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Howdy All!
I'm not really new, just been lurking for a while (give or take a
month) and thought I'd say Hi. (That and I have ulterior motives, but
shhhh.)
Anyway, I've got a 30yo OTTB who's still very much riding sound (had to
lunge him today before I rode because he was bucking and playing and
feeling spunky) and he's been going bitless for about a year now due to
some pretty extreme dental issues (he's currently got about 8 working
teeth, and a top molar out of occlusion). I started him in a sidepull
jumping hackamore, but then moved to a Dr. Cook bridle. Here he is,
modeling the Dr. Cook's:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/dreamswept/Flair/flair364a.jpg
Not bad for a 30 year old, if I do say so myself. :D
Plus, he really doesn't need the fleece
noseband cover since the bridle leather's not harsh, but I think he
just looks good in it. Makes him look like a racehorse with a shadow
roll. Not that I really want him to avoid looking at the ground, but I
just like the fleece noseband.
Now, normally, I'm pretty happy with the Dr. Cook bridle. My old boy's
got teeth issues like nothing else, so he's happy too that he doesn't
have to have a bit in his mouth. We normally do pretty well in it,
except my only real issue with the bridle seems to be that I can't
quite seem to work the reins as much as I could when my horse used to
have a bit. He's got a tendency to do what Anita, my former trainer,
used to call "The Giraffe" where he'd trot around happy as a clam with
his head up high in the air. Now, when he used to go in a mild little
eggbutt snaffle, I could wiggle my reins with some brief half-halts and
just a little squeeze to get him to drop his head. I could also bend
him to the inside and the outside to get him to drop his head. My
biggest problem right now is that my leather Dr. Cooks bridle doesn't
seem to let me do that. I don't seem to get much release with the
crossunder straps. They work, I know they do because he direct reins
beautifully, but I don't really feel much of any release action when I
wiggle the reins with half-halts. Is there any way to go about making
sure the crossunder straps do slide a bit more? They seem to be sort of
stuck and tight, I don't really see any independent movement at all.
On the other hand, when I did use the beta bridle, I got a little more
poll flexion, and could actually make the straps slide a bit if I did
half-halt squeezes. I just like the leather bridle so much more
because of the solid crown piece, maybe I ought to switch the
crossunder straps around since I still have the beta bridle. (I just
hate the beta material overall. It makes my hands feel itchy. Give me
a leather bridle any day. But then, I'm funny like that because I
adore my Wintec saddles. I guess leather=bridles but synthetic=saddles
for me.)
I've considered using a martingale for a while, particularly for ring
work, since that seems to be where most of the problem lies (in the
ring, that is.) I did check the Bitless Bridle website, and the FAQs
did state that if one were to use a martingale, they'd suggest a
running one over a standing. However, in looking at pictures from
various sites about the Dr. Cook's bridle, I've never actually seen
anyone using a martingale. I'd almost hate to get one because I've
never felt the need to load him down with gadgets, but I did like it
when he would drop his poll and round his crest when I did half-halts.
He's very well trained, and willing to please, he's just equally
willing to go about in giraffe mode.
Any suggestions would be great.
--
Leiana
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Leiana <lfurlong@...>
leiana_furlong
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