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Re: [RC] Traffic Training - Chris PausHere's what I would do. First off, her skittishness in traffic tells you that she's not ready yet to be introduced to traffic. A stronger bit will not give her any more confidence. As you yank on the bit to get control, it will only reinforce in her mind that road rides are a bad thing... a. there's scary stuff out there and b. her rider hurts her when she's scared. I'd do more work on the snaffle and really gain your confidence and hers in a safe zone before introducing her to the world. when I took my 3YO out in traffic for the first time, I led her down to the end of my block and back about a quarter mile each way. The next time I rode her over that distance and back. We took it very slowly. I let her do lookie loos at everything and praised her for being calm. We gradually extended our forays out into the world as she gained confidence and I gained confidence in her. We did this with a bitless bridle which has about zero stopping power. I made sure we were very comfortable with each other first. I also made a few road rides with her and another rider on a very calm, road safe horse so she could learn from the other horse. My work paid off.I can ride her past construction equipment and all kinds of ugly noisy machinery, vehicles etc. because I took time in the way we introduced these things and didn't ask her for more than she was able to give on any particular day. The key is to train the horse that he or she will always be safe as long as you are on her or near her. She has to trust that you won't ask of her something she's not mentally or physically capable of doing. You are in the confidence building stage of training right now. If something rattles her and you, then you need to step back and do something that she and you are comfortable with. The real balance in working with horses is to challenge them enough to build their skills but not to overface them so they have a melt down. If you do that, your training is set back considerably. Less is more. Slower is faster. Stop when you get a right answer. As for the TT bit, I know there are lots of riders who use them. As with any bit, they are as harsh or mild as the rider's hands. But, my personal opinion is that they should all be melted down and reused as something more beneficial to society. They have a nutcracker effect, squeezing the horse's jaw and poking the roof of the mouth. I've seen SO MANY horses flipping their heads and trying to avoid the pain of these bits. I've seen very few riders who can really ride a horse well in one of these. Contrary to popular belief, they are not for training, but for the well schooled horse who already knows how to carry a bit and responds well so that the rider can use a feather light touch. One of my horses has a mental aversion to snaffle bits now because of thoughtless training with a TT bit from his previous rider. I've spent a lot of time working with this horse to help him overcome his fear of bits. Chris and Ali and Star who go well in an eggbutt snaffle and Zab who hates all snaffles of any kind because of TT bits. --- Ridecamp Guest <guest-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: Please Reply to: Belinda Romanuski bj3romanuski@xxxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ========================================== I need a bit of advice. I have just strated a 3 year old under saddle. She is great in the ring. She does serpentines, will trot out nicely, and stands to mount. She is only ridden for 15-30 minutes at a time. When she is ridden in the ring, she stops pretty much by voice, a deep "Whoa", usually is enough. Here is my problem. When I take her out and onto the dirt road, or even in the feild along the road, she bolts after cars pass by. There is no buck, and never faster than a tro, but it scares me a bit because for a breif period of time I have no control. I am curently riding with a D-ring snaffle. I would like to change it to a Tom Thumb. The woman who has helped with my filly's training, says "No Way". I do not often have anyone to ride with, so any solution has to be done with me and Cleo,(my horse). Would it help if I were to lead her down to a feild along my driveway and walk her along the side that reaches the road? I really need to get over this hump in her training. Thank-you in advance for your help and advice. Belinda =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ===== "A good horse makes short miles," George Eliot Chris and Star BayRab Acres http://pages.prodigy.net/paus =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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