>>>>I wonder if the > mouthpiece is too wide . I wouldn't think he could pull it so far out of > his horse's mouth if it weren't or is that a charecteristic of the gag > bit?
Not necessarily. It's the style of riding; if you look at the picture on the cover, the rider is pulling the snaffle out of the horse's mouth also. Same with page 94, 85, etc. through out the book. > Now that isn't a dropped noseband is it? And the horse somehow is still > closing his mouth. Do you suppose he is just a pretty phlegmatic animal? Probably. I think the breed is pretty stoic and shuts down to things like this, a lot of the time. There is no other option for them. I think the horses grab the bit and try to keep it from hurting them, and as they travel, at times, they will be needing / wanting to move their head, and that can cause sparks of discomfort. It's not only the bit that can cause them pain or discomfort, but the way the horse is forced to carry his head and neck. His glands, hyoid apparatus, parotid, etc., can be squished to pain / discomfort. > And - one more question. We were taught to ride (ideally) with a straight > line between our elbows and the bit, the reins being made of some > imaginary > elastic substance. This man's hands are pretty high. Is he lifting his > horse into gait do you think? Probably. There's not many straight lines in these pictures; either high for the trotty horses or low for the pacey horses. Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com
