View single post by Lakota
 Posted: Sun Apr 15th, 2012 04:06 am
PM Quote Reply Full Topic
Lakota



Joined: Mon Dec 12th, 2005
Location: Indiana USA
Posts: 1769
Status: 
Offline
 Hi Redonda, and welcome. I spent some time with a Paso mare that was spoiled pretty bad and had buffaloed previous owners. She would rear when you mounted if you didn't let her walk off as soon as your butt hit the saddle. That is what the show trainers always did. When they got on they wanted the horse full of life and icthing to go. She went over sideways with one fella and flattened one of his easy ride aluminum stirrups, could've been pretty bad.

The other thing is that broken mouth curb bits (Tom Thumb) are torture devices. When you take on the reins, the curb strap/chain tightens causing the mouthpiece to collapse on the bars putting the lower jaw in a nutcracker while poking the pallet. The center joint is also very capable of pinching the tounge. The horses that 'seem' to work well in these bits are operating on the principle of pain avoidance. Not a good way to train anyone- people or horses.

Don't know if she should be 'used' to this bit if she was being ridden in it when you got her or not, but if she was my horse I would throw that bit away and introduce her to the Imus Comfort Gait bit. It really is the best bit I've ever used. There are video clips from Brenda's Gaits from God dvd series that you can access on the homepage. The one about bits is a great education and Brenda has a knack for making it simple and easy to understand. I highly reccomend checking that out.

Of course, there could be some other pain related issues that we don't know about. The saddle is often a big culprit, sometimes chiropractic evaluations are helpful. Also a very thorough dental examination would be a good investment (by an equine dentist) as opposed to the typical float job. You just have to start investigating these issues one by one until you find what her issue truly is. Too often, we tend to take the route of just assuming it's a bad behaviour when it's possible that there is pain somewhere that the horse is trying to tell you about. Good luck in your efforts and do keep us all posted with what you find out.:)