Re: RC: Long shanks and "stopping power"...

[BMcCrary27@aol.com]

In a message dated 04/06/2000 3:22:02 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
janm_97@yahoo.com writes:

<< I'm 47 years old and it's really taken me a lifetime to get to the point 
where
 I feel that finding a type of "power" in a horse's mouth to make them stop is
 the exact opposite of what our goals should be.  Actually, a cold-mouthed 
horse
 taught me that.
 
 He was a runaway when I bought him (20 years ago), and strength wasn't the
 answer because he could run all day long with his head pulled around to his
 knee.  I went back to ground-zero.  Ground training like he was a wee baby.  
I
 never got on him again until "whoa" penetrated to his brain that he was to 
stop
 and stand still until told to do otherwise.  He also learned the meaning of
 "WALK!" and "eaaaasyyyyy" (said soothingly).
 
 Fortunately for me, this horse had breeding up the wazooo...Peppy San and
 Hollywood Gold...and he had brains and wanted to learn, tried to please.  
We'd
 never have accomplished what we did without his great potential.
 
 When I got done with him I could team pen on him in the mildest snaffle bit 
you
 could ever find.  With fingertip control. Actually using more seat and legs
 than hands. We just learned to communicate, that's all....and believe me, it
 took YEARS.  Which is interesting.  It probably only took a few rides for his
 previous owner to turn him into a runaway (he was gonna be a "barrel horse" 
for
 her...LOL!).  Took me years to teach him he HAD a mouth again....
 
 I see anything other than a mild bit that the horse likes (some horses LIKE a
 heavy bit, some like iron, some like a bosal, some like a mechanical
 hackamore---I have no problem with the horse liking a certain thing)...but 
if I
 see something with it's head tied down, with a long shanked bit, and with all
 kinds of tie this up and tie this around and push this up here...I can't help
 but think "needs training".  (Rider)
  >>

I'm somewhat older than you and I have just discovered exactly what you are 
saying.  And I've found a trainer who has two philosphies...."My horses do 
what I ask of them because they trust me" and "I teach a horse that the 
safest place to be is WHOA".  This trainer started a young Arab for me last 
year and he is quite sane and sensible for a 5 year old (coming up 6).  I 
took him on his first ride last Saturday (a 25 miler) and it was an exciting 
experience.  No hysteria, no fighting, just a little natural anxiety which I 
feel strongly will go away with time and experience.  Actually, most of it 
went away by the time we had done 13 miles and completed the vet check.  The 
second leg of the ride was great and he ate and drank like a champ.  I'm 
really looking forward to riding this gelding for many, many years to come.

Barbara