Changing Out Bridles

 I never thought that just changing a bridle would help me and Sindri....

I've been riding Sindri for about 2 months now and he does in a simple bridle with a loose ring French link snaffle bit, he's always when in that, so I never gave it much thought 

Simple bridle 

Very smaller bit so what he is in now

When i first started riding him, his owner told me that his bridle is very old, she tried putting him in a newer bridle when she first got him, but he hated the noseband. I recently noticed that his noseband on his current bridle was cracking, so i asked on of the instructors at my barn if it would need to be replaced soon and they said yes.

I gave that info to Sindris owner who told me i could put him in the other bridle and she how he does with it now.

Bridle in picture: PS of Sweden High Jump Anatomical Bridle 

We kept the same bit when we switched bridles, but he rode like a different horse. I've been trying to work on our dressage, asking him to come into a frame but he wouldn't really give me much when i would ask him to move into contact. Once I switched out the bridle i was riding pretty much the same way but actually getting results - It was magical !

I did the USEA Starter Level Test A dressage test in my ride, just to kind of figure out where he was with it... Overall the test was really good... He was super nice offering me bend and headset, our shapes and lines weren't perfect because we had to maneuver around all the jumps and poles but we did the best with what we had.

A-X-M -- Enter working trot track left -- I made a right hand turn onto the centerline, our centerline wasn't perfectly straight but it was pretty close, he had a bit of right bend coming up the centerline from our turn so we'll work on straightening that out. Our turn off centerline was a bit early because of jumps in the way but he was pretty straight in our line going back onto the rail and developing our left bend

E -- Circle left 20 meters -- Our circle definitely wasn't round or 20 meters trying to go around all the things set up (next time I'll ride in whatever ring has less jumps set up...) but he had consitanint bend and stayed soft through the circle.

A -- Circle left 20 meters developing left lead canter in first quarter -- I didn't prepare him enough for the transition into canter, he had such a nice trot i didn't want to ruin it by preparing for the canter to soon, so he scrambled a bit when i asked him to canter and picked up the wrong lead so i brought him back down to the trot and restarted from E where we did our trot circle - this time we got our lead, our circle was about 30 meters but it was a very good canter and round circle.

Between F and B -- Working trot -- Our downwards transition took a stride or two but he moved right into a nice trot with good bend.

Between M and C -- Working walk -- he came down almost like he was thinking halt but i pushed him into the walk and he got moving at a nice walk.

H-X-F -- Change rein free walk -- His free walk was very nice and stretchy, I probably could have let him stretch down more through his neck and gotten a longer walk but it was overall a really good really straight diagonal.

Between F and A -- Develop medium walk -- Very good transition into contact and accepting bend, I thought he would anticipate trotting when i shortened my reins but he surprised me.

Between A and K -- Working trot -- He moved into the trot quite well, braced a bit through the bend but that was expected more than to the left... 

E -- Circle right 20 meters -- Good circle, could have had a bit more bend and impulsion but still good.

C -- Circle right 20 meters developing right canter in first quarter -- Our circle was a better size, I prepared a bit to much for this transition, trying to make sure I prepared this time, so our transition was a bit rushy which transferred into the quality of our canter, had good bend though.

Between M and B -- working trot -- Because our canter was a bit rushy our transition was a bit choppy, still found a good trot with a decent bend.

K-X-G -- Down centerline working trot -- I had read the test wrong and came up the centerline at A instead of K... semi straight center line.

G -- Halt and salute -- Our halt definitely needs work, he fell to the left and braced through his neck in transition, he stood well for 3 seconds.

When you break it down it's easier to see what needs work, I think overall it was a solid test for us, showing the areas we need work, so now I can break down the sections that need improvement. I was very happy with how he did, he got lots of treats after I untacked him!!