.."How do I help her transition into a bitless bridle."...

I am purchasing a horse farm and was given a 6-yr old registered Quarter horse. It has been a while since I have had horses so I need some brushing up that's how I ended up here. My horses name is Leotie and she has a hard mouth. I wanted to purchase a bitless bridle to give her a more wholelistic approach. Well, she will hardly stop with a regular bridle no less a hackmore. How do I help her transition into a bitless bridle. I just feel that using a regular bridle is a little cruel I know I wouldn't appreciate one in my mouth ,why would a horse. Help!!

Dawn Green's Answer:

Congratulations on your new farm. First, one word of warning. Free horses are rarely free and rarely problem free.

I can only help with part of your question as I don’t know all the details. Have you had a professional look at your bridle and make sure it is put together correctly? Is the bit appropriate for the horse and how you ride? Please do not take this personally but I have many students who feel that because they rode many years ago they would pick right up on a horse where they left off. Riding a horse is NOT like riding a bicycle. You may be squeezing or other wise cueing your horse to go and that would make him confused and he will run thru the bridle.

As for going bitless, I would like to clear up a misunderstanding regarding this issu. No bit is any more severe than the hands on the reins. A hackamore and especially a Bosal can be very severe if the rider has heavy hands. A good bit is one that the horse respects and you don’t really have to engage very often. You need to understand the action these use because they can also be very painful. Please have a professional watch you ride and you may find that some lessons will benefit both of you.

I would like for you to be careful not to anthropomorphize (attributing human traits to non human species) your horse. We love our horses but they are NOT humans and do not respond as a human would , they do not even respond like a dog. We are predators. Horses are prey. They look at the whole world much differently than we do.

How are his ground manners? Start with that and teach him to turn and stop with your voice and halter. Always remember he is a horse and weighs a lot more than you do and you need to establish boundaries from the ground up !!

Good luck

Dawn

.."Dawn, Thank you so much! I have a little problem. My horse doesn't know how to lope. I try, but he bolts. Do you know how I can teach him?"...

Dawn Green's Answer:

Sheylah,

There are a couple ways to do this. First is when you want him to lope and he wants to run then make him run till running is NOT fun. This may be as exhausting for you as for him but it can work just keep making him run and run and run till he is happy to lope. If he goes too fast just go in a smaller and smaller circles, then as he rates where you want him, then go back to bigger and bigger circles. If he speeds up, back to small circle. Make sure you cue him differently for a lope verses a gallop. Try this and see if it helps

Good luck

Dawn

.." How can I get her to turn it?"...

Hey, I'm trying to train my horse to do barrels. She is very fast and has great potential but coming up on the first one she turns and rears. She will run the 2 and 3. How can I get her to turn it?

Dawn Green's Answer:

Dear Stephen,

Well, you have a couple options. She sounds like that lead might be painful so have her checked out. Also make sure you are not pulling on her face when you go to the first barrel or hurting her in any way. You can also try running the pattern in the opposite direction see how she does then, or just fool her and don’t ask her to go to that barrel. Don’t run the pattern in the normal pattern except on rare occasions outside of competition. Just practice out of order and don’t get into the normal pattern. I would also really recommend that you give her some play time in and out of the arena. You can also just trot the barrels if she goes out of pattern. Pull her down to the trot Finish it and only let her run if she goes where you want.

Good luck

Dawn

.."Do I use a hackamore or a bit, I am currently using a snaffle."...

My horse is very lazy and wants to run what should I do?

Dawn Green's Answer:

Dear Katie ,

Most lazy horse are unfit or hurting so make sure your tack is not hurting her or her feet or mouth are not hurting. Then you need to fit her up. The best way to do that is not to run but do lots of long trotting. Once she is fit and you know she is not hurting andshe still is lazy, you may need to progress to spurs. Start with a gentle one and change to harsher ones if you need it. Many horses will respond better just knowing you have spurs on and you may not have to really use them. In regards to your bit,. a bit is only as bad as the hands on the reins so if the snaffle is working then stay with it, but make sure you are not pulling her back when you try to steer her.

Good luck

Dawn

.."Please explain in layman's terms so my Dad will understand what does it mean when the class is 4D ~17 and under~ with 4 second splits? "...

