Hi everyone, I hope that some of you are having some spring weather. Here in
upstate NY
it is slow to coming. I've been recovering from dislocating my shoulder falling
on the ice
but should be back in the saddle in a couple of weeks....This has given me some
time to
watch other riders at the stable and observe many horses suffering through the
bit...and
some owners who are getting so frustrated at their 'bad' horse....
One such incident that I wanted to share...I was watching a barrel racing class
and this one
horse, fairly green, and novice rider were in the class...I could see the
situation unfold and
worsen before my eyes...her horse kept 'acting up' and i could see that the
horse was
getting more and more frustrated with the bit...and of-course the 'worse' he was
the more
the rider pulled and tugged....one of the training techniques that has been
taught at this
stable is "to spin your horse" when it acts up....this involves pulling the
horses head
around toward your knee and kicking furiously at the same time so the horse is
spinning...(smilar to the one rein stop that Cathie shows in her BB video but
remember
Cathie doesn't kick, kick, kick as a 'punishment' and is not pulling on the
horses mouth
with a bit).....so this rider has 'spun' her horse numerous times, with the
trainer's blessing,
and each time I can see the horse getting more and more out of 'control'.....at
one point
the rider pulls so hard that the bit comes out the other side of the horses
mouth....so here
is a terrified horse and a terrified novice rider....not a good
situation.....Anyway, it was
horrible to watch and afterwards I heard the rider say that she was so scared
when the bit
came out because she "had no control"....I felt like saying...that she NEVER had
'control'....I
know that since I've been using the BB, I feel more confident and I never get
scared or
nervous....the worse thing that I know can happen, and it has, is that my horse
gets
spooked...but after watching the BB video....I calmly do the one rein stop....no
pain, no
added stress to the situation....and i stop....further more since using the BB I
really haven't
had a "bad" horse....Happy Trails!