Kathy wrote:
>>You are absolutely right on this point about using the
seat. But this horse has will just lean against the bit and fight when
I set my hands if he's in race horse mode.<<
Any horse will
lean against set hands, race horse mood or not. That's why you use a
"give and take", not a steady pull, to stop a horse.
>>This is a
horse with strong race horse genetics, remember? Like several generations of
selection for flat racing in Russia and Poland,
huh?<<
Don't get much
racier-bred than my bred in the Purple Thoroughbred. He events in a
snaffle. It's about schooling, not braking power.
>>I, too, am
thinking that the kimberwicke would be better
ergonomically.
For your purposes
(you aren't jumping, and the horse is, I think, on a loose contact most of
the time) it might be. I'm still not convinced though.
>>I bet most of
the pathologies you mention come from incorrrect usage of the device, rather
than the device itself.
Actually, I agree with Heidi
here. The difference between a RM and other gadgets is that the RM is
independent of the rider's hands, and so it sits there, and you can't
control the effect it has, as you can with a Market Harborough / draw reins,
etc, which can be loosened by giving with the hands. Okay, so the
last-mentioned gadgets have a more direct action, when they are applied, but
I think you'll see how the RM could cause the pathologies, even if used
"correctly". And let's not even go where people don't fit
them properly.