Do You Ride Horses? V.4

[Harleen Quinzel]

@monchele I keep his bit in a warmed tack room. When we got him he was a toothpick, where you could see every rib, and we think he was just ridden Dressage over and over and basically ridden to death with his head constantly in a headset. I use him for 4-H barrel shows (usually ride bit-less) and he holds his head all the way up and I'm only 5'2 so to get his bit in, if he gives me trouble, I'm not tall enough to reach all the way up. He's almost 16hands

[June Bug]

Ugh, I caught something over the weekend and my mind is a little funny right now. Please excuse any incoherency. xP

@SassieC
Is he headshy as well, or does he only react when you attempt to approach his mouth?
In either case, do your best to avoid forcing him to take the bit. Be calm and reward him when he doesn't fight it. When he does take the bit, take some time to reward him, then remove it right away. Repeat a few times so he starts to learn that having a bit in his mouth isn't a bad thing. Eventually, he should easily accept the bit.
I hate hearing about people overworking their horses like that. :/ But unfortunately, some people assume that working dressage is not as physically or mentally taxing as things like jumping or barrels, so they think the horse can handle doing it for much longer, which is certainly not the case. It's a deceptively strenuous discipline and it can be so easy to fry a horse like that. Poor dude~

@Amy Pond
Too bad about getting eliminated, but you've got a good attitude about it and I'm glad to see you had fun despite that. x] Donny looks great too! I think I remember you posting a couple photos of you two doing dressage when he was still pretty new to you and it's hard to imagine he's the same horse! He looks so relaxed~

@Circean
You're right, Quarter horse isn't really a breed you see very often in the dressage ring, though judging by his build and muscling, I can totally see the dressage in him. It's a surprisingly good look on a quarter horse! (such a cute face too~<3)
He sounds like he'll be fun to work with, it's always interesting to introduce a horse to a discipline they're unfamiliar with and it's a great learning experience for the rider too. Definitely try to get some progress pics if you can! I'd love to see how he comes along. :]

@monchelle
I really like that charcoal! I think the navy may look a bit out of place if you've got a grayscale theme going on with everything else, but if you incorporate navy in another place as well (a bonnet and/or wraps maybe) it could look just as lovely. x]

____________________________________
So a few of the horses are in standing wraps right now (bad footing + long periods of being cooped up due to the nasty weather = stupid horse injuries), which is apparently why Grande/Alphonse has been getting so many hours as he has to be the fill-in for a lot of the upper-level horses. For some reason, almost all the ones who've hurt themselves are the advanced horses and he's one of the few who've managed to escape injury.
Also a little mad (but honestly not surprised) that one of the ones in wraps right now is actually in them due to a possible bowed tendon. :/ Considering that I can tell his wraps are badly done is not good. I know close to squat about wrapping (my boy doesn't need them and I don't jump) so if I can see that they're uneven or sloppy, it's not good. One of his regular riders does them well when she rides, but the other doesn't.

As far as my riding goes, does anyone have any tips on encouraging a horse to accept contact with the bit?
Grande/Alphonse doesn't seem to mind having a bit in his mouth (even reached for it sometimes when tacking up), but any contact at all in his mouth and he tucks his nose into his chest and sucks back. Pushing him into it seems to only make him want to put his nose up in the air. I'm trying to work on getting him to relax in the trot/canter and want to start working on getting him in frame, but he really seems to hate that bit. It's not anything nasty, just a loose, O-ring snaffle.
Would a bitless bridle help at all? I really want to try one (one of the simple ones that are essentially the same as other bridles sans bit) Should I try something like that to see if he's more accepting of that sort of contact, work on it that way, then go back to a bit? Or would that not work?

[.Scarlet.]

Hey everyone! I haven't been riding that much from the weather :s
Last ride went really well! except Ginger over jumped like a mad woman! she took off like 4 feet before the jump and went up about feet in the air. It was hardly a foot ._.
But it got better as the night went on and I was very pleased! hopefully we start cantering again soon. I was off for about 2 months because of work and weather so hopefully I can do that soon. I'm hoping to upload some older videos soon too!

[Namikaze~Sin]

So I had my first jump lesson on friday! I'm not looking for criticism on my position, I was thinking about my position as nerves took over and I had little to no idea what I looked like or what position I was even in. I know I need to put my hands further forward for starters! But I thought I'd share some pictures, because why ever not!


