Valuable Horsemanship Skill, Invaluable Life Skill

I was flipping through my stack of horse magazines today trying to whittle down what I wanted to file away and what could be recycled. One article that made it into the "to be filed" pile was worthy of sharing.

In an article entitled "Recipe for a Riding Horse" written by Bob Orton for the January 2012 issue of Dressage Today Mr. Orton discusses his method for taking a completely green three year old from pasture to respectable training level test in three months. While many would prefer to stretch out such a project over 6 months to a year, the article's advice provides a nice guideline for priorities and methodology. The gems for all riders no matter what age, level, or discipline are what he calls his golden rules:

1) Be black and white about the behavior you expect.
2) Never correct or discipline your horse with anger.
3) Keep things as simple as possible and always set your horse up for success.

They seem simple but how often have we all had occasional lapses with one or more of these? How often have we seen other horse people forget these? Yet in these three things there are so many critical lessons to be learned in horsemanship. Heck, in life. These same ideas are pretty much what the Super Nanny and the Dog Whisperer keep telling people.

Haven't we all experienced frustration in dealing with someone who gives us vague or conflicting directions or requests, then gets mad when we didn't do what they wanted us to? We don't like it, why do we think our horse's don't mind?

Sometimes riding doesn't go as planned. We've all been angry at a horse we've ridden at some point. Many of us can look back with shame and regret on at least one incident where we yelled, spurred, or popped that whip a bit harder then was strictly necessary. Outside of the barn, how often have we said something we didn't mean to someone we care about because we were angry?

How much better would our world be for people and horses if we would all work harder to create clear, simple, reasonable expectations? What if when a horse or another human did something contrary to those expectations we were to take a deep breath and instead find a response that helps to correct the situation rather than simply venting our frustration? Mr. Orton's golden rules could be the most valuable lesson horses have to teach us.

For those of us who teach riding, sometimes we get hung up on the mechanics of riding and forget that even problems encountered provide a valuable learning experience. How many times have we had a horse and rider stuck on something. The student can't figure out how to communicate what they want effectively. The horse and rider are frustrated. The more frustrated the rider becomes the angrier and less reasonable they become. The more frustrated the horse becomes, the more they resist. As teachers what do we do? Do we get on the horse ourselves and attempt to fix it? Do we just throw our hands in the air, tell our student they'll get it in time and call it a day before someone gets hurt?

I wonder if the better path is to use such moments as an opportunity to teach the student the golden rules. How to take a deep breath, talk through their frustration and analyze what has gone wrong. This takes time, and patience, and it could mean the lesson plan goes out the window. But what a valuable example to plant for even a very young beginning student that if things are going wrong, stop, breathe and reassess before you act. If we can teach our students that, we can teach them not just a valuable horsemanship lesson, we can teach them a valuable life lesson.

Top 10 Horse Books

I have a confession to make. I'm a bit of a bibliophile. Particularly when it comes to horse books. My equestrian library takes up most of an entire shelving unit by itself, and there are always more I'd like. I was talking to another bibliophile last week, and she mentioned that her husband marveling at her ever expanding library had asked her the question: "If you were only allowed to have ten books, which ones would they be?" This made me think about my own library and what books, equestrian or otherwise I value most. If I had to choose just 10 equestrian books that I think every horse owner and/or rider should own, my selections would be as follows:

1. United States Pony Club Manual of Horsemanship - Basics for Beginners D Level by Susan E. Harris (Great general riding and horsemanship reference.)
   
2. United States Pony Club Manual of Horsemanship - Intermediate Horsemanship C Level by Susan E. Harris (Great general riding and horsemanship reference.)
   
3. United States Pony Club Manual of Horsemanship - Advanced Horsemanship B/HA/A Levels by Susan E. Harris (Great general riding and horsemanship reference.)
   
4. The Official Horse Breeds Standards Guide: The Complete Guide to the Standards of All North American Equine Breed Associations by Fran Lynghaug (Photos, history, standards and association contacts for all breeds. Also has nice general conformation, color and markings information in the back.)
   
