I borrowed a rubber, D-ring, Mullen mouth bit from one of my clients. I had tried single jointed and double jointed snaffles with Boo. I tried Dr. Bristol, French link, oval, and rollers. Thick, thin. Copper, sweet iron, you name it. This bit was basically the opposite end of the spectrum. I thought maybe something with more stability would do the trick. Booger prefers her bit snug as opposed to loose. Yup, I've tried like six different holes on her bridle with her "bit of choice" (the fat loose ring snaffle with the oval piece).
Well, Booger hated the Mullen mouth. Hated. With a fiery passion. Even though she mouths the bit when I ride, Booger always happily accepts the bit for bridling. She's one of those horses who will open her mouth and actively seek out the bit. (This is part of why I think we just need to find the right solution, and not throw in the towel entirely.) With the rubber bit, she closed her teeth and braced. As soon as I put the bit in, she was chewing and rolling her tongue. She normally sits with her mouth quiet until I actually get on her, so this was not a good sign.
Still, I had the bit so I rode in it. That was a big, fat no. Booger braced her jaw, inverted her neck, and pinned her ears at me. She felt stiff and I think not having a joint confused and displeased her. So much for that idea. Every thing that I don't theoretically like about a Mullen mouth bit, Booger seemed to actively hate in practice. Needless to say, that ride didn't last very long.
So we're back to the drawing board. I honestly feel like the only thing I haven't tried is any kind of bit with leverage, and I am hesitant to do that either. She's so light and soft in the bridle and she's a horse that embodies "less is more".
A few people suggested the PS of Sweden bridles. Moving beyond the fact that I'm not going to spend $500 on a horse that I don't own (and that I'm pretty sure her owner would stroke out if I suggested she foot the bill on that one), I'm not sure that more play in the bit is going to do the trick. As I said, she seems to like stability (a shorter rein and a snug-fitting bit) better than wiggle room (a loose bit pisses her off and she fusses if you leave her on the buckle with a bit in). Still, I might take the leap and buy the $50 (holy cow! REALLY??!) cheek pieces from PSoS just to rule it out. Or maybe I'll just hook her bit to a hair tie and get the same effect. Har har har. Not really. But SERIOUSLY people are spending $500 on these bridles? I am in the wrong business.
I got my s-hack back and I'm going to try that next ride. I am sure that Booger will do totally fine in that option and I'll probably get her a hackamore of her own for 99% of our riding. Still, I feel somewhat vexxed about this whole thing.
And, I'm going to reiterate that we've done chiro, teeth, and even x-rays (though they were unrelated to the bitting issue.) There is nothing medically going on with the horse, and she does this regardless of who rides her or how. It may not even be a big deal, but it certainly doesn't look pretty.
ANYWAY.
I've been doing a lot of 'playing' with Booger lately. The ground is decent, but not really optimal for serious under saddle work. We're stuck at home because the trails are a swamp. I try not to over do it because I don't want to tear up the arena too much. So we've been focusing on the ground work, and it's been coming along swimmingly.
I've mentioned that I was working on teaching Booger to come to the mounting block of her own accord, and that she picked that part of it up pretty quickly. Teaching her that I want her back and not her face took a little more creative thinking. Booger would come running to the mounting block from anywhere on the farm, but then she'd just circle and circle and circle, trying to figure out what position got her the reward.
I went back to the basics of bending on this one. If you bend the horse one way, their body sort of naturally moves the other. I started with a rope halter, asking Booger to bend away from me, and rewarding her when she'd step towards me as a result. Then I eliminated the halter, asking her to bend away from me with a tap of my hand on her back instead. I initially reinforced that with a treat given over her back. It didn't take her long to realize that the closer she stood to me, the easier it was to reach the treat.
Now she's at the point where she'll over shoot me and then back into her "parking space". It's adorable and hilarious to watch. Yesterday, before I had Mike out there with the camera, she actually came cantering up to the mounting block and slid to a stop next to me. She is very sassy about everything and I laugh as she leaps and prances into position. I watched a video about inviting the horse in with an enthusiastic greeting, and Booger brings that concept to life.
I did eventually drag Mike out through the mud to take a video of us playing with the mounting block. It was not our most perfect attempt, but it's functional and I love Booger's body language in the clips.
I've also been working on having Booger jump things on hand signal. She's really smart, and she is always questioning. "Why should I go over when it's easier to go around?" Lately, however, she has pieced together that the more effort she puts in, the bigger her reward.
Of course, our best work is always when nobody is around. Some day, I'll remember to charge my helmet cam and wear it for our sessions. It is impossible for me to video tape and work the horse at the same time. I've tried. The second Mike comes out, she gets super distracted. Seriously, she has decided he is her new BFF and she cannot listen to me if he's around.
Yesterday, I had Booger doing little figure eights over cavaletti that were set at a 90° angle to each other.
She also eagerly jumped the cross rail, and even popped over a 2'3" vertical at liberty. I got all excited and dragged Mike out again.
Booger's efforts were a little less enthusiastic with an audience.
So I dismissed Mike and went back to playing on our own. Booger was so cooperative and was clearly having a blast. Even when I decided that we'd done enough and tried to dismiss her, she was stuck to me like glue. The mounting block practice was going so well that I decided to test its practicality. I went back to my car for my helmet. Booger trailed me all the way to the barn and waited for me to come back, then followed me quietly back out to the ring.
I got on the mounting block and she jogged over and side stepped, offering me her back. I swung a leg over and she stood completely still and awaited further instruction.
We went on to have a super fun bareback, bridle-less ride. Booger was steering off my leg and seat, and I even played around with teaching her hand signals for left and right, a concept she grasped quickly, but also grew bored of in a short while.
We walked and trotted all over the ring and Boo was stretching down and really moving nicely. I think she appreciates having the freedom. If I give her the option, she'll pick the right answer. If I tell her what I want, she'll argue before doing it. She's definitely opinionated and sassy.
I dragged Mike out again. He is a good sport. At first, that turned into Booger making a beeline for him and pretending she could no longer hear me on her back, but I insisted that we go back to work and she allowed it.
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| Nice bendy circles. Neck rope mostly for decoration. My right hand is on the treat pouch to keep it from rattling. |
That turned into cantering, which turned into excited crow hopping. I laughed and engaged my "e-brake" (seriously, bending is the basis of everything I do). We did a few more laps of nice trot and then called it a day.
I should just strive to ride this mare completely naked (her not me) for the rest of her days. She wouldn't complain. It would take us ten more years to get back out on trail though!
