Back In the Double Bridle again.
Back in the saddle again. Get it? ;)
"He is too dangerous to ride, just sell him. Get a different horse. He will never be safe enough."
I hated when I heard those words. My precious horse, not rideable? You must be kidding me, right? No. Not one trainer was kidding; not even my own. Put Fred in any bit and ask him to give to it--and you'd have a dangerous horse underneath of you. A devil horse, if I may. A horse that did not care who was on him or what the simplest task of the day was--he wanted you gone. Backing up against a wall in hopes that when he reared, your head would crack against the concrete wall. Hopping through the air and throwing his neck at your face, possibly thinking he would do himself justice by breaking your nose. Did you dare put a double bridle in his mouth? I wouldn't have recommended it. You could tell even my trainer was uncomfortable with the thought.
Oh, American Saddlebreds; one of the only breeds that is basically forced into wearing a double bridle when showing Saddleseat...and tons of them, not taught correctly. Mouths hard as rocks; some trained in a way that the rider has to use a constant, strong hold on the horses mouth to drive them forward and make them set their heads. Others trained so that the rider has to consistently "bump" the reins with their hands and drive the horse forward to get the epitome of Saddlebred headsets. The dream horse, many times the equitation horse, is trained for the correct way to get a headset. Just barely touch the reins and the horse's head is there. Not many horses respond that way, but when they do, it is a glorious picture and an even more glorious ride.
Who would have ever thought that Fred would even respond in a nice manner when being in the double bridle? I don't think one of us thought he would even be friendly. Luckily, last show season ended up with him in one, but in the least harsh bit you could find and still, fighting you every step of the way. Rides were difficult and tiresome. We wished he would just learn and quit being so stubborn; we wished he would be that "dream horse". No troubles--just have a ride with no worries of necks flying at your face. Even to get a crappy headset, I had to work the hell out of my bridle and he still would throw his head at my face and try to get out of it. That was in a mullen mouth bit. We had tried one with a port and he was even worse with it. So today, she was riding him in one with a port.
I arrived at NBS around 4:20--ready to see Fred back in the double bridle for the first time since last show season. My trainer was fully prepared for the worst. "Most show horses, a lot of times, the first day back in the double bridle, they have fits. I'm not expecting Fred to be good. I have a feeling, there will be a repeat of training last year." Oh? Well, aren't we just using the same bit as last year? "Nope, we are using one with a decent sized port. He's probably not going to like it very much, but he needs to be a big boy now." I am only a standby, only here to watch. I wonder how bad he is going to be. Will he even be ready for our first show in May? Doubtful if he acts as badly as he did last year. The comments, "sell him, he's too dangerous. he's never going to be fixable." ran through my head. Okay, well, here we go.
Charlene gets on my big lug of a horse. He looks less than enthused. Not a good sign. She begins to walk and he perks up a bit. His head completely set in place, exactly where it was supposed to be. Good sign. She lets him trot. She looks at me with amazement and says, "I don't even have to touch the reins and look where his head is. I'm not even working the reins. Are you kidding me?" His head basically perfectly in place. I watch...and watch...and watch. No change. He pulls a little, wondering if he can get out of it, but realizes there is no way out. So, still, keeps himself in frame. No problems. We still expect tantrums eventually; but more working proves that he just does not care.
"We'll take him outside, he'll be more lively out there." Okay, so I open the big door. We take him out. He's a little more excitable, but no change in frame, really. He wants to rush back to the barn, so tries to canter when he goes towards it, but that's the most of our worries. She says, "He really just needs a few rides in the double bridle and he should be good. The most he needs is strengthening. He's got good endurance, but he can't use his legs for a long period of time. He's not strong enough to keep himself in frame and use himself constantly. But, that will come. We will start long-lining and using stretchies and such--get his strengthening up to par. Besides that, he's well... great!"
We're both amazed. Amazed. The horse could not be ridden in any bit and asked to give to the bit pressure last year. Suddenly, he has no problems in a double bridle. Wait, wait, wait-- show season... here we come? Time to go back and prove others wrong.
This was before I changed trainers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB2CBOodcyI
...embarrassing! and a complete difference.
Questions for saddleseat riders:
(1) As far as you can tell, how is his conformation? How does it effect his movement and such? Like I said, he is barefoot (on gravel, too). Had no strength training yet. Also, he does have some kind of back leg problems. We think arthritis but I am planning on getting him x-rayed.
(2) Do you think by show season, he will be ready to go to some more competitive breed shows? Like Pink Ribbon or something like River Ridge (that's too soon, but that type of show is what I'm aiming for). I know he is not going to World Champs, but just shows like that. He's Country Pleasure.
