RE: from bit to Hackamore/Vosal etc-head carriage

["Kathy Mayeda" <Kathy_Mayeda@atce.com>]

Title: RE: from bit to Hackamore/Vosal etc-head carriage

Jim Holland said:

I want my horse to relax, stick out his nose and
go on a loose rein, giving him the option of dropping  his head in order
to stretch his back.

You can do this with a bit, too.  Just because you have a bit doesn’t mean he can’t lower his head.

 I don't ride "collected" or have my horse "on the
bit" any more that I absolutely have to, even at speed. It's much easier
to communicate with your body.

I ran into biomechanical problems with my horse and have to ride him collected once in awhile to build up his back muscles.    It is preferable for the horse to be using his back while under saddle, and that sometimes requires a little “collection”.    “On the bit” according to dressage principle would actually promote communication through the body.  Doesn’t mean hard mouth contact at all.

For example, you should be able to go
from a walk to a trot to a canter and back to a walk without using ANY
rein cues. If there is no pressure on his head or mouth, then the head
position will be what's comfortable for him, which after all, is the
goal...a relaxed, balanced, comfortable way of going....from his
perspective.  I may cue him lightly with the reins to ask him to slow
going down a hill, or through a bad spot, but the longer I ride him, the
more he reads my mind. I "think" about what I want him to do, and he
does that. Of course, I am inadvertantly cueing him....he reads my body
movement....horses can recognize an unbelievably tiny cue.

Agree with this totally

I like the Arabian S-Hack because it's small, lighweight, gives me
enough leverage to get thru the ride start, and doesn't hang below the
horse's mouth....he can slurp up the water in a hooprint if he wants to.

However, the start of a ride is different...he may be under control and
"asking" to go, but he will be "asking" with a lot more energy!  <grin>
It's been my experience that when you're holding the horse back at a
ride start, a hack tends to make the horse "tuck" his nose and arch his
neck, whereas in a bit, some horses will throw their head up when you
hold with a lot of pressure.  IMHO, the former is preferable...less
likely to stumble (he can see where he's going) and has better balance.

Riding with direct contact with a bit has not been an intuitive process for me.  Took a few lessons to learn to cue a horse with the bit so that he doesn’t throw his head up in the air.  It is an educational process for both horse and rider.  I am longlining my 4 year old so that he learns to yield to the bit instead of throwing his head up in the air and he’s coming along nicely.  He was going well with just a rope halter, but I feel more comfortable having him broke to a bit.  Accepting the bit was not intuitive for him, either.

No really good answer.....depends on the horse....and most of all, the
rider. Hmmm.. I think I have filled in the background with so many
details the foreground went underground! :)

You are absolutely right, there are no pat answers here.  Just experimentation to find out what’s best!

Jim, Sun of Dimanche, and Mahada Magic

guest@endurance.net wrote:
>
> Ray O. rno2m@virginia.edu
> What is the general result of takng a bit out of the horse's mouth re head
> position,and forehand balance? "All other thing being equal,etc",what are
> the changes-other than brakes?
>
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--
Richard T. "Jim" Holland
Three Creeks Farm
175 Hells Hollow Drive
Blue Ridge, GA 30513
(706) 258-2830
FAX (706) 632-1271




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Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.   
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp  
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