Scarlett Lunging in August

These photos are taken by Mercy today while I lunged Scarlett before riding today.  We are just starting side reins in earnest, which are left very long.  I have not worried about frame at all with this horse, presently working on forward and straight and delighted with long and low and forward.  She has such a tendency to go up and inverted that a nice, relaxed forward with a lowered head has been our goal this far.

Here you will notice that my side reins to not go to the bit--they are attached to the noseband of the Miklem bridle.  Scarlett is so very responsive to the bit, it would be too much at this point to attach something fixed, even with elastic. I'd rather keep the mouth sensitive to following hands.  Plus my experience with putting the hotter, sensitive horse in something that "holds" their mouth has been that they can go up or at least lose "forward."  And of course, I cannot STAND to ride (or even watch) horses that carry their nose behind the vertical.  This horse needs to gallop right to the fences and be able to collect back-to-front while eyes up, ears forward.  I would rather start slow and solid with a long period of long-and-low to avoid the dreaded behind-the-vertical.

 We did ride after the lunging but it began to thunder and my photographer lost interest.