Re: Martingales/conformation

["Visions of the Wind" <wind@visionsofthewind.com>]

I use a running martingale to train a horse that when I 'bump' his mouth in
a see-saw pattern (left-right-left-right) he should drop his head. This give
me the angle that, with slight, steady pressure on the reins, gets him to
tuck his chin a little, come back to the bit, and round up. I was still
working on this with my mare, and she was making progress by leaps and
bounds (figuratively, not literally! ;-) and my stallion knows this well by
now. I no longer need a martingale on either of them to get this response.
For the horses I've had, it was merely a matter of time, patience, and
training! I know some horses are pretty hard-headed though, so you STILL
have to consider each horse individually!

Stephanie McCray
Golden, CO