I apologize to my readers for my lack of production this year, I just get so tired and discouraged that I can’t seem to write. 

At least I kept riding last year, and that seemed to take up all my extra energy.  I even made progress with my riding, Cider no longer reminds me of a pretzel as we walk and trot around Shannon’s small ring.  Thanks to Cider’s refusal to accept anything less than perfection, my body finally seems to have figured out how to keep centered in my EZ-Fit treeless saddle.  Before I got this saddle I had problems riding Cider, but once I got the treeless saddle a lot of the other problems started to disappear, but she still bulged out against my outside leg and was not straight!  Since the seat of the saddle is so broad and with my lower legs not being supported like they are in a jumping saddle, my body had to learn how to balance itself in this saddle.  Since the stirrup leathers are nylon lined I could not punch extra holes in them so I ended up adding some extra patting on the footrest of one of the stirrups so they would be even.  That helped since it gave the rest of my body an accurate reference point.  Then I worked on keeping equal pressure on my seat bones, while at the same time trying to keep my face vertical and pressing out with the solar-plexus part of my abdomen to get my back straighter and my shoulders back.  And finally, the last few months, she stopped bulging out against my outside leg all the time, and when she did she accepted my leg aids while I re-centered myself in the saddle, all the time keeping an even contact on both reins.  Yeah progress!  Now I am working on keeping her still at the halt on loose reins, and she is getting better, and the past few months when I’ve sent her to Shannon, Cider now stops politely two steps away from Shannon and stays stopped, another enormous improvement.

Mia is now showing her age, grey hairs grow thicker around her eyes and muzzle, her back sags a little more, and she feels more creaky when she starts to move out, just what I expect from a horse that is around 30 years old.  I’ve been using my Dr. Cook/Spirit reins bitless bridle since she told me she wanted out of the bit for a while, but now she is telling me more and more to get LIGHTER with my rein aids.  The big, big, big problem with lighter hand aids with a bitless bridle is that when the aids get super light it just feels like the normal movement of the reins when she is moving, even with the rolled leather Spirit cross-under “straps.”  I twitch my finger--no response.  I close my finger slightly--half-hearted response.  I close my finger firmly (with immediate release, of course) and its “yes ma’am, but must you be so RUDE!” with her wanting to fully stretch out her neck after she obeys me.  Since I dug out my Wellep bit for Mick I am going to try it on Mia, she seemed to like it years ago when I used it on her for a summer.  It will be interesting to see if she constantly plays with the Wellep bit with her tongue when off contact like she used to do.  I will have to concentrate on keeping my hands level since the Wellep bit gives my hands a different type of feedback than a regular bit, my hands tend to wander in the air searching for that firm endpoint reference that a normal snaffle bit gives me.  Since the reins are attached to a cable that goes through the metal bit cannons and center ball joint and can slide side-to-side a little, I will also have to be careful to practice using my outside supporting rein so I keep both reins at an equal length and do not get into bad habits.

Mick has continued his improvement in the Wellep bit.  While he does not show much impulsion when there isn’t another horse in the ring he continues to be a little bit more supple.  It is taking a lot less time for me to get his back swinging at the walk, whether from a halt or from any type of turn, and Debbie is complaining less about him dragging his hind feet.  I still need to get after him with the crop on his croup as he pushes off with the hind leg, and I have to use the crop harder since his croup is covered by TWO butt blankets when it is cold and windy, a light tap just does not get through!  But I am doing this less and the effect seems to last longer.  Lately Debbie has been getting after me about the stability of my lower leg, so I am trying to do plenty of two-point while gripping with my upper calf, but when I do this I feel like a spigot has been opened up that drains all my energy out of my body.  This is a big part of the reason why I’ve been too tired to blog recently, it takes me around three days to recover from doing this for a few minutes. 

I am intrigued by the Wellep bit contributing to Mick’s suppleness.  At first I thought it was only because he could get the bit comfortable on his tongue and dictate where the bit acted all by himself.  Now I  beginning to suspect that because the cable that runs through the metal mouthpiece of the bit Mick can flex his poll from side to side in the most comfortable manner for him, instead of his side to side poll flexions being dictated entirely by my hands.  So this bit gives Mick at least partial control over two things that no other bit give him (including the Wellep Lever Cheek snaffle, the Wellep bit I’m using has the regular snaffle cheek.)  He isn’t moving the mouthpiece with his tongue, he is just letting the bit sit peacefully in his mouth calmly and happily, and he is moving with more suppleness than before.  When he is used for lessons with other riders Debbie always uses a Mullen mouth snaffle on him to protect his mouth, but he tends to look stiff.  When I use a Mullen mouth snaffle on Mick (when my hands get too bad for the Dr. Bristol snaffle) he does not get more supple, and he seems to end up getting irritated when I give one sided hand aids, nothing bad, just a little hint of “really woman, WHAT do you want of me?”  I do not get this from the Wellep bit even when I am in full contact, at which point the Wellep acts like a Mullen mouth.  Of course with the regular Mullen mouth snaffle Mick has little control where it acts on his tongue, versus the Wellep where he can influence where it goes over his tongue and at what angle.

The longer I ride the more convinced I become that the state of the horse’s tongue dictates a lot about the quality of the horse’s movements.  However there is next to nothing about this in equestrian literature except when the horse has acquired annoying habits with his tongue.  The only equestrians that even have a type of bit that can convey the movement of the horse’s tongue accurately is a GOOD EXPERIENCED spade bit rider with the proper type of spade bit (one with a three piece mouth piece) and that knowledge only covers a horse when the horse is in full collection.  The one saving grace of a single jointed snaffle is that it gives the horse’s tongue a place to go when on full contact, therefore these problems may not have been as apparent in days gone by.  The rest of the single-jointed snaffle bit may suck for the horse but at least the tongue pressure is less than with a three piece snaffle mouthpiece, however necessary the three piece mouthpiece is for horses with low palates and thick tongues.  How many problems with accepting the bit arise from the fact that the rider does not ride the tongue as well as she rides the rest of the horse?  How many resistances arise from the rider not giving the tongue enough room to move?  I really wish someone would do some scientific research on this as I think this is the missing link in good riding.

Have a great ride!

Jackie Cochran     

     

Views: 340

Comment

You need to be a member of Barnmice Equestrian Social Community to add comments!

Join Barnmice Equestrian Social Community

The Rider Marketplace

International Horse News

Click Here for Barnmice Horse News

© 2024   Created by Barnmice Admin.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service