When I work Calvin in the arena, I normally just use the larger pen in our stables. However, for cantering and trotting, it's really pretty small and I can't accomplish many circles and serpentine. So the only larger arena is the public one down the street. I knew that Calvin needed more arena work so I figured we'd head down there. On the weekend, it's usually pretty crowded, and this last Sat. was no exception.
I thought "Great! he's never been in an arena with horses so this should be a new learning experience!" Needless to say, it went about as well as I thought it would. For some background, we've been in this arena before (without other horses) and Calvin was very nervous. This is understandable, it's a new surrounding far away from his barn and he's all alone in this massive space next to the loud road. This time, there were 4 horses in the arena doing different things, walking, trotting, turning, cantering, etc. So we got in the arena and he was pretty amped up from both being in a new place and seeing other horses. We walked around and he very alert and confused as to why all these horses are doing separate things. I could see the thought process happening in his brain, "This horse is cantering, I should canter too and run after him!" Normal horse herd behavior. Anyway, for me (the rider) this was not such a wonderful experience. He did a 180 and RAN to the horse at the other end of the arena. I pull on the reins and he's ignoring me completely, so I'm just trying to stay on and keep his head up so he doesn't buck. This picture is pretty accurate to my experience. Needless to say we put on quite the show for everyone watching! We even scared some little kids out of the arena unintentionally haha, guess they don't want to be around a wild mustang ;) I did my best to circle and distract Calvin while he did his best to catch up with other horses and try to buck me off! By some miracle I did not fall off and managed to end on a positive note with Calvin listening to the bit and being less scared, so I cooled him off and called it a day!
So while I'm cooling down in the arena this random "trainer" comes up to me with a bit in her hands. She goes, "when you ride him your bit goes through his mouth so you need a bit like this." She must have seen my horrified expression, because she added "I don't necessarily mean the bit part, just the cheek piece (sides)." That's funny because that bit is probably the harshest bit on the planet as it nutcrackers in two different places on the horses tongue, not something I'd ever even purchase. This type of bit is a "full cheek twisted wire snaffle," meaning that the extended sides help turn the horse's head easier as there is more surface area pressure (the twisted wire part is self explanatory). I actually have a full cheek from my very first horse, but it's still harsher than what I want to use for Calvin (mine is a slow twist, less harsh than the one above but still strong, I used it when I was 9). I explained to her that "yes, normally he doesn't have the bit slide through his mouth but he is just too afraid and ignoring me. It doesn't matter the harshness of the bit, if a horse is afraid then no amount of metal can stop them." She went on about how she only uses bits that are "show legal" and rubber bits aren't allowed (then why show in these events??? No one is forcing you to use a harsh bit!) I said, "thanks but I don't want to ruin his mouth since he's a 3 year old." To which she replies "I've never found a difference between metal and rubber snaffles with young horses." Um....really? How about we put a metal bit in your mouth and yank on it to see which you prefer? I finally ended it saying "thanks I've been doing this a long time and trained many young horses, you have your training methods and I have mine, but thanks anyway for the advice." She had to butt in saying "I've been a professional trainer for 15 years!" I just laughed and let it drop...okay lady. Then she went to her horse posse and I could overhear her talking about what was wrong with my riding and such, which is really what pissed me off. It's fine if you disagree with my riding, but now she is brainwashing other people to think that bits like the one above are normal. Not to mention she was about 200lbs overweight (not exaggerating), clearly not someone I would want to ride my horse!
My
setup: includes halter under bridle. You can see how if I pull hard
enough on the other side, that ring can slip into his mouth.
There's a saying in the horse world that goes something like "the best advice in the horse world is don't listen to anyone's advice." I've known the horse world was very opinionated, but this time it really rustled my jimmies because in my mind, Calvin's behavior was normal for a 3 year old and nothing that really needed training, just more time and experience. In fact, I explained to the "trainer" that "look how soft and supple he is now in this bit, he was just afraid." The fact that this woman would use a harsh bit on a baby horse just makes me so sad. Oh and did I mention she had her 3 year old tied up to a trailer with a nose chain? Not something a "trainer" would do in my book.
Her original point was valid, I needed something to stop the bit sliding in his mouth. However, if she knew methods that weren't cruel (that required about 10 seconds of me googling out of curiosity) she would have found something called a "snaffle hobble." As you can see in the picture, it's a leather strap that hangs low under the chin and doesn't do anything other than prevent the bit from being pulled through his mouth. Needless to say, I'll purchase one of these instead of a new (cruel) bit.
This was a good lesson though, if you or your child are riders and don't agree with someone's training methods, go find someone else! There are much better trainers out there that won't want to hurt your horse for profit. If you've come this far, thanks for reading my rant! I'm sure I'll have more "crazy trainer" stories in the future as horse people are a nosy bunch.
No comments:
Post a Comment