Double Trouble

J/k it's not trouble, but I took my first lesson in the double last weekend!

Last night's ride 

Around a year ago, while I waited for Emmy to ship to me, a friend sent me a link to some super clearances bridles from Artemis Equine, including some double bridles. She knew I had a horse coming who had been ridden in one before, so thought I might be interested in picking one up. Despite thinking I would probably never need it, my little squirrel hoarder brain couldn't pass up a $50 bridle. So I bought it. And it sat in my tack room. 

After our lesson, taking a picture of the port on the Weymouth to use as a reference for shopping for something smaller. Ordered a new one from Fager that I hope she likes! 

Sometime last summer, I was cleaning out the tack shed, stumbled across it, and put it together for shits and giggles. I had a bridoon and a Weymouth that I picked up cheap from #notRolex at some point, so I set it all up and fitted it as best I could to Emmy, using Internet tutorials and my patient friends who know more than me 🤣 and then it sat. Once or twice I pulled it out and trail rode her in it, mostly trying to get myself used to all the reins. About a week before the show I was thinking about it, so I did a light schooling ride in it, and she felt SO MUCH BETTER in the contact than she had been in the snaffle, which I mentioned to TrainerB at the show. Obviously showing 2nd, I didn't take it with me, but she told me to bring it out sometime. So last weekend I did (along with two other bridles, because I wasn't sure she was serious lol). 

Random non cropped screenshot

TrainerB commented on how nice the bridle was (incidentally between when I bought it and now, she got sponsored by Artemis and now basically all the horses in the barn have their bridles, haha), and that my fitting job wasn't half bad! She adjusted the curb chain, told me the Weymouth was a quarter inch too wide (but fine for the moment), and we had a lesson!

Emmy was great - it was not my imagination, she is in fact much better in the contact in the double than a regular snaffle, despite me rotating through my fairly extensive collection of dressage legal snaffles trying to find something she liked. Honestly the decade she spent being ridden pretty exclusively in leverage bits before I got her probably just means she's always going to be more comfortable in them, I just need to adapt to what makes her happy. I did learn a more effective way to hold the reins, because figuring things out on my own didn't work, which is why I pay for regular, good instruction 🤣 

The goal remains to snag my 2nd level bronze scores as quickly as possible with Emmy, move her to 3rd (since she has a change and thinks counter canter is incredibly stupid lolol), and then hang out at 2nd with Ruby so I get more confirmed in not just riding it, but training it. I am tentatively aiming at shows in April, May, June, and August - assuming finances allow and the stars align! 

Speaking of stars aligning - I am down 20 lbs since Christmas and these brand new, unstretched Eq Lusso boots ZIPPED UP last night over leggings. Getting real close to being able to wear them over breeches! And my old pair is having the zipper replaced with something both wider and heavier duty 🥳

I'm using a combo of mobile blogger (for text) and the blogger app (for photos), so apologies for any weird formatting, I'm doing the best I can!