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Re: [RC] bit suggestions for Morgan - Lucie Hancock

Karen,
I don't ride a Morgan, but in my humble opinion, a horse is a horse. They have a tendency to think alike.


I cannot advise you about bits. I ride one of my horses with a hackamore, one in a full cheek snaffle and one in a bitless bridle, each for different reasons, that have to do with the individual differences in the horses.

What I have found that works when my mares or gelding become "hardheaded" is to play games with them on the trail. I have taught them these games in the round pen, and the pasture. (I do not have access to an arena.)

I first teach them that "whoa" means stop and back up a step, not just "halt." I teach them a one rein stop. Almost throw one rein away, shorten the other rein to get the horse's noose almost to your knee. Only release when all four feet are still, and the horse softens and gives you the rein. This is to be done both on the right side and the left side. I also teach them to yield to leg pressure so that I can move them right or left or move hindquaarters or shoulders over while still moving forward. Then, when I take them on the trail, and they begin to go faster than I want, or get "hard headed" I begin playing these little games with them. I mix up the sequence, so that each time they do something different. (Keeps them from anticipating.) We might circle to the left one time. a one rein stop to the right next time, back up four or five steps, or move a body part right or left. It does n ot take the horse long to figure out that trying to do something other than what I want means more work. My most recent "convert" is a 14 year mare that had been through many "bad starts" with different owners. In March, we rode the Sandhills Stampede in South Carolina. The first loop of the 50 mile distance was 20 miles. The first twelve miles we played these games, and were truly last place when she finally sighed, literally, relaxed, and the rest of the ride was pure joy. We moved up in our placing and finished 44th, which was in front of a few horses, that she got to pass on the trail, so she learned that listening is better. Now that she's back at home, even my grandchildren take her on the trail with light contact, and are amazed at the difference in her. I suspect that if the loop had been only 12 or 13 miles, there would not have been a lenghty enough period of good experience to really teach her the pleasure of cooperating with her rider. We did all this in a bitless bridle, no metal in her mouth at all.

It sounds to me like your horse has the skills and knowledge to play these "games." If she's dressage trained, just ask her to do those movements on the trail, and reward her with very light contact when she does the right thing. I do not think you need to change your bit at all, just change the way you manage a trail ride. Teach her to respect you on the trail as well as in the arena. Then teach her that cooperation can be pleasant. The first few endurance rides you take her to, treat them as training rides, and be consistent with her. And if you are doing 12 mile trail rides now, she could probably do a slow limited distance ride. There are some things that they can only learn at the rides, no matter how well they are trained at home. I think the horses catch excitement from the other horses.

Play these games at home, and try riding farther than the twelve miles a few times. Start looking for a ride to take her to. And may you two have many happy trails togetherrr.
God bless you.
Lucie H.


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for a wet, tired female Endurance Rider! A good crew person has patience, a
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