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RE: [RC] Bitting Issue - Rae CallawayI had a mare that had control issues. "Walk" was not a word in her vocabulary and trot was a foreign concept. She could canter at a standstill to a full out run and every speed in-between. I had a long-shanked tom thumb on her and we had control, but it was barely leashed control and she had the potential to explode at any moment. What worked for us was lessons. I went to a show ring trainer and we started taking basic lessons, teaching her to give to pressure, flex and listen. Sure, it was boring and sure, she was a different horse in the arena than the trail, but as my trainer explained it, we wanted to get these techniques and cues into my mare's brain so that responding was an automatic response, regardless of where her head was. Our next step was group trail rides. We would practice being in every position in the group - front, middle or last. Sometimes we'd lead the hot shoes and sometimes we'd stay back with the greenies while the hot shoes took off. Or, we'd walk back with a newbie who got scared and over their heads. We'd cross the creek 20 times to help someone get their horse confident enough to try. It is absolutely awesome to have a horse that I can trust now to listen to me in all situations. In my opinion, there's no shortcut for training. If you don't know what to do, find someone who can help. Show training was my choice because of the trainer that I knew and trusted, but anything that focuses on the basic movements of the horse and focus would be good. And time. Lots of time. Rae =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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