Marie-Lynn Hammond's Page

Hi Marie-Lynn - Thanks for joining the OEF group! Please feel free to use the group to ask questions, post comments, share ideas, etc.

pictureperfectdressage.com

Hi Marie-Lynn. Spent a busy year away judging lots. Still training and coaching too. Actually don't have a horse of my own right now. Have a bank account instead! Still have a wish, though for that one special one. The ones I work with are adorable, old friends.

Happy riding!

Hi Marie-Lynn! I am a bit slow getting used to checking in at Barnmice, but it will be fun! Happy riding to you. Check out my new website!

Hi Marie-Lynn!

Caught the blurb on you in the Stouffville paper. Very cool! Unfortunately I'm away with the girlz at the OCFF conference in Ottawa this weekend or I would come and support you. Rock on! Cheerz! Dorothy :-)

I think you would enjoy our ponies, they are much more agreeable than your old pal Bruno sounds. Any chance you will come for a tour? We've started planning an open house for early October!

I wish you well with talking to your trainer, regarding the tightness of the noseband and so on. I always wonder what benefit there is in putting more force on a horse's face. Their faces are so sensitive. But then I'm very sensitive, so I "feel" for the horse :o) One thing I've been reading over and over (and told over and over), whether it's from people who use bits or go bitless, is that it's not what you put on your horse's head that's important. It's how well trained your horse is (some will argue that in order to "train" said horse, you have to use strong bits and other head gear). If a horse is going to bolt, it doesn't really matter what you have on it.

I know what you mean about saddles and saddle fitting, and bridles, etc.. I'm new to all this - it's only been a year that I've had my horse - and it is very confusing. I've never had to make decisions like this before. When I was a kid I always used whatever the people who owned the horses used.

I use the bitless bridle, as you know, and I also use a treeless saddle (right from the start I wanted to go as 'natural' as I could). There is a way to fit treeless saddles just as there is a treed saddle...at least that's what I'm finding out!! And yes, there are so many opinions about that! Some saddles and pads work for one person, while another works better for another person. It is all very confusing! I just can't spend money trying out every saddle out there. Even if I could, I probably still wouldn't know which one my horse really prefers. Or maybe it would be very obvious. I don't know.

I was looking through a copy of "Saddle Up" magazine, which I just got with an herb order for my horse, from BC. It had an interesting article about the Canadian Horse in it. It was also full of ads for clinics for training and barefoot trimming, etc., and they all seemed to be in the same area - Armstrong. Wish I lived in a community like that. Oh...and of course I wish I had the money to take part in all these clinics!! LOL I'd love to take part in a training clinic with my horse. If nothing else, it would be good confirmation that things are going well (or not well) for us.

Hi Marie-Lynn!

Here is what my friend in the bitless group says about the Micklem bridle. Turns out that she did some homework on it for school. Here's what she says about it...

"It was designed from the inside out as in the means of it avoiding the molars, which can become pinched especially with normal nosebands. The only time I have seen a horse have his cheeks pinched by a noseband is a) he needs his teeth done or b) noseband done up waaaaay too tight. I see a lot of dressage riders doing this and jumpers who use figure 8 or grackle nosebands to avoid the teeth. The cheek pieces are also lower so they do not rub on the cheek bone, which is normally not a problem if your bridle fits properly.
The bit clips/rings/attachments keep the bit in place, closer to the hard pallet, the horse cannot get his tongue over the bit and since it is attached to the noseband the noseband exerts pressure on the nose every time you pull on the bit. This would essentially take some of the pressure off the bars of the mouth from the bit and displace it to the nose. The bottom strap is like a flash, it keeps the horse's mouth closed and keeps their two way bit attachment in the right place so the horse cannot move it around.
The way the throatlatch is designed is for a snugger fit. You can tighten most conventional bitted bridles but it can slide back to the throat and will actually be quite loose. In that position you can tighten it and it will stay that tight.

The "mild" bitless is just a sidepull. The reins are attached to the side of the noseband. Kind of like riding in a halter.
The "medium" there's a strap that goes under the chin on the mental nerve, much like a curb chain or scawbrig.
The "strong" is a modified figure 8 like the Nurtural and Dr.Cooks.

I did a study on certain products in my second year in university and this one was on it. We studied horse skulls and living mounts and none of them showed this "molar" damage. We came across two horses that had damage near the molars and it was due to a crank noseband being way too tight and the cheeks becoming pinched on the teeth. This horse also had a history of headshaking/tossing and a lot of ulceration where he would bite his cheeks because of the restriction from the noseband.

I would say it is an alright bridle but a lot of what they claim is a problem for the horse, such as the teeth apparently having damage from the cheek pieces is not scientifically studied well. When using a bit you also have to strap the horses mouth shut with their noseband which would be just like a drop noseband or a flash and unnecessary. I don't see it being too much different than a regular bridle unless your horse has specific issues with biting his cheeks, putting his tongue over the bit etc. I believe they range in the above $250 range from when I have ever seen them, yikes!"

Hope this is helpful info for you!

Seems to me I've visited that site before, for that bridle. I'm part of a bitless bridle forum, so I asked what they think about it. One of the ladies in the group is from Ontario, and she's taking an anatomy-type course from Guelph, so it'll be interesting to see what she thinks about the style of the bridle...if it really is anatomically helpful.

Yes, I wish the horses could talk, too! At least sometimes. I sure wouldn't want to go to the barn and hear Fanny say, "Oh shoot, Cyndi's here!". LOL!!

Hello :o)

I know nothing about bits. The main reason I wanted to go bitless when I got a horse is because when I was growing up we usually used a hackamore, and I was afraid that my inexperienced hands would hurt a horse with a bit now.

I have been fiddling around with the fit of my bitless for a whilte. I thought I had it right, but watched a fitting demo on the Nurtural Bitless site, so last evening I went to the barn and readjusted it. What a difference! I even jumped up on my mare bareback and went for a little ride to try it out. I realized I had had the bridle done up too tight before, but now it looks like we're all good.