lisa l aka marci
06-14-2007, 12:54 PM
A TROTTING horse! LOL......
Seriously, it wasn't bad - although I haven't ridden one in probably over a year.
Anyway, I went down to my neighbors yesterday afternoon to 'help' her with her 2 TB mares. The owner is a novice, and has been thrown/fallen off a few times now......she asked me if I could come down and possibly tell her what might be wrong, and/or help her out. She does know that one of the mares needs additional training work, both are OTTBs.....
Anyway, I started with the one with less 'training' time....I was told right up front that she has stopping issues (like DOESN'T!), and also does not turn very well. So......she saddled nicely, took the bit very nicely, lunged quietly for me, stood next to the mounting block for me to get on....all GREAT things.........
As soon as I put any pressure on her mouth, she started to open her mouth and pull against the bit......she didn't fight it, but I'm wondering at this point if the bit is not comfortable for her......creases were just right, teeth are ok etc.......so, we just started with a walk, and I worked with as light hands as possible.......lo and behold, after about 10 minutes, she stopped the gaping mouth etc!
I'm wondering if she was just testing me, or expecting to have her mouth yanked on etc.....she does yield some to leg pressure, and I showed the owner how to use leg in conjunction with the rein to get her to turn. This seemed to work a lot better than just using direct rein to turn.
I had left the halter on, and had hooked up a lead line to use as an 'emergency brake', as she does respect the nose pressure more than the bit....thankfully I didn't really have to use it. We had some nice walking and a bit of trotting, after about 20 minutes I had the owner get on her. She said it was like a diferent horse! It is amazing how a little bit of time to get to know the animal can make a big difference.
I did tell her that this is not a quick solution, what she needs to do is work on just walking and turning, stopping. She is not about to go galloping out across the fields (is getting both knees replaced next month!).......she is just HAPPY to be able to get on her girls and ride them around the padock.
The grin wasn't quite as big as a Paso Grin, but getting close as she told me how all she wanted to do was to be able to ride this horse before she has her knee surgery - as she was riding her around the paddock!
I also hopped on the other horse (smaller on thankfully - but BONY back! lol).......didn't even bother with a saddle/bridle since I knew she had more training time and also the owner has been riding her bareback with a halter (since she saw me do it with Marci LOL).......this mare was nice, responded well to the halter and I even did a little trot/jog! I'm so surprised my legs don't feel worse this morning!
Now all I need to do is convince her she needs a Paso! LOL.....I may try to get her up on Marci - too bad I didn't know her before she bought the two TBs.......would have hooked her up with a smooth ride first!
So, for all my rambling - anyone have other suggestions on working on the first mares' mouth, or input on why she might be pulling the bit? She doesn't try to run away, and as I said, she pretty much stopped it by the time we were done. Oh - the bit is a full-cheeck snaffle.
Back to work for me now! LOL
Seriously, it wasn't bad - although I haven't ridden one in probably over a year.
Anyway, I went down to my neighbors yesterday afternoon to 'help' her with her 2 TB mares. The owner is a novice, and has been thrown/fallen off a few times now......she asked me if I could come down and possibly tell her what might be wrong, and/or help her out. She does know that one of the mares needs additional training work, both are OTTBs.....
Anyway, I started with the one with less 'training' time....I was told right up front that she has stopping issues (like DOESN'T!), and also does not turn very well. So......she saddled nicely, took the bit very nicely, lunged quietly for me, stood next to the mounting block for me to get on....all GREAT things.........
As soon as I put any pressure on her mouth, she started to open her mouth and pull against the bit......she didn't fight it, but I'm wondering at this point if the bit is not comfortable for her......creases were just right, teeth are ok etc.......so, we just started with a walk, and I worked with as light hands as possible.......lo and behold, after about 10 minutes, she stopped the gaping mouth etc!
I'm wondering if she was just testing me, or expecting to have her mouth yanked on etc.....she does yield some to leg pressure, and I showed the owner how to use leg in conjunction with the rein to get her to turn. This seemed to work a lot better than just using direct rein to turn.
I had left the halter on, and had hooked up a lead line to use as an 'emergency brake', as she does respect the nose pressure more than the bit....thankfully I didn't really have to use it. We had some nice walking and a bit of trotting, after about 20 minutes I had the owner get on her. She said it was like a diferent horse! It is amazing how a little bit of time to get to know the animal can make a big difference.
I did tell her that this is not a quick solution, what she needs to do is work on just walking and turning, stopping. She is not about to go galloping out across the fields (is getting both knees replaced next month!).......she is just HAPPY to be able to get on her girls and ride them around the padock.
The grin wasn't quite as big as a Paso Grin, but getting close as she told me how all she wanted to do was to be able to ride this horse before she has her knee surgery - as she was riding her around the paddock!
I also hopped on the other horse (smaller on thankfully - but BONY back! lol).......didn't even bother with a saddle/bridle since I knew she had more training time and also the owner has been riding her bareback with a halter (since she saw me do it with Marci LOL).......this mare was nice, responded well to the halter and I even did a little trot/jog! I'm so surprised my legs don't feel worse this morning!
Now all I need to do is convince her she needs a Paso! LOL.....I may try to get her up on Marci - too bad I didn't know her before she bought the two TBs.......would have hooked her up with a smooth ride first!
So, for all my rambling - anyone have other suggestions on working on the first mares' mouth, or input on why she might be pulling the bit? She doesn't try to run away, and as I said, she pretty much stopped it by the time we were done. Oh - the bit is a full-cheeck snaffle.
Back to work for me now! LOL