5. Horse Sense for People: The Man Who Listens to Horses Talks to People by Monty Roberts (Great general philosophy on horse behavior and training.)
   
6. A Gymnastic Riding System Using Body, Mind and Spirit: Progressive Training for Rider and Horse by Betsy Steiner (Because the classical training pyramid really doesn't have to be confusing.)
   
7. Centered Riding by Sally Swift (Because half of riding happens in your head.)
   
8. Hands on Horse Care by Karen Hayes (Best first aid and health care book I've seen. Great flow charts help even beginners decide when and if a vet is needed and what to do in the meantime.)
9. The USDF Guide to Dressage by Jennifer O. Bryant (Good guide to the history, theory and basics of my favorite equestrian sport.)
10. Bombproof Your Horse: Teach Your Horse To Be Confident, Obediant, and Safe, No Matter What You Encounter by Rick Pelicano (Because when I entrust my life to a 1200 lb animal, I'd prefer it not to have full blown panic attacks over say the half rotted sand bag in the middle of the trail, or the naive small child that is playing with the cape of his batman Halloween costume in the parking lot next to the arena.)

What would make your top 10 list?

Spring is Springing: Time To Get Moving

With the short days, cold, snow, icy roads, break from show season and busy holiday season, many of us put our equine activities on the back burner during the winter. But despite the fact that it snowed in my area this morning the tulips and daffodils are popping up and it is time to start getting back into the swing of things. There is a great deal of cleaning and prevention to be done but here's where I'll start:

1. Tackle the shedding and muddy horses. Time to find the shedding blade, jelly scrubbers and flick brush that migrated to the bottom of my tack trunk since last fall. The Grooming Challenge That Is Mud for my thoughts on how to start tackling that.
2. Clean out the tack trunk and tack room. While I'm rummaging to find that second jelly scrubber I might as well get to the bottom of the tack trunk. While I'm doing that I might as well pull the trunk away from the wall and give the tack room a good sweeping. I'll put away what I need, create a pile to be donated/tossed, and a pile that needs washing or repairs.
3. Check the veterinary and grooming supplies. Invariably at least one thing is almost gone, past its expiration date, or has disappeared. Time to restock all my staples before I am in need of them.
   
4. Get the wash and repair pile taken care of. Finally getting around to cleaning and conditioning neglected tack and boots is one of my spring cleaning chores. I tend to be horribly lazy about it, but I figure if they only see a rag once a year it might as well be in the spring. The laundry may have to wait for late spring so that I can make one trip to the laundromat to wash all the blankets, saddle pads, and wraps.
5. Spring clean the stalls. Feeders and waterers scrubbed, floor stripped, leveled and deoderized, hardware replaced/repaired/adjusted/lubricated. We're good to go for another year.
6. Prevent hoof cracks, thrush and scratches. Mud this time of year creates the perfect enviroment for three generally mild but extremely annoying horse ailments. One is thrush, another is heel scratches and the last is hoof cracks. Some horses are more prone than others, but ideally a daily routine of picking out feet, hosing mud off legs and hooves, throughly towel drying legs and hooves and applying hoof dressing to the coronary band only, powder or barrier ointment to the legs, and if thrush is detected a thrush remedy to the hooves will help eliminate the problem.
7. Start early on summer bug control. Now is the time to get that manure pile off the property, and start hanging up traps or releasing fly parasites. From personal experience I can tell you that you will never catch up if you wait until you already have a big fly problem.
8. Schedule vaccines and fecal egg counts with your veterinarian. Summer brings bugs, shows, and trail rides, all of which can expose your horse to pathogens. Time to make sure he's vaccinated and prepared. Deworming is also a good idea right now, but because of all the resistance being built up by the worms it is not a good idea to deworm without a high fecal egg count. A fecal egg count is a test that determines how heavily infested with internal parasites your horse is. If your horse has a low count, he doesn't need to be dewormed, if he does have a high count, he should be dewormed.
9. Return to exercise slowly. If you or your horse haven't been exercising as much as you'd like over the winter, be careful as you return to it in the summer. It is easy to get overly enthusiastic and do more than you should. You and your horse both need time to rebuild strength and endurance. If you push it the results can be injury for both you and your horse, so please be safe and go slowly.
10. Mind the lush grass and early hay. We all know this one, but it bears repeating. Your horse wants the lush grass, you want to watch him enjoy it, but be careful because the high carbohydrate content of early spring grass, or hay made from it for that matter (first cutting) can trigger founder or colic in sensitive horses, so make all dietary changes slowly.
    