The first time we tried to jump he stopped. To be honest I think he just wasn't expecting it! I was the first one to jump so I guess he just assumed that we'd be going round the jump as before.


But the horse I was riding is called Lawson He is a 16.3hh Shire x Thoroughbred and therefore pretty round in the barrel and strong! He's an absolute bomb! Once you get him going forward you spend the rest of the lesson trying to apply brakes, which I find fun although tiring on the arms. We cantered along the long side of the school in jump position and he kept getting faster to the point of almost galloping! He was insanely excited! Then after we jumped twice he kept pulling to jump again, bless his heart he was so enthusiastic. He really is a lovely horse


This is his cutesie face :3

[ayeo]

Okay so I have to clear up a mistake I made, instead of Saying a Dutch warmblood, my phone auto corrected it to Danish warmblood without me noticing. Aha I apologize about that, and I just thought I would clear that up. XD

@monchele : aha thanks! I'll try to convince her to let me take a few photos, but if it's a no then I sadly can't do much about it XD

@bluebird22 : he's gorgeous, and I'm in love with that green halter and saddle pad. Good choice of colour! :)

@Nami : what a cutie! He's beautiful! :)

[Rebel Love Song]

@Nami, i think you guys look good! And Lawson is adorable!

Hey everyone! So i haven't been on in a little while, it's -9 degrees outside and we're snowed in again. -_- Anyway, i had my first jumping lesson on Monday! I rode a 12hh 22yo Welsh pony gelding named Marbles lol. At first i thought he would be a piece of cake considering all the hot 16 and 17 hand 3yos that i've ridden in the past, Nope! He was rather hard for me, and everytime someone would open the arena door, he's try to drag me to it. But it's a good thing, because i need a more advanced horse to ride. I don't know why more people don't ride ponies! They seem like a step up from what i've been riding (I don't mean to offend you, there is nothing wrong with horses, i love every breed!)
So i didn't get to actually jump, but i learned how to two point walk and trot over 6" poles. She said that i'm a very good rider and all i really need to work on is my heels, (yes i agree, i really need to get them down more) and she just went on and on about how she will do great things with my experience, i'm still a bit stunned since my last trainer made me feel like i'll never be good enough.

[Bruno Buccellati]

Wow, I just found this thread and it looks awesome
I ride horses, but im a newbie.
I take lessons and I ride a horse names Auto.
He is a retired race horse.
I'm excited to learn and make some friends from this thread

[:Toucan:]

@Namikaze

Lawson is so cute!! I love draft crosses (i used to ride this draft(don't know which) paint cross....what a personality!! His name was Mighty Joe...i miss him) And a horse that I ride, Becky, is like that too....once you start jumping she just keeps going unless you pull on the reins really hard and do circles....wish it wasn't that way but it's ingrained in her head to keep going....still a great horse though!

@Rebel

Glad you're enjoying the new barn

@Guinapig12

Hi and welcome to the thread!!

[ξƞçɧαƞtєđ]

I hope it isn't too late for a introduction:

As you know, my name is ξƞçɧαƞtєđ but feel free to un-fancy the name if your heart desires or any nicknames you can come up with. xD

I've been riding for quite the while now but my passion for horses, according to my parents, started when I first began to walk. The first time I sat on a horse was when I was 4 and was in Texas visiting family and we went to a petting zoo that gave pony rides. And from then on, I was more then hooked.

My equine lessons began at a appaloosa breeding farm where I worked with several appys, some quarter horses, Tennessee walking horses, thoroughbreds, and some X-breds. For the first 4 years I rode there until my trainer decided to move barns. We then relocated to a Arabian breeding farm and there I got to work and ride Egyptian arabs and work with some of the other boarder's horses as well- which is when I rode on a Belgian draft for the first time, and probably the last time, seeing that her gait was far from smooth and I was riding bareback- so you can imagine I was hanging onto her short mane as well as the reins when we trotted (or more so, bounced) around in the arena. I was also gifted with the opportunity to help break a thoroughbred mare during my time at that barn and she was lovely- even after being previously abused and at one point deemed 'dangerous' or 'wild'. She was the daughter of the renowned racehorse, Buck Passer, but being exempt from racing due to her long and thin legs and her 'temper', she was sold to some women who weren't all that nice to her to put it in a good way. After a year in their care and now becoming somewhat unapproachable due to her trying to defend herself against anyone who came close, she was traded to my trainer and she and I took on the challenge gladly. 2 years afterwards, she was back to being a happy horse and countless ground work sessions, lead training, and some injuries on both me and my trainer's parts (the worst being me receiving a broken arm when the mare trampled me after being spooked), I was finally able to ride her in March of 2009. I won't forget it as that is what all the blood, sweat, and tears had gone into. I was gifted with being able to ride her 3 more times after that before I had to say goodbye to her and everyone I had grown up with when I moved 1000 miles (14 hrs straight drive) to the south. I've been living here for almost 4 years.

