What a great
story. I've followed all your RC stories of you and Banner working through
various rough spots, and unknown to you those stories have encouraged
and inspired me to keep on keeping on with the various horses I've had during
the past few years. . . long quest to find another good
endurance horse. I've had some criticism at times for continuing to work
with a horse that others believe should be passed on to another home. But
as you know and are proving, it takes some time to gain the trust of
some horses, those who have been frightened or hurt by others take
longer.
I have such a
horse who is very sensitive and has past experiences with insensitive
people and in about 10 months with me she has gained greatly in her
trust of me and her surroundings. We have a way to go but we're making
good progress. She has also had bitting troubles. Because of her
past in the show world I would imagine that she was ridden only in snaffles but
until a couple of days ago I hadn't found a snaffle or any bit that she was
happy with. It appears now that the Myler big D ring snaffle is a good one
for her. At least she no longer resists my hand and will drop her nose
when asked to halt, but like Banner she doesn't have a smooth trot under
saddle. At liberty she moves beautifully, very light, and looks
smooth. After hearing about your success with a side pull I'm wanting to
try that on her. Will have to scare up one from somewhere since I've never
used nor owned one.