The Bridle Wars Part 3: Understanding Mouthpieces

The other important part to understanding bit action is understanding how the mouthpiece of a bit will function. There is one relatively reliable rule: with the possible exception of horses with low palates, the thinner the mouthpiece the more severe the bit's action. This is because the pressure will be concentrated over a smaller area.

Please note that this post is restricted to solid smooth metal bits with no twists or coatings. Twists or chains make for a severe bit, one that I feel is more likely to be abusive than to prove helpful. Rubber bits and rubber coatings have the opposite effect and make a bit softer and more forgiving. I am not a fan of these, (see Part 1: Not A Happy Mouth) though they do potentially have their uses.

There are many different mouthpieces even given our restrictions, but as a general rule we'll break it into four types: solid (aka mullen mouthed), ported, single jointed, and double jointed.

A solid mouthed bit will apply the most pressure to the horse's tongue. As a general rule a solid mouthed bit is a mild bit. It is a good option for horses that have a low pallet as there is no way this bit can poke the horse in the roof of the mouth, an action that can cause the horse to throw his head in the air. There are however horses that dislike tongue pressure and will fight a bits of this style.

A ported mouthpiece is less common on snaffle bits, and more common on leverage bits. A ported mouthpiece will apply less pressure to the horse's tongue and more to the bars of the mouth. This can be helpful for a horse that resents tongue pressure. This also makes the bit more severe because the pressure is being concentrated in a smaller area. The higher the port the more pressure is transfered, and the more severe the bit. A bit with a very high port can also create pressure to the palate (roof of the mouth) as the bit rotates. As mentioned above, this may not be desirable. There is an additional issue with the curb chain leverage action of many ported bits that rather than manifesting palate pressure as head tossing, the horse will learn to break unnaturally at the poll to minimize pressure from both the port and the curb chain. This can result in a horse that carries himself behind the bit, or false carriage in which the horse's head set gives the illusion that the horse is on the bit and carrying himself, when in reality his body may be all over the place. Prolonged work in such a frame can create poor muscle development, and undesirable balance.

A single jointed mouthpiece relieves some of the tongue pressure of a solid mouth, and can apply more pressure to the bars of the mouth. It is generally a mild bit and is widely available in all snaffle varieties. The one caveat with this style of bit is that it can create a severe pressure point on the palate. In horses with a low palate, this may result in head tossing.

A double jointed mouthpiece is generally considered the mildest bit as it most evenly distributes the pressure of the bit across the horse's jaw. It also minimizes the likelihood of pressure points on the palate. However, this type of mouthpiece also adds an additional variable. The center link is highly variable. As a general rule, the larger and smoother the center link, the milder the bit. The sharper or smaller the middle link, the more severe the bit. For example, a bit with a big round oval style center (as pictured at left) is likely to be very mild, a french link with a small center link less so, and a dr. bristol with a center plate set on edge (so that in use the narrow edge of the center link puts severe pressure on the tongue) is much more severe. So think carefully about how the center link will function before you make any judgments about the way the bit will function.

The Bridle Wars Part 2: Understanding Leverage

There are a million bits out there, so many that the latest Dover catalog devotes a full 7 pages to them, and Dover by no means carries every bit in existence. However, there is a trick to understanding the function of every one of those bits. Most bits are a combination of one of a handful of ring designs and one of a handful of mouthpiece designs. Understand those two handfuls and you can make a pretty good guess at what any bit will do. In this post I discuss ring design and its impact on leverage.