When we moved to our new home, it took nearly 8 months for us to finally find a riding instructor. And there I was able to finally do some serious riding as my trainer didn't mess around- though she was and still is a good friend. She is currently on the short list to the 2016 Olympic games as a 3-day eventer and she was the one to teach me basic hunter jumper and some basic dressage before she was forced to give up lessons due to her busy 'round-the-world' traveling to buy horses and train with people outside the country and/or continent. xD She was also a student in college so her schedule was understandably tight. I was able to ride a beautiful Hanoverian mare named Dulche, a quarter horse gelding named Dan, and a welsh named Gracie. And it was during this time at the barn that I received my first real injuries instead of just a broken arm. I received two concussions (one fall being so bad that I actually broke my helmet and went 100% blind for a good 10 minutes) and the other giving me a mild concussion on the side of my head when my horse refused a jump and I hit the side of my head on the mounting block). But It was worth it. xD

After I wasn't able to take lessons due to my friend having to focus more on school and her Olympic training, I went without riding for another good 7 months before I came across a local 4-H horse club. There, I met a woman and her daughter who welcomed me with open arms and even if I didn't have a horse or wasn't riding at the time, they tried to include me. And my luck turned when they had a open ride and the leader brought two Tennessee walking horses that were for sale after being rescued from their previous housing. After working with TNWHs back at my old home, I had always loved gaited breeds but I hadn't been able to find any good trainers who offered gaited riding lessons. I took a ride on both of them and they were marvelous. We had been looking for some horses of our own so we didn't have to keep relying on the will of the trainer as to the fate of the horse and these two were perfect. I felt completely blissful for the first time in a long time when I rode them. It was about 6 months preparation before the two arrived at our home and joined my family on our small and secluded 17acre property.

It was still the task nursing them both back to complete health but I'm glad to say after almost a year with us, they are both as healthy as can be. And after so much doubt from my old trainer from my old home and others saying that it was a waste of time and too much money to bring them back to their prime, I am glad to have proved them wrong. When I get better pictures for them both, I'll be sure to set them up but most of them are pretty outdated due to the fact I am not a very technical person and rely on my mom to update the photos into the computer before I use them myself. xD

I have since then, partaken in 2 shows on my 17hh TNWH gelding Sky, and have taken home 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place ribbons and we'll be shooting for that 1st place this upcoming show season, though I'm already too proud of him for words as we've had our ups and downs. Also this upcoming spring, my 16.4hh TNWH gelding, Hoss, will be shown in Halter Classes. & This February, I'll also be using Sky for Drill Team as my 4-H club has decided to bring back their old drill team from a few years back that has since been forgotten since the previous members grew too old to participate in 4-H as members. We hope to bring it back as it was once renowned throughout the state and rodeos and shows paid them to perform. So it will be a challenge for us to get our name out there again but hopefully we'll do fine. It is a all breed drill team and some of the old members from a few years back will be there to help coach us through it, and one of them being the daughter of the woman I bought Sky and Hoss from and whom I now take regular gaited lessons with on a weekly basis. My horsey life is complete to say the least.

[Luzien]

@ Smokeyiscool:

@Luzien:
I swear I will reply to you later lol : ) Its been amazinngggg temperatures for January so we are taking advantage of it and working our cows around : )

Sure take your time
when the weather is bether you have to use all the time you can, that i understand fully!
you work your cows around, thats funny...the first time i did read this i did think you mean you learn them tricks...dont know what hit me there to think this...but this cow-work did not go out of my head till i did write this. (do you know this clips on youtube where they work sheeps around with light- or glow sticks or whatever on there back...and they make pictures or words and so and this thought popped up i my head i think or this jumping cow, or the group of cows (and one with horses) who play with a ball)


@ Daughter of Hades:
Sorry for the long post, i try my best to write not much, but then it happens again^//^

For bether muscles in the back,
- http://www.reinholdshorsewellness.com/h ... rcise.html
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6bjK4Us1Ww
- http://www.thehorse.com/articles/29530/ ... educe-pain
- http://www.horseforum.com/horse-trainin ... ack-72621/

- http://www.naturalhorse.com/archive/vol ... cle_10.php
- http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/archi ... 37003.html
-

He really sounds and looks great, and as you did say he has amazing cadence.
That is a nice future goal withdressage and jumping, and with him you will for sure have a great horse in your school shows^^
The competitive thinking will come in the future, i also had not much of this, and now i will compete when all goes well in endurance riding for the beginning^^
and with this horse you will get it for sure!.