Thanks!
"He is too dangerous to ride, just sell him. Get a different horse. He will never be safe enough."
I hated when I heard those words. My precious horse, not rideable? You must be kidding me, right? No. Not one trainer was kidding; not even my own. Put Fred in any bit and ask him to give to it--and you'd have a dangerous horse underneath of you. A devil horse, if I may. A horse that did not care who was on him or what the simplest task of the day was--he wanted you gone. Backing up against a wall in hopes that when he reared, your head would crack against the concrete wall. Hopping through the air and throwing his neck at your face, possibly thinking he would do himself justice by breaking your nose. Did you dare put a double bridle in his mouth? I wouldn't have recommended it. You could tell even my trainer was uncomfortable with the thought.
Oh, American Saddlebreds; one of the only breeds that is basically forced into wearing a double bridle when showing Saddleseat...and tons of them, not taught correctly. Mouths hard as rocks; some trained in a way that the rider has to use a constant, strong hold on the horses mouth to drive them forward and make them set their heads. Others trained so that the rider has to consistently "bump" the reins with their hands and drive the horse forward to get the epitome of Saddlebred headsets. The dream horse, many times the equitation horse, is trained for the correct way to get a headset. Just barely touch the reins and the horse's head is there. Not many horses respond that way, but when they do, it is a glorious picture and an even more glorious ride.
Who would have ever thought that Fred would even respond in a nice manner when being in the double bridle? I don't think one of us thought he would even be friendly. Luckily, last show season ended up with him in one, but in the least harsh bit you could find and still, fighting you every step of the way. Rides were difficult and tiresome. We wished he would just learn and quit being so stubborn; we wished he would be that "dream horse". No troubles--just have a ride with no worries of necks flying at your face. Even to get a crappy headset, I had to work the hell out of my bridle and he still would throw his head at my face and try to get out of it. That was in a mullen mouth bit. We had tried one with a port and he was even worse with it. So today, she was riding him in one with a port.
I arrived at NBS around 4:20--ready to see Fred back in the double bridle for the first time since last show season. My trainer was fully prepared for the worst. "Most show horses, a lot of times, the first day back in the double bridle, they have fits. I'm not expecting Fred to be good. I have a feeling, there will be a repeat of training last year." Oh? Well, aren't we just using the same bit as last year? "Nope, we are using one with a decent sized port. He's probably not going to like it very much, but he needs to be a big boy now." I am only a standby, only here to watch. I wonder how bad he is going to be. Will he even be ready for our first show in May? Doubtful if he acts as badly as he did last year. The comments, "sell him, he's too dangerous. he's never going to be fixable." ran through my head. Okay, well, here we go.
Charlene gets on my big lug of a horse. He looks less than enthused. Not a good sign. She begins to walk and he perks up a bit. His head completely set in place, exactly where it was supposed to be. Good sign. She lets him trot. She looks at me with amazement and says, "I don't even have to touch the reins and look where his head is. I'm not even working the reins. Are you kidding me?" His head basically perfectly in place. I watch...and watch...and watch. No change. He pulls a little, wondering if he can get out of it, but realizes there is no way out. So, still, keeps himself in frame. No problems. We still expect tantrums eventually; but more working proves that he just does not care.
"We'll take him outside, he'll be more lively out there." Okay, so I open the big door. We take him out. He's a little more excitable, but no change in frame, really. He wants to rush back to the barn, so tries to canter when he goes towards it, but that's the most of our worries. She says, "He really just needs a few rides in the double bridle and he should be good. The most he needs is strengthening. He's got good endurance, but he can't use his legs for a long period of time. He's not strong enough to keep himself in frame and use himself constantly. But, that will come. We will start long-lining and using stretchies and such--get his strengthening up to par. Besides that, he's well... great!"
We're both amazed. Amazed. The horse could not be ridden in any bit and asked to give to the bit pressure last year. Suddenly, he has no problems in a double bridle. Wait, wait, wait-- show season... here we come? Time to go back and prove others wrong.
Click to viewThis was before I changed trainers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB2CBOodcyI
...embarrassing! and a complete difference.
Questions for saddleseat riders:
(1) As far as you can tell, how is his conformation? How does it effect his movement and such? Like I said, he is barefoot (on gravel, too). Had no strength training yet. Also, he does have some kind of back leg problems. We think arthritis but I am planning on getting him x-rayed.
(2) Do you think by show season, he will be ready to go to some more competitive breed shows? Like Pink Ribbon or something like River Ridge (that's too soon, but that type of show is what I'm aiming for). I know he is not going to World Champs, but just shows like that. He's Country Pleasure.
Thanks!