The Open Bridle Saga Continues!

My last blog post was about figuring out if your horse would prefer an open bridle or blinders. I explained that I had a feeling my driving mare would prefer the open bridle… after many years of driving in the blinders!

I have received my open cheek pieces and started her re-training in the open bridle.

First, I ground drove her a few times without the blinders. I chose a day when the wind was howling and it was late in the evening. She did great! Things that would have spooked her didn’t bother her at all. Then I ground drove her on a nice day in a different direction and again she did great! That told me she was ready to step up to the travois.

So, I drug the travois with her following it, then I had her come up beside me while I drug it, then I went ahead and hitched her to it! She walked off without a bobble. Just perfect.

The ultimate test is the cart of course! And today we went ahead and hitched to that. Sky did wonderfully. She was quiet and calm while I led her alongside the cart, then stood like a statue while I hitched her to the cart and off we went!

I will admit that I was nervous about driving her in an open bridle. She can be so unpredictable sometimes, but for her first time, she did great. I’m hoping to take her on a longer drive tomorrow.

We drove around our pasture today and then went for a short jog on the road. I’m very pleased with her!