>>> So, why would someone use this type of rig on a soft-mouthed horse?
Why WOULD they...? Who knows? SHOULD they need to? Absolutely not. The picture is not consistent with the words. I'm very skeptical that any horse ridden in a harsh bit is "soft mouthed." I stupidly continued to use the same bit on Holly that she was started in when I first bought her 19 years ago. I used it for maybe a year, and then I switched to a plain snaffle. That first bit had very long TWH shanks - but at least it had a mild Mullen mouth. I can't say for certainty that she was hard-mouthed when I got her at age 3 - that was a long time ago and I was a beginner, so my perspective is very skewed looking back. However, somewhere along the way, she became a very "braced" (or "hard-mouthed") horse, and it took a good natural horseman about 2 hours in the saddle to get her to realize it was ok to give to the bit. She was about 10 at the time. I don't think I would have ever known what to do to break that cycle on my own, not then. Why would anyone want to tread so close to the edge, assuming that the horse in the picture is indeed, still soft-mouthed? Most horses accept good training very quickly, but un-training invariably takes MUCH longer. Karen Thomas, NC No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.21.3/1306 - Release Date: 3/1/2008 5:41 PM