When we refer to leverage with regards to bit design we usually are referring to the application of pressure to the bars of the horse's mouth, the horse's poll, and if a curb chain is used, to the horse's chin. The more pressure in more places, the more force a rider can exert to stop, collect, or otherwise adjust a horse's forward movement. How much pressure is exerted is a function of how far apart the minimum distance is between the mouthpiece (Point C) and the cheek piece (Point A) and how far apart the minimum distance is between the mouthpiece (Point C) and the rein (Point B).

In the diagram above with a loose ring snaffle there are no fixed points (all three points can rotate freely around the ring) therefore the minimum distance in theory could be zero. As a result a loose ring gives the least amount of leverage of all bit designs. In an eggbutt, dee ring, or full cheek design the mouthpiece is fixed while the cheek piece and rein can move. This offers very slightly more leverage, but not enough that most riders would notice a difference in the horse's response. So why do we bother with eggbutts, dee rings or full cheeks?

The primary advantage of an eggbutt is purely that it cannot pinch the corners of the horse's mouth, which can be a problem with a loose ring, particularly if the bit is either the incorrect width or adjusted too high or too low in the horse's mouth. Full cheek snaffles were created to apply pressure on the outside cheek when the inside rein recieves pressure. This can be an advantage for a green or stubborn horse. Dee ring snaffles also apply pressure to the outside cheek, but because the ends are connected they cannot get hung up on anything. This makes them safer when riding with others or riding at speed.

But what if we want more pressure than a loose ring, eggbutt, dee ring, or full cheek will provide? To increase the pressure we must fix additional points. An unusual bevel ring fixes the cheek piece and the rein and allows the mouthpiece some limited movement. As the rein is tightened in the rider's hand, backward pressure is applied to the horse's mouth, and if sufficient pressure is applied to the rein to rotate the ring downward pressure will then be applied to the horse's poll. This makes the bevel an intermediary bit between the previous four types discussed and the increased leverage bits to follow. Still need more pressure?

The baucher fixes the mouthpiece and the cheek piece and leaves the rein with a small degree of movement. The greater fixed distance between the mouthpiece and cheek piece creates simultaneous backward pressure upon the horse's mouth, and downward and slightly forward pressure on the horse's poll. This combination of leverage is useful in stopping a horse who tends to pull, or in creating collection.

The elevator bit, sometimes seen with only one lower ring and called a show jumping bit is similar to the bevel in that the cheek piece and rein are both fixed and the mouthpiece has some limited motion. It's action is similar as well. Pressure is primarily upon the horse's mouth if applied lightly, if increased pressure is applied, the pressure is also applied to the horse's poll. However especially if the lowest ring is used the elevator will apply many times the pressure of the bevel because the distance between the cheek piece and the mouthpiece and the mouthpiece and the rein are much greater. A longer lever = more pressure. A variation on the elevator bit is the wonder bit.

What if we want even more leverage? The introduction of a curb chain running under the horse's chin applies pressure in a third place. In a kimberwicke the pressure is the least, similar in action to that of a baucher with the addition of upward and forward pressure on the chin when the rein is tightened. A weymouth has much greater pressure, similar in action to an elevator with the addition of upward and forward pressure on the curb chain.

It should be noted here that weymouths because of their severe pressure should never be used as a single bit. They are for use in double bridles along side a bridoon (a thin mouthed loose ring). As part of a double bridle the primary action is that of the bridoon with the weymouth being used to enhance the riders ability to collect the horse.

A pelham is something of a two in one bit intended to mimic the action of a double bridle when rigged with two sets of reins, one attached to the large ring, one to the lower ring. If used with one rein attached to the large ring its action is similar to a kimberwicke, if that single rein was attached to the lower ring (not recommended) its action would be similar to the weymouth. It can also be used as a kind of false double bridle by connecting the reins to converter straps that buckle onto the large and lower rings, causing the single set of reins to act upon both sets of reins. (See image at right.) The action of such an arrangement would be similar to that of a kimberwick, although with greater leverage.