halter riding

I was reading in another thread about this, and I didn't want to hijack, so I thought I'd write a new one.

I've done some riding in a halter before, and with my Aeron Mack riding halter on a couple of horses that I help take care of. The mustang was a dream using it, but he is usually a lot lighter than the Morgan/Arab/Something cross [Shooter] we've got. The mustang [Brown] I felt respects it a lot more, but also tends to respect leg and seat more [at least for me. But I think he tends to respect me more.]

The other, I've used a halter and the riding halter on, but he doesn't seem to like to listen to it well. He's pretty much everyone's school master and kind of is one of those horses that likes to be a challenge for all sorts of riders. I've worked with him the most. When I ride Shooter in a halter, he tends not to listen as sharply as he would with a bit. A lot of times I need to use a lot of leg just to make him move off the rail a few feet and back as a personal excercise for my leg work. He also doesn't tend to listen to my cues to halt. I always figured that it was because he was unused to bitless riding as to why he doesn't respond as quickly.

Shooter's one of those horses who is very lazy, and is very deeply ingrained in his ways. He's a festival horse, and has been "trained" in habits from our shows which are very hard to break him of because we keep enforcing them during our practices. >< Ex: he likes to cut straight down the list like he's jousting. Or he likes to stop at the end from our games on horse back as we sit and rest/wait for the start of the race. Also doesn't seem to care for the stage on the end either... bugger. He's a very smart boy, and knows very well when he can get away with stuff. I've worked with him for about... 3 years coming up four this summer. I'm wondering if he doesn't respect me, despite that during our ground work sessions he does exactly as I ask him to.

Anyway, I droned on. My questions are: Does he not respect the riding halter? Does he not respect me? What excercises can I use to help enforce respect for the riding halter?

Note: I only ride in the halter for recreational use and as a personal challenge. Mostly used for when I want a pleasure ride and for that, I usually ride the mustang. : p

I'm almost afraid to reply to this post LOL seems some of the other members get right fiesty if a person agrees that it's ok to ride in a halter and that you wouldn't have control like you would with a bit.......
Anyways, I have a now 10yr. Mare named Spice, I got her at 3yrs. With 30days of riding on her. She was trained in a bridle/bit. I rode her for the first 3yrs. With just her halter and a bareback pad. We basically just rode around home, maybe 4-8 miles. I worked the first couple of months in the round pen just working on the whoa/flexing (vertical/horizontal)/backing/etc.......when I felt comfortable enough to take her out I just rode her in our yard/driveway.
I now use a bitless bridle on her and sometimes just her halter. We've ridden by ourselves and also in groups of 2-20 other horse/riders.....I've never had where I didn't feel I had no control over her.
Where we live up in Canada we have some pretty cold winters so it's nice not to have to put a bit in her mouth to go for short rides......
Exercises I would work on with him in a round pen is flexing, do both vertical and lateral, backing, do figure 8's, serpentines......just keep on working on getting him soft........

I have been of the opinion that if someone wants to ride their horse in a halter, they must know their horse and it's probably just fine.

I've had some experiences, starting last March that have changed my opinion. I now realize there is some odd aversion to bits and that many people just think their horse goes as well. Or, worse, their horses are that poorly trained regardless of what is used.

But, I'm done having these goobers around putting others at risk. We've had to save people from near wrecks when working cattle, we've had to save others from these people and their poorly controlled horses at area events. They are not welcome on my place or at any event that I'm associated with.

I'm fed up with them.

Sounds like you have alot of bad experiences, to me it sounds like they just don't have control of their horse as well as they think they do.
I have experienced many times horses with bites cause or nearly cause accidents......but from what I've seen it's usely a green rider out on a horse and they haven't ridden in years any horse.
I know I sure do not want to cause a accident or even be in one!
I've ridden Spice in a halter (a bitless bridle most of the time now) for 7yrs......I couldn't ask for a better horse.
This past Sept. I was at a poker derby, I was in about the middle of the group, the lady behind me her horse kept coming up my butt but Spice handled it well, gave the evil eye once in awhile but that was about it. Then all of a sudden I hear a commotion behind me, I turn and look and the ladies face was two feet from mine and I couldn't see her face. I'm very proud of Spice for staying pretty calm.....her horse had tripped and his head/neck went right between Spice's legs and under her! Spice gave a little jump forward which of course put her in line with the horse in front of her who booted her in the face.....she spun and I lost my balance and slid off.......Spice stood right there and didn't move! I think if it had been another horse it would have been alot diffferent but Spice stayed pretty calm about it and didn't panick.
On that ride I would say 50% of the horses people brought were green horses (3yr. Olds) that had never ridden in groups, there were a couple accidents and they were with the young horses and also with green riders.
I do believe a horse needs to be introduced into riding with groups slowly, only a couple at a time and then work up from there but that is just my opinion.
My accident didn't happen because I was using a bitless bridle but because someone's horse wasn't paying attention and tripped....luckily everyone was fine.
I am training Spice's boy, Street (he's 3) with a halter and also the bridle but he will not be taken out in groups with a halter or a bitless bridle for a long time. I want to expose him to smaller groups first of only 2 or 3 riders which I know and he knows the horses........some people figure you just throw a green horse in a huge group and they learn from that but they aren't only putting their horse and theirselves at risk of injury but others as well.

I'm not familiar with the types of halters you are using, but I NEVER ride in a bit. I do not even own a bridle. I have ridden thousands of miles of trails, gone foxhunting a few times, done a couple of LD rides, and even rode in a bison round-up, with no issues. It's about communication and your horse being your partner, not control. Exercises I use for respect is moving the hq, sideways, backing up, finessing it to isolating it to a single step. I like to have good lateral flexion through the neck, a good back up, soft yielding of hindquarters and solid downward transitions.

A good starting place... can you stand at position where your saddle is and get your horse to bend his neck softly to you without moving.... then press with fingertip on location where your heel would go to yield hindquarters. Does he yield softly? Now from the saddle with horse standing still, repeat exercise.