Hi Robyn, Actually the horse I am riding does very well in the snaffle. He just hates the dropped noseband so I think I will just go to a bridle with a cavesson. It just seemed like the description given with the cradle bridle was a kinder one, but maybe not. I thought giving pressure first on the nose rather than the mouth would be better. I am not a trainer or even someone with alot of knowledge about bits. I was using what I was told to use this horse. We did send him a few years ago for a few months for some training with Gudmar and he actually did a very good job with this horse.
Now as far the the description for the left brain extrovert this horse meets a lot of the things they list about them like being mischievous and he is somewhat pushy and I am working on that issue. He is also very lippy and that is also an issue I am trying to work on. Otherwise when you get in the saddle he is very much down to business and is very responsive. This horse did have some things that happened to him before we got him that were not good. He was imported by a man when he was a yearling and then started under saddle when he was four but his owner got sick and died and he left this stallion to his sister and his mother and they were afraid of him and put him in a stall with no turn out time at all and this lasted for an extended period of time. We were told he was in a stall for about a year and when they would feed him they would make him get away from the door with a whip and I am not sure if this has caused his being so lippy. He is a beautiful horse and has a great pedigree. We have had him 5 years and he has been shown several times by Gudmar and has won several classes. He is 5-gaited and is a smoky black. I was just looking for something that he would like but would still give some control and frankly I am not the best with my hands and that is why I thought the cradle bridle would work for that reason. Thanks for your input. I knew I would get some really good feedback from the group. Thanks, Judi Qualls