Thats sad that your grooms cant work with them, but maybe ist also for the best as you have to do all the training work and get more closer to him.
And oh my....oh my...that was a crazzy accident...the poor guy...kick to the head...not sure if i should say that he is lucky that he only lost his one eye and did not die...lucky and unlucky on the same time.
I so understand that you cant ask him to go so much near a horse where he could get kicked again, and that will happen, when he has to get a horse or works with him... that he still works near horses to feed them or cleane there empty stalls says much about his character, he still liks them as it looks.

Kaz is a little spitfire sometimes yes? Jumping and playing in the lunge ring as it sound^^
“...loads of fun”...are you sure^^

Thats nice that he has not to much trouble, a thoroughbred from a family friend had so much trouble she was always to thin and got anything possible...she only got bether after she was on our stables pasture for holliday and no race for the rest of the year...she started to eat again, put on some weight as she was back in her own stable and also when racing....the best you can give is fresh fruit and good oil(like line seed oil, and strange as it is lots of living in the pasture )
but you say he gets constand healthy food that is good and will help him hold the weight, and he has no more stress and power work from racing^^ so you dont have to do much but training him^^


That we did also and the owner of our stable too, with some horses....front shoes and behind not.
Poor thing to crack his hoof (did this happen on the track or in his stall?)...hope that anything is good again.Do you feed him mineral-pellets? I did hear that often thoroughbred get problems with health as they dont get them.

Thank you again for pm'ing me the photos. I love the pictures
- you and him seem really good together, a nice team...sorry when i say something bad...the one picture with the male rider- he has a to strong hand with your boy he really looks not so happy, as when he is with you!


--
@ Hime:- i found this but over a ottb...strange mild lameness(hope this helps) ....http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/archi ... 37003.html

No fresh grass, then mostlikely it cant be...we got a little little bit here and there but not much and the poor little greens die now as it got all muddy-icy cold....some tress are still frsted over, and fences...but not the ground there is muddy mud...
And you with you muddy paddocks that start to frost over... ^^ winter is grazy .

Yeah my first show was terrible too, i did not want to do something wrong, with foals ist easy as they are free or put with the leadline on a special girth on the mare, and you only have to walk-trot-toelt the mare and show her and set the foal free when the judge tells too, to let it run and hold the mare, later with the yearlings its a bit more different but not so hard, the most trouble you will have when you get to the breeding shows for young mares and stallions and later the older- but those the owner newer did himself, as there is way to much training, and you dont have a chance against the big breeders and there prof trainers,

But i think you will not have much trouble at the first show when you could get help from the owner of the place where Ty goes. The first shows are not so strict, and youre terrible show nerves will be more at ease^^.
And after the next shows you get a bit bether...atleast when there is not so much time between^^ i would go also crazy when i now had to show a horse...

.... lunging them...real lunging or like they do with arabian and akhal-teken who they let trot and galopp around them with rearing up and so on?...really never did see this with foals or weanling...,....is that a rule in your area, maybe they changed it, the last time i had to show a horse it was my girl with her foal, there was no lunging...only walking, trot-tölt on the hand and free first only foal than both together and some more walking with other horses together- when i did not forgot something again and the chip and branding.

But i so understand when it where my first foal i also would not want to do someting wrong...then really let the first and later the more importend shows do by someone who do this all the time^^
Yes, to true...: Anyway, nervous person+most likely nervous foal=disaster waiting to happen. ^^'

ohh...i did not mean the ears only, but that she may loose her hearing^//^...ist not often but i did hear that loosing hearing( or eye sight may) cause by horses nervosenes- shying away- they will become unsure, look around much-head goes all around sometimes even up and down, skittish to things they never did look at a second time. Running-walking around in smal circles...hitting the wall-doors..., spooking when a person comes to them, steping or jumping a bit back when you come to fast near them and then look as if they where hit, pawing the ground while standing- steping with small soft steps around-and when walking slower than normal-looking where they go sometimes with head down(when hearing is not so good anymore the head often to the side)....some you will not see as they show only very small signs of those, but some real bad cases will panic, race around, run down fences, try to get away as fast as possible and when there is a door they may try to get it down...., ...

