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