"In the hands of a master horseman who has learned to ride with seat and legs and who hardly uses the reins when riding a fully trained horse, the most severe bits may be completely pain-free," Cook states. "Conversely, a supposedly simple snaffle in the untutored hands of a novice can become an instrument of torture."
Heather Moffett pioneered the teaching of riding with horse movement simulators and has taught and lectured worldwide with them. She developed a 'hands on' unique method of showing the rider the precise movements of lower back and pelvis in order to synchronise their movements exactly with those of the horse, producing a very quiet, but effective Classical seat. Even long established faults in riding can be easily corrected, 'feel' can be taught, and the horse is also saved any discomfort in the process.
I think you have to have a special connection with your horse to be able to ride without a bit. Some people *need* a bit to "control" their horse. But if a horse is willing to lend you his legs, and his mind connects with your mind, it should be a ride that does not need any pulling or yanking on the reins.
1. We DO NOT need to show up with our hair combed, make up on and wearing a clean shirt.
2. Moaning, groaning and complaining about aching muscles is perfectly acceptable, as is taking Motrin prior to a ride.
3. Helping someone on or off the horse does not mean the rider is an invalid. It only means the horse got taller overnight.
4. No one will comment about how big someone's butt looks in a saddle.
5. Everyone will wait, patiently, while someone dismounts and adjusts equipment. Everyone will also wait, patiently, until that person remounts and is ready to move on...no matter how long that takes.
6. When a horse is acting up we will accept that the horse is just having a bad hair day and it is not the rider's fault.
7. Mentioning it is too hot, too dry, too humid, too wet, too buggy, etc., is considered self expression, not whining.
8. Wanting to be first , last, walk, or just stop does not mean the rider is a wimp. Sometimes it is necessary to teach a horse who is in charge.
9. We will take the time to discuss the important issues of the day like who is dating who, who is cheating on who and any other relevant information which needs to be passed on.
10. Not keeping your horse at the Gaited Horse/Warp Speed (if we all ride gaited horses) is not a Federal Crime. With all that is going on today, the FBI has too much on it's plate to follow us around.
11. We will acknowledge that horses are very strange animals and sometimes for no reason at all we fall off of them. If this happens to any rider the other riders will ascertain that the person is okay and then not mention the incident to another living soul, especially husbands and significant others.
12. We will acknowledge, without apology, that riding more than 2 1/2 hours increases our grumpy level far more than any ego benefits we may get from riding lon ger.
13. Our horses are not fat they are big boned.
14. Looking at my bouncing fat is NOT an acceptable way of determining if I have a good seat. My fat always bounces, thank you. It is cushion I carry in case I fall off.
16. Yes, I do have 7 horses and 6 saddles, did I ask you how many golf clubs your husband has?
17. Although I will beat your butt around the next corner I need to tell you again that "I am not competitive!"
18. No, I have not seen ANY correlation with the challenges of keeping a mare versus a nice, gentle, reasonable gelding and the fact that my husband says I am sometimes difficult and moody! What is your point?
19. I never "treat" my horses to anything I don't like myself. Ever tried hay?
20. I need to keep this Gaited Horse riding mysterious and strange sounding. If everyone else finds out how much fun it is the price of the horses will go up and I wont be able to afford a dozen of them.
This is Pamela a 6 yr old gaited mare. She is a former show horse who was ridden in a severe curb bit. My goal is to ride her bareback and in a halter. My plan is to treat her like a horse who has never been ridden. I've been working with her once per week over the last several weeks on haltering, leading, groundwork, and preparations to ride. When we first began it would take 30 minutes to get the halter on. She used to run off to the other side of the paddock at any suggestion that I might raise the halter to her head. Now she just walks off a few steps. We're down to just 5 minutes to halter. Clicker training has played a very prominent role in this process.
For further information about clicker training, please see:
Activate Your Horse's Core consists of a 95 minute DVD and a step-by-step manual with laminated pages and spiral binding that can be taken to the barn.
The DVD and manual show how to perform exercises that mobilize the joints and engage the muscles used to round and stabilize the horse's neck, back and pelvis during athletic activities.
In addition to improving strength and flexibility, these exercises will improve your horse's posture, self-carriage and balance, especially in the highly-collected movements.
The exercises are performed from the ground and do not require sophisticated equestrian skills or special equipment.
The exercises have been designed by a veterinarian and a physical therapist to improve performance and reduce the risk of injuries by strengthening the muscles of your horse's core.
Here's a possible way to slow down a horse's eating, especially those who are insulin resistant (however, my mare chips her teeth by trying to get the neighbor's grass thru the horse fence, so I don't know if the same would happen to her with a feeder like this, unless the grids were plastic or cloth, like the hanging hay net feeder):
