Re: Bits to Hackamores (reply)

["Glenda R. Snodgrass" <grs@theneteffect.com>]

> How d'you train your horse not zoom, when he never does normally...
> *until* that first endurance ride...?

Good question!  One I don't really know the answer to, and would love to 
hear from others.

I am currently operating under the assumption that part of the excitement
for Lakota was simply the excitement of having other horses to ride with
-- a rather rare occurrence for us.  So, with that in mind, I have jumped
at every opportunity to trailer him to other barns locally, to ride with
other horses, to get him more accustomed to this "ho-hum" activity and
hopefully take some of the edge off for him.  I must say, last weekend
when we did this, he was an absolute angel, even at the canter, didn't
pull a bit, just generally behaved exactly the way I've always dreamed. :)
And I had him in the snaffle, too, not the curb.  Of course, whether this
was a true improvement or merely a fluke remains to be seen ... <bg>

Glenda & Lakota