If you had asked me 15 years ago if I would ever ride my mare Luna without a bridle, I would have most certainly laughed and answered with a quick “no!”. Back then, Luna often went by the nickname “Luna-tic”, and I have to say, at the time, the shoe fit. You may be wondering – how did we get from the hot horse who earned her nutty nickname to a trustworthy teammate? The short answer is lots of time, trust, and building a partnership. And for the long answer, keep reading below!

When I first purchased Luna as a very green 7-year-old, I have to admit that we didn’t get along very well. She was the complete opposite personality of my previous horse, my first mare, and very sensitive (that part has not changed). She is a Connemara/Thoroughbred cross, and while she is very intelligent, she didn’t always put her smarts towards good behavior. We butted heads frequently, and I actually listed her for sale in the first year I had her. When no one else wanted to take her on, I figured I’d just have to keep working with her and see where we could go.

Over the years, Luna and I slowly began to build an understanding of each other. I learned (mostly the hard way) that you can’t actually force her into doing anything, you simply convince her that whatever you want her to do is her idea. I also began to better understand exactly how far I could push her without going too far, and how to help her become more comfortable in new situations.

Eventually, Luna became an excellent dressage horse, which was a perfect fit for her love of routine and her sensitive nature. She loved to be in the show ring where all eyes were on her, and she always put on what I called her “game face” during her dressage tests. I loved learning new movements with her and moving up the levels, and we still practice dressage today.

As Luna became older (she is 22 this year), she developed some respiratory issues that limited her ability to perform physically. Although I still ride her regularly, we no longer show, and she’s not able to do as much as she once was. To keep things interesting, we’ve recently started trying new things such as versatility and other horsemanship work. In addition to helping us both learn new skills, our confidence has increased as well as we tackle new challenges.

Earlier this year, I decided to set the goal of riding Luna bridleless. The idea came to me as we were cooling out after a winter ride in the indoor. We typically finish our rides on a loose rein to let her stretch and cool down. I realized that already I was able to pretty much steer her off of my seat and legs, and I wondered if I could eliminate my reins (and eventually bridle) altogether.

We began practicing with my reins tied and teaching Luna to go off of just a neck rope. She already knows voice commands as well as seat/leg cues, so I used these to help her understand what I wanted. She quickly picked up on basic steering and changes in gaits, and we regularly practiced with just the neck rope and no reins.

I knew we were ready to give it a try, but I’ll admit that I still had some trepidation. Luna can be spooky at times, and I worried she might startle, and then what would happen? Ultimately my desire to reach our goal won out over my fear, and I decided to go for it. I asked one of my barn mates to remove her bridle, and to capture the moment for me on my phone. I felt a wave of nervousness as I asked Luna to walk off, and she seemed just a little confused, but she easily followed my commands. As we moved around the ring and I gained enough confidence to pick up a trot, a grin appeared on my face. We were actually doing it! Luna was an absolute angel, and didn’t put a hoof wrong. The feeling of being so in sync with her was exhilarating, and I’ve never been prouder of her.

While I haven’t picked out our next goal yet, I’m looking forward to continuing to try new things with Luna and continuing to build our partnership. What are some goals that you’re working on with your horse(s)? Share them in the comments below!