Flirt

Flirt continues to impress me! A previous trainer rode her yesterday and jumped her a lot, I think she gave her a good workout because Flirty didn’t even want to walk across the pasture today! Ha ha. We are continuing to get to know each other but I don’t know if we’ve really bonded yet. Oh well, this will all happen in time.
Today I set the jumps up a bit higher and we worked on a canter-in diagonal line, which consisted of 2 verticals (I--- --- ---I) and a trot-in outside line, which consisted of a large crossrail, and a large vertical (X--- --- ---I).
What I like about Flirt is that she has a nice, big horsey stride down the lines. I never have to worry about chip-ins there. I’ve found today that just riding her in half seat with a loopy rein through a course is the best and she seems to be most comfortable that way. I let my hands and legs do the talking and just stay off her back.
Today I switched her to a loose-ring French link snaffle (A dressage rider’s tried and true, am I right?) and I think it helped with the leaning and made it difficult for her to grab the bit and run through my hands. Her previous trainer and I agreed that she may not need her current full cheek snaffle with a sort of “edged” mouth (it’s not a slow twist, I can’t get the name). After all, she is young and we should take advantage of her soft mouth. She seemed to enjoy the play in the new bit so hopefully it will continue to benefit her.
My goals for her are to refine her flying changes and continue improving her canter stride adjustability.