ridecamp@endurance.net: Re: Vosals...& Bits, etc.

Re: Vosals...& Bits, etc.

Patricia Henslee (Henslee@triax.com)
Mon, 11 Aug 1997 19:26:39 -0700 (PDT)

I'm glad the thread got started on the bits as I've enjoyed reading the
posts and learning from them. Right now, I have to give kudos to the
snaffle. I started riding 2 years ago on an Arabian stallion and I used a
mechanical hackamore because I was told that he would drink and eat
better than with a bit in his mouth. As long as I could turn his head, I
never worried about his running away with me--however, it was a
tug-of-war and my energy would drain very quickly. A few months ago I
started using a full-cheek snaffle and love it. If he doesn't listen to
my cues, I run my hand down the rein, give a little pull, his head turns
and he slows. Sometimes I may have to do this 2-3 times before he
decides to pay attention to what I want, but I've never worried about his
bolting with me. Maybe it's a good thing he has a great disposition.

We've got almost 1000 miles this year; I'm still learning to ride (altho
Ramey says I've improved a lot!) and he's still learning what he's
supposed to do. We've also started the Parelli course and hope for more
progress from that. Maybe somewhere down the trail I'll find that
something else will work better for us, but until then, I'm sticking with
that full-cheek snaffle.

Not to change the subject, but my biggest problem is being able to stop
along the trail and stand while other horses go on. Makes it real
difficult to make a pit stop! Does anyone else have this problem and if
so, how did you train for it. I thought maybe it's because he's a
stallion and he sees his herd going off without him.

Patricia and Sooner (who'd rather be a butt)

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