Best Vday Ever

I couldn't have asked for more. My little mare is amazing. I love her to bits. I honestly wasn't expecting much- whenever I really and truly just need a good ride, she usually tries to buck me off.  I didn't /need/ a good ride yesterday- I wasn't pining or wallowing or anything, but it would have been nice to mark the day with something special like Rush being the bestest pony ever. And she came through!

The offending bit

I had switched bits out earlier this week, meaning to try out a new bit just for funsies, but didn't have a chance to ride in it until yesterday. I usually ride her in a plain D-ring snaffle, nothing complicated, but she's never seemed 100% with it- always gaping at the mouth or chomping noisily. I had a Happy Mouth french link loose ring that somehow made it into my bit collection a few months ago, and I hadn't tried it out yet, so I gave it a shot. And now I'm never going back!

Then we got a haircut

She was stellar. One of our biggest problems has been her bracing and ducking and just fighting the contact in general. She's never been steady in the bridle, 100%, no questions asked. And in this bit.. she is. It honestly felt spectacular, like a huge breakthrough. This ride was the first one she's ever truly felt like a hunter to me- I've always been worried about her, since she's never seemed capable of relaxing into a loose frame and just carrying on. Her trot was beautiful and relaxed, her canter was beautiful and relaxed, and her jumping was beautiful and relaxed, and I don't think I've ever been able to describe a ride on her like that before.

I even knocked the jump up from an itty bitty 2' to something around 2'6, and I didn't feel nervous jumping it at all! It didn't even look super high to me. Progress!