Is the lower stable more light than the other? Or more open?

To be skittish more to one side can and most do show that they may not see or hear anymore or not good to this side!
Hope the vet finds what those mare has, if ist one of those you need to find her a horse she trusts more and is not so skittich when walking or in her stable...you may need to test long time till the right leeding horse! And she wil need lots of training to get her to trust fully again and learn to life and work with this.

The boots i did think about too, but the cloves sounds more nice, as the boots i now use are warm enough...or atleast this re-warm-again heat pocket warmer^^ the boots and cloves work with battery. But you have to look; some not so well worked boots get really hot, but i could once try a heated boot and they where nice but at this time to high prized...so around 240.


Thats cute, growing back teeth, now he is really a step near your next riding horse...they grow up so fast^^ give him some things to chew on and some hard bread this helps him, and scratching and soft massages as you did already....no wonder that he is a bit grumpy^^

The mare who did try to escape when seeing the wbs last time did now go through the fence? Really ...the next day-why?...such a stupid thing... maybe it was the shock that did come back to her at seeing the wb or she did hear the call of the wild and did try to be a mustang^^ she got detension in the inside, thats funny^_^

Hmm...stress by birth- foaling^^, ok when it was her first foal and she is build very small it may happen.
I looked this up, to not be to stupid as i may say something wrong^^ and for you to look at maybe somethings sound like your mare after the birth:

- http://www.thehorse.com/articles/10276/ ... s-in-mares
- http://www.cvm.ncsu.edu/vhc/efac/equine ... issues.pdf
- http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/breeding/new ... z2rDqy21uo
-http://www.vevs.com.au/site/articles/56-uncategorised/219-problems-in-the-mare-after-foaling.html
- http://americashorsedaily.com/mare-heal ... r-foaling/ -- -riding


But normaly i did hear from our vet that its positiv stress that she should not feel pain.(only when the foal lies wrong, ut then she would not have foaled at all so that is it not...)–not sure about this...some of the mares i did find where only tired but tending to there foals,...sadly never when they where giving birth but only after or some hours later...tricky mares to give birth when they know nobody is out....other did lie down with there foal or foal standing..or mother standing and foal lie down, sure tired and a bit sore but not badly hurt or anything
...did the vet not check her bevor and after the covering then he would tell you that you must be carefull when she is to small and may have trouble giving birth, and bring her to the clinic to give birth- i know this from an icelandic and thoroughbred.

Was Heta on her own as she was foaling, or was she with the herd outside?
When she was totally not herself right after foaling, and it was her first she really may be sore as you dont know how long the birth did take place.But most mares get there foal in the early morning.
How wet was Ty and how sweaty or tired Hets??

The old mare from us- as she got her foal some years ago- was so dead tired -head on the ground sweety like hell, breathing heavy(the vet did say it was a easy birth not as we did think a bad one, she did need a bit more time as she already was a bit older and her filly not the smallest that is why she was so tired and out of her mind that the other horses got neer her baby and tendet to it...normaly she let non to her babys)...and it was cool at this day....the foal did stand with thr foal of an other mare and an foal from last year.looking at his mother and getting cleaned by the one year old ^^ she only gone up half an hour later as her baby needed a drink^^

When you ever want a foal of her again, bring her to the clinic bevor she foals to be save, or atleast look for this bith-warning-girth.

And did the vet check her inside after the birth, maybe she had a small tissue wound, or really her hipbone got pushed out to much aat the birth, or she pulled something..?.but that only could the vet know not you!

When she was with other horses while foaling...could it be that there was a fight, and she got kicked...is a part of her hindhand deeper at the hip where the bone can easyly breek and grow together at a deeper part when the get hit at the door or a fence-pole or get kicked, than they need the chiro and other training to walk normal again. The one side may look a bit deeper than the other?

And the riding bareback sometime after the birth could not really hurt her, ateast as i think, it bether as the saddle, and you did not ride for long, dont worry. Ok i never did ride a mare with foal, but this is as my mare would go grazy with her foal out of sight and there are a lot of stupid becycle driver on the trails and small streets around...to risky, but i did hear from riders who did ride with mare and foal. Many rider ride also,only 2-3 weeks after the birth for a short time without much problems.
It was a good change for her, and you could not know that youre girl may get ill in the future only the vet could know and when he did not say anything bevor or after the birth ist not your fault.

