I finally have the means (a horse trailer, a great trainer who is giving me lessons, and the desire and time to become a better horse person, and trainer).
I have starts taking lessons with a wonderful trainer who has a background in horsemanship, extreme trail, reining, and barrel racing. I have been taking lessons on her horse, as I don't have a trailer yet--I'm learning skills that make me a better rider, but also something to take home and work with my boy.
I have a dilemma: my boy is in a d-ring snaffle with copper rollers currently. I have tried him in a variety of types/sizes/styles of snaffle bits with the same result--he is constantly chomping, snaking his head around (like he is trying to dislodge it with his tongue), and stiffness with the bit: yes he has had his teeth done, his mouth has been examined, I am not yanking on him. It's much less a problem when on the trail (loose rein and not so much like work). But in the arena--where I am making more contact when asking to flex/bend/turn--it's worse. The more pressure, the worse he is--is becomes distracting to our training as he isn't as focused on me as he could/should be--so he isn't learning.
Do some horse just not do well in a bit?
I have tried him in a little s-hackamore, and I had no problems. Silly question, but can a horse be trained the same way, the same skills, and to the same level in a hackamore like this (with the goal of having him responsive to very subtle pressure). I understand there is more to the big picture, such as mop responding to the leg and seat.
I'm going to discuss this with my trainer, but she won't really be able to assess this until my trailer arrives (it's about 3 weeks away as it is being 'made'.)
I have starts taking lessons with a wonderful trainer who has a background in horsemanship, extreme trail, reining, and barrel racing. I have been taking lessons on her horse, as I don't have a trailer yet--I'm learning skills that make me a better rider, but also something to take home and work with my boy.
I have a dilemma: my boy is in a d-ring snaffle with copper rollers currently. I have tried him in a variety of types/sizes/styles of snaffle bits with the same result--he is constantly chomping, snaking his head around (like he is trying to dislodge it with his tongue), and stiffness with the bit: yes he has had his teeth done, his mouth has been examined, I am not yanking on him. It's much less a problem when on the trail (loose rein and not so much like work). But in the arena--where I am making more contact when asking to flex/bend/turn--it's worse. The more pressure, the worse he is--is becomes distracting to our training as he isn't as focused on me as he could/should be--so he isn't learning.
Do some horse just not do well in a bit?
I have tried him in a little s-hackamore, and I had no problems. Silly question, but can a horse be trained the same way, the same skills, and to the same level in a hackamore like this (with the goal of having him responsive to very subtle pressure). I understand there is more to the big picture, such as mop responding to the leg and seat.
I'm going to discuss this with my trainer, but she won't really be able to assess this until my trailer arrives (it's about 3 weeks away as it is being 'made'.)