From: marsh@cs.cornell.edu (Dorothy Marsh)
Subject: Update on "bit suggestions wanted" post
Organization: Cornell Univ. CS Dept, Ithaca NY 14853
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 16:06:23 GMT


First of all, many thanks to everyone who posted/emailed in
response to my earlier post about my experience with my
new borrowed Arab gelding Danny.

I had told you all that I was going to try a short-shanked
curb with a low port and see how that worked.  It worked
fine ... until I had to use the reins for more than
a little nudge here and there.  I never once even pulled
or tugged, but the bit was definitely more than Danny could
handle.  I had ridden solo with it and he had seemed fine,
so I used it for the next group ride--*big* mistake.  As soon
as he started to feel restrained, he just fell apart.  He
tossed his head horribly (worse than his usual head tossing)
so bad that he almost hit me in the face
several times, hopped around, and was as tense as a board.
Poor guy. 

After talking with a past owner who owned him and rode him
extensively for 8 years, I have some new things to try.
The first thing is a mechanical hackamore.  It turns out
that he was ridden almost exclusively, all his life, with
one and is quite happy on it, although he still has a bit of a
head tossing problem with it also.  I think a lot of 
Danny's head tossing is a learned thing.  He doesn't
do it unless he's resisting stopping, turning, etc.
And, I've noticed that he'll often toss his head before
I've even made any kind of strongish contact with the
his mouth.  For example, horse starts to pass, he wants
to go faster and anticipates that I am going to object
to his wanting to increase the speed.  So, to avoid being
restrained to a slower gait, he'll toss his head so
I can't easily slow him down.  When we ride by ourselves,
he rarely fights with me, so we are down to an occasional
toss or two, just to tell me that he would rather not
turn here or there, or he'd rather trot back home, rather
than walk that particular day, etc.  To counteract the
head tossing and loss of control while he does it, I'm
also riding him with a tie down (I can see the flames
rising now, but I think it's really going to work with him).
It's adjusted properly and doesn't interfere at all unless
he tosses his head seriously.  I don't know how this is
going to work when we get in a group, but he gave a couple
of serious tosses on Saturday's solo ride when he was objecting
to a turn away from "home" and stopped after it "whapped"
him.  I think this horse would toss his head even if
I were riding him with a halter, and I don't think I'm
going to stop him from doing it.  I think the best way
to handle it is to not make a big deal about it and
try to keep it to a minimum by using 
the tie down.  Flame me if you want, but that's what I'm
going to try unless I find that it isn't helping.

So, as soon as my mechanical hackamore arrives, I'll
try that on him.  In the meantime, he's back on the
snaffle and is super when alone.  

Danny is really a nice guy, and has a super personality.
He's a little spooky when on his own (I had to pull
myself off his neck after a spook on Saturday--Eek!  What's
that monster in those bushes, as we are trotting along.
The brakes when on and a leap around to the left.
Luckily, he had the brains to stop mid-spin and face
the "killer").  I think that if I just stick with him
as we get to know one another better, he will be a 
nice horse for me.  I think he will do super on the
competitive trail rides I can get to, once he gets
in condition.  He is an expert on conserving energy
and will pace himself on solo rides quite nicely.

Wish us luck!  I really hate getting used to new horses
and he is COMPLETELY different from Penny.  It's a
real change.    

     Dorothy