On 2/25/07, [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > but it > wouldn't surprise me if a snowmobile required more serious measures, and > i'm uncertain if i'd be able to stop him w/o a bit in such cases. (i'm > not that certain i'd be able to stop him with a bit, even, but i could > try. we review the one-rein stop about once a month, starting at a walk > and proceeding to the other gaits, in the ring; we do it at about the > same frequency on the trail for practice.) > > --vicka >
I think the goal is to get them to do something with the least pressure possible because they are so big and strong no human on earth could control one if you dont... thats hard to remember because they are so big but there is no way a human could overpower them with strength, we all know that. But thank goodness they have such tiny brains and such big hearts that they want to please so badly and also have some primitive wiring to learn from the release so that we can get them to do incredible things without them realizing they could just dump us every time and glibly go on their way. I trained mine all to do the one rein stop by watching a horse guru video several times. The way I taught it is to reward with a release with even the barest response from them and building on that. So that i dont have to do anything by pulling with all my strength. I have had to use a one rein stop once and I am convinced it saved my life. I was riding with people who were drinking out of flasks at 8 AM on a day when it was less than 20 degrees and while traveling through the woods we came up on a series of small hills, manmade for erosion control, and they just yee haww took off galloping and so did my Stonewall. On about the third hill he decided it would save him a lot of time and trouble if he just jumped from the top of it to the next and when he landed my foot went all the way thru the stirrup halfway to the knee, and by then he was on his way up the next hill at a gallop and I knew if I fell my foot would not come out of that stirrup and he would not be stopping as long as the others were galloping. So I put the one rein on him and he threw himself around so hard and fast he whammed himself into a tree so hard he actually made a horrible WHOOF sound. If my leg had hit the tree with him it would be broken! But the effect was that I think the tree hitting him gave him the idea that I had kicked him that hard in the ribs and he was a perfect angel the rest of the day no matter what the others did:) I had complete control over him tho. And he was in a plain snaffle that day. There are just ways to train a horse to do things and the strongest man in the world couldnt stop them with a 12 inch shanked mule bit with bicycle chain across the tongue if they havent been trained to build on the least pressure possible... janice yipie tie yie yo
