Re: No Control

[John Hawes <jphawes@mindspring.com>]

No big problem here.  Clearly what you need is a new wife who owns a faster
horse.  Any other problems you would like sorted out?  John.

At 11:02 AM 2/2/99 -0500, dave & abby bloxsom wrote:
>Bluebirdpr@aol.com wrote:
>> 
>> Now that I am again getting ridecamp messages, I need help.  If this
topic has
>> been overly discussed before, someone please let me know and I'll search
the
>> archives.  
>> I have a Rocky Mtn. mare who has a heart of gold and was a member
>> of the Rocky Mountain Drill Team before I bought her.  I started riding her
>> with endurance in mind and train by myself and sometimes with my wife
and her
>> Arab.  The problem is, she is a front runner and will do whatever it
takes to
>> get to the front, therefore leaving me with a horse which you can't
stop.  I'm
>> using a bit with a pretty severe port with 6" shanks.  I've tried three
>> different types of bits with no luck.  I rode her in a NATRAC ride and
could
>> not keep her back.  I have tried a hackamore which seems to help but still
>> have a fight on my hands.  I don't want to give up on this horse but riding
>> her in a group is not fun.  By herself she is as calm as you could ask
for and
>> a real treat to ride.  This is not a big horse 14.3 and I'm a heavyweight
>> rider.  I am not a novice rider and this mare has done the same thing with
>> other riders.  Any suggestions on bits, training, ect.... would greatly be
>> appreciated.  Thanks
>> 
>> Phil and the very powerful BLISS
>
>This is a complex issue, but I do have a couple of comments for you.
>
>First, remember that it's not the bit that stops the horse - although it
>looks like you've already found that out - it's the training.
>
>Second, your situation is complicated by the fact that you mostly ride
>alone, but since you do have a wife/horse available, you can probably
>help the issue with some work if she's willing to participate. 
>Essentially, you gotta go back to first grade (ok maybe 2nd grade).
>
>Third, you can go back into the archives and search the past 3 weeks or
>so for someone (eeek can't remember who) who wrote an excellent post
>about teaching a horse to wait on command until another horse gets
>ahead.  If you can't find it, write me back & I'll try to recreate it. 
>
>Fourth, since it sounds like your mare is pretty strong & determined,
>you may need to go all the way back to practicing this at the walk, and
>only letting the other horse get 3-4 steps ahead.  Basically, whatever
>level you can succeed at.
>
>Good luck, and let me know your results.
>
>-Abby Bloxsom
>