>>> I am still trying to find the perfect bit or hackamore. My question is, If the bit is severe and the horse runs with it, am I pulling too hard? Does that make sense?
Sometimes horses will run/bolt to escape pressure, be that mouth pain, back pain, confusion, fear, whatever. When we were new to horses, we used the bit that came with our Arab to begin with. He would occasionally to the 360-degree turn back to the barn. People told us to get a stronger bit, until we finally found a trainer that had more savvy - luckily we found her within a few months, before Thunder hurt one of us. She told us to get rid of the high-port curb the prior owners had been using, and put him in a simple snaffle. By that time, we'd also figured out that he needed dental work - his mouth had been neglected for so long that it required floating every six-months for a couple of years to get it back under control. Anyway, after one floating and switching to the plain snaffle, he stopped doing the 360 turns. I'm sure in his case that the stronger bit was fueling the problem, not helping it. Of course, at the same time, she had Emily work on relaxing, getting the horse into a nice, relaxed routine. As that happened, Emily's confidence grew by leaps and bounds, fueling Thunder's confidence...so, it's hard to say exactly which of the above "cured" him, but I'm sure all of the above were factors. The bottom line - it was wrong of us to focus on the bit, past getting rid of the initial harsh bit. Karen Thomas, NC -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 269.5.6/770 - Release Date: 4/20/2007 6:43 PM
