Rajiyyah returns
The Grey Wonder Mare has been here a few weeks now and has settled in. We’re riding now with a sparkly new dressage saddle (yay clearance sale rooms at tack shops!), a brand new Collegiate Jessica Dressage saddle. Very comfy and fits her well.
It’s interesting riding a mare I had five or six years ago. I’m a light rider with quiet hands and good leg position. The first time I got on her, she held her head up and seemed defensive. A day or so later, the vet came for spring shots, so everyone had their teeth checked. Poor girl had some sharp points on the back of her teeth. She had her teeth done and then a week off from riding to let her mouth heal. The next ride, my riding instructor watched me and gave me suggestions for encouraging Rajiyyah to relax onto the bit. She did very well. By the end of our ride, she was relaxed and walking along with her with good body movement and sway (indicating she was relaxed and feeling good). Progress!
I brought her out to play with her yesterday. I decided to try working with her as if she hadn’t left. So picking up where we left off when I had her in 2007. We started with free lunging in the big ring. To my amazement, she remembered everything (except whoa, of coarse — we’re working on that). She had a blast.