Drew
New Member
Posts: 6
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Post by Drew on Jan 31, 2017 0:54:05 GMT
Thank you for the comments...
horseguy- I was going to ask about that set-up...
It seems like the horses that are most "tense", at the barns/events I've been at lately, have a lot of extra gear on them, tie downs, martingales, cross nose bands, etc.; just a lot of stuff and the horses in a plain hunt/ring snaffle seem more calm. I understand that there are/can be training goals with some of the tack...
Are the animals less tense, better trained (comfortable) because of the tack, or could the tack be causing the tension?
Maybe there is or I should start a topic on bridle set-ups (role and function) where some of us green folks can lean on the expertise here to add to a text reference also?
Hope y'all are well!
Drew
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Post by rideanotherday on Jan 31, 2017 12:23:32 GMT
Thank you for the comments... horseguy- I was going to ask about that set-up... It seems like the horses that are most "tense", at the barns/events I've been at lately, have a lot of extra gear on them, tie downs, martingales, cross nose bands, etc.; just a lot of stuff and the horses in a plain hunt/ring snaffle seem more calm. I understand that there are/can be training goals with some of the tack... Are the animals less tense, better trained (comfortable) because of the tack, or could the tack be causing the tension? Maybe there is or I should start a topic on bridle set-ups (role and function) where some of us green folks can lean on the expertise here to add to a text reference also? Hope y'all are well! Drew In my experience, people start packing on gear when they start running out of horsemanship or time. I won't go so far as to say every horse should be in a snaffle, but you will eventually run out of bigger bits or more gear. Start with training. There are always options there. Just ask any 10 horsemen. You'll get 20 different answers. You have a device that holds the mouth shut (nosebands) and a bit in the mouth that the rider is hanging on. That's uncomfortable at best. How relaxed are you when you are uncomfortable?
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Post by horseguy on Jan 31, 2017 13:19:48 GMT
Thank you for the comments... horseguy- I was going to ask about that set-up... It seems like the horses that are most "tense", at the barns/events I've been at lately, have a lot of extra gear on them, tie downs, martingales, cross nose bands, etc.; just a lot of stuff and the horses in a plain hunt/ring snaffle seem more calm. I understand that there are/can be training goals with some of the tack... Are the animals less tense, better trained (comfortable) because of the tack, or could the tack be causing the tension? Maybe there is or I should start a topic on bridle set-ups (role and function) where some of us green folks can lean on the expertise here to add to a text reference also? Hope y'all are well! Drew I think it is difficult to separate the tack issue from the riding/horsemanship issue. As rideanotherday said, people run out of horsemanship and go to buying and using more equipment, I think mostly because they can order it online or run to the tack shop and buy it immediately. It is safe to generally say that the less stuff you see on a horse, the better the rider is at communicating with the horse.
As for stress, yes I believe all that extra stuff is stressful because horses have a need to "understand" what the stimulation from that stuff means. If it is just a poor horseman's excuse for not knowing something, then the horse can't grasp a practical reason it's there stimulating or restricting them. And when horses are constantly restricted or stimulated by something that they cannot get the meaning of, then they stress until the experience desensitizes them. So, you have a stressed horse and eventually a dulled horse, neither of which is desirable.
Now I have to do my chorus about the traditional horse community vs. the contemporary horse industry. When I was a boy if you went to a tack store (or the tack section of the local hardware store) and you tried to buy something, inevitably a conversation with the store person would result about why you are buying this thing you came for. That's because everyone was part of the community and people had a shared and vested interest in others being effective, safe, etc. It was not uncommon then for the store person to help you determine that something else might be better for you and your horse, or sometimes that buying nothing would be better. People had a longer vision of trust and did not want to sell useless stuff for fear that you might discover later you had made a useless wasteful purchase and would not return to their store.
Today in the horse industry anyone will sell anyone anything, and both parties understand that the buyer will enjoy the act of purchasing, regardless of practical effectiveness of the item bought, and the seller will enjoy the income from the sale. We now live in an age of purely commercial satisfaction. The medium of the transaction has become the complete message of it. Look in anyone's tack trunk. They are filled with stuff, most of which the owner has no purpose for or understanding of its correct use. This environment allows buyers and sellers to trade in things like $300 pink titanium stirrup irons.
All this boggles my mind. If one quarter of the money spent on useless stuff for horses was spent on proper riding instruction, I believe general American horsemanship would improve measurably.
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