--
@ Circean:

Great that you had so much fun with the horse names Bogart^^
Sure Quarter Horses are not really breeded for dressage or so, but some are great in different areas that has nothing to do with western. In each bread of horse are horses that are not like most. So i wish you fun with this dressage loving quarter horse^^ and maybe you will see an jumping frisian one day too^^

Teeth ofter will not tell you the age of a horse, the vet who i did help some weeks long had two horses in that time where they had trouble finding the age, and the one looked older but had teeth of a younger horse, and the other looked like a 4 year but had teeth of a over 15year old...but have fun looking maybe you find the age that is like he looks^^
And that you still can ride him.
But one thing i have to ask you...only for fun do you have a pic of you and one of this pony so thati may know what you mean with this out growing^_^

You should ask the trainer that you want to ride this horse when you work good together!
When you feel unwell with the ponys, you should ride horses, and you pay for the lesson so the instructor has to help you get bether and feel well!!
–> or could you lease to part Bogo

Bogo will get bether with time and training, and to tax the jump, freestyle jumping does help the horse very much as no rider is on there back and the learn how and when to jump!
And some who have still a bit trouble with high jumping may jump bether wide.

Good luck and a lot of fun, and ask for him often instructors do this when your good for each other^^

To the pics:

–> its nice that you have fun with this and it looks good what you do^^
but may i ask you, that you do something, please dont hold to the reins when you try some tricks like standing on them and so, you could stumple fall back and down and pull the reins with you sharply( the mouth will be cut badly, or he can rear up and follow you to the ground hitting you) when you want a save line, put a thin sturdy rope on the saddle or so, or use open western reins. But anyway, be careful and have fun^^
and when you like this thing, maybe you should look around for a teacher of trick-hose-riding there you could learn more^^

--
@ SassieC:Was this problem with the bit all the time, since you have him? Or did it happened someday out of the blue?

The bit problem is normaly typical when at some point at the training of the young horse it was forced to take it and this not so gentle...do you know where he was trained and if this maybe did happened there? But also hurting tooth or mouth are also a thing why he does not likes to be touched at the mouth, or an old cut in the tongue those can hurt still after years.

there are some tricks how to put the bite in the mouth without force:
- a bit honey on the finger and the bit, he may not want to take it the first time but it will get bether the next times
- stand on something to be higher than the horse head, or atleast be higher than you ar normal, so when the horses pushes its head up you still can reach it
- let the halter on till you got the bridle on so you have still some hold on the head
- use an bit with hanging snaps that you can hang-out...you know like those endurance bridles...you hang one side in and then softly hold it to his mouth then push on the bit on his mouth a little bit so that he takes it...you allso can feed him some slices of apple annd the put two around the hangng bit , so he smells the apple and eats it and you put the bit in with the apple and after this an other slice and then hang the side on the bridle
- or put the bridle on and dont go work!! but maybe let him eat some grass on the meadow, or walk him a bit, so that he learns, that not every time he gets the bit in he does not has to work.
–> and take your time and when you need an hour to get the bit in and if ist only for some seconds, step by slow step
He may have learned that bit =is hurt hurt, as the former owner may have used force to get it in, and then as you did say he may be overworked and head constantly in a headset.
But you can teach him that it does not has to, that it can also can be fun the same as when you ride bit-less and there he sounds as if he works good, this what you teached him for bitless riding, you can also teach for the bit^^

Its great that you ride most of the time bit-less!!


@ June Bug: Sorry that your poor boy has to work so much, but it sounds as if he will be the next horse to be ill...so much work cant be good, the owner should tell the rider that have no horses, to stop till there horses are fit again, or that the should work with the lower level horses,

To your boy and bitless bridle, why not try it!^_^ and when you still want to try one other bit (as you may need one for shows as i downt know the rules if you can ride without one?!) after this, try a leather bit...but look who they say is bether, there are some really nice ones,... or an normal smaller bit, like aurigan double broken small bit, those are a bit higher prized but worth it

like this (we had some of those for sensitive horses, but i think some where smaller, not sure...)
- http://www.doversaddlery.com/herm-spren ... /X1-01340/
- http://www.doversaddlery.com/hs-kk-ultr ... /X1-01356/
- http://www.doversaddlery.com/hs-dynamic ... p/X1-0164/
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