Re: [RC] Cruppers & breast collar - Ed & Wendy Hauser
Breast collars: The "Y" shaped ones work much
better than western ones. They do not prevent horses from lowering heads
as much, and by riding with the slope of the shoulder prevent
rubbing.
We have used both neoprene covered, and
biothane. Both have worked fine on our horses. We now prefer the
biothane. They are a bit cheaper, and easy clean. We have sets in
different colors so each horse has his/her own color. Makes tacking up
easier.
Crupper: I have both neoprene and traditional
leather stuffed with whatever. We have not had problems with either.
We have not used the vinyl tube ones. The leather does need to be cleaned
and oiled at intervals.
Training: We have never had a problem with
training, and only one horse really react. We go to a safe area (round pen
or whatever), put a lounge line on the halter. Saddle up. Put on and
adjust the breast collar. Put on the crupper. The horse probably
will clamp his/her tail. Lounge for a bit. Then standing beside,
jerk on the crupper. If reacts, lounge a bit more. Eventually, when
the horse will stand with no reaction, half mount and jerk. When this is
old, mount and jerk. Ride and jerk.
Break this into as many lessons as the horse seems
to need. By the time you can ride around in a ring or corral and jerk on
crupper the horse is trail ready. This process has taken us from one to 5
lessons depending on the horse. Using this method, we never have had a
reaction on the trail when the crupper tightens.
When you first start using a crupper and breast
collar, you will be amazed that you can now see the different places you put a
saddle on a horse, by how the crupper is looser or tighter than the last
time.
Ed
Ed & Wendy Hauser 2994 Mittower
Road Victor, MT 59875