Dawn Green's Answer:

Jimi,

I will try to explain it so he can understand.The 4 D are different levels of competition that the rider/horse can compete in and be competitive so we don’t have horses that run in low 17 seconds competing against horses that will never be able to go that fast or riders without the experience to ride that fast. The splits are so if a horse runs at a certain time pretty consistently it will help you figure out which D to compete in, but you have to have a high and low time in each split. If you do way better then you change D's and compete in that level. The 17 and under is for youth riders so they don’t compete against the adults.

Hope this helps

Dawn

.."on poles it seems like he gets a little to excited and ends up knocking the poles down. "...

Thank you for helping me my horse has gotten so much better about barrels he is going in the arena perfectly and he has been doing the pattern, but on poles it seems like he gets a little to excited and ends up knocking the poles down. What should i do?

Sheylah

Dawn Green's Answer:

I am glad the barrels are going better. Go back to the basics and take the speed out of the equation. Start with walking them, then trotting, then slow lope. Is he doing his lead changes at the right time between the poles? You may need to check him a bit and work on your lead changes and watch you hand placement. Use your body weight to help with the changes between the poles but slow it down a lot and get your technique perfected then work up your speed. Slow and perfect and relaxed then increase the speed. It may take a while but will be worth it .

Good luck

Dawn

.."How many months should my Reining Horse stay in training for Paint andQuarter Futurities at the regional level"...

Dawn Green's Answer:

Dear Susan ,

I wish I could give you an answer to your question but reality is each horse has its own learning curve and I do not know its age, previous training, or already learned habits. It is hard to say, but I would estimate at least a year if not more for many horses. To become a decent reiner is not a quick process especially if you want them sound in body and mind.

Good luck

Dawn

.."This year he has been a handful; rearing at the gate and fighting the bit even in practice. "...

My daughter is using a 10-year old Thoroughbred gelding. The first year she competed he was wonderful. His pattern was good and he was running 17 and 18 second barrels. This year he has been a handful; rearing at the gate and fighting the bit even in practice. We have taken him off the running for the last couple of months, but my daughter is wondering how long she should keep him off?

Dawn Green's Answer:

Kati,

He sounds like he was getting a bit sour. I would suggest that he do lots of other things in the arena (also get him out on the trails ). Put him on cattle, play tag on horse back, go to lots of barrel races and run time only and DO NOT run the pattern! Just walk in and do something different at a walk or trot around the barrels but not the normal pattern then walk out. If you have barrels at home leave them up and ignore them then every so often just go around one or two to keep the technique down. Too much practice is a big reason for getting sour. Always make him walk into the arena even if they allow run-ins. Don't do it except on a very rare important occasion and never let him run out. Keep him guessing what he is going to do and make a lot of it a non pressure situation.

Also have him checked for saddle fit ,have his teeth checked and check him for lameness- soreness. If it hurts to run the barrels he is not going to want to do it.

Good luck

Dawn

.."She is extremely stall aggressive and has bitten 2 workers already in the 2 weeks she has been with us. "...

We have just acquired a new pony at our stable, a 5- year old mare. She is extremely stall aggressive and has bitten 2 workers already in the 2 weeks she has been with us. Working with horses the past 6 years, this is the first I have been afraid to approach and unfortunately for the pony, everyone at our stable is afraid. I know there must be a way to turn this behavior around. It is terrifying as she is unpredictable and will lunge with ears pinned and mouth wide open if someone is standing near her stall. The 2 workers that have been bitten came close to serious injury as she bites and shakes the victim like a dog would shake a toy. Luckily we only feed her hay and I can throw that in the stall. When watering, I only approach with the hose in hand, thinking I will spray her if she comes after me. While the bucket fills I do talk to her from a distance, her ears will go from pinned to forward and back. That is the only progress I have made. Any strategies you could share with me would be appreciated. We are a lesson barn with all ages of children. All of our horses have wonderful ground manners and most arrived with issues. This is the most dangerous pony and I wish I could help her adjust to her new home. Thanks for your advice.

Dawn Green's Answer:

Dear Cathy ,

I will try to help as best I can. First, make sure her stall is something she can feel secure in, so other horses cannot get into her territory and bug her. If they can, she will spend her time trying to protect it from ANY and ALL invaders. See how she does when she doesn't have a territory to protect. She may have been in a situation where she had to fight for her food or has not ever had to learn to share her space, so turning her out with others may help. What I would suggest is that for the moment one person take care of her needs. As you come to the stall and she is aggressive in any way she does NOT get fed or watered. She may miss a meal or two and not get to drink for a while but the moment she is pleasant reward with water and/or feed. If she gets nasty take it away,or do not give it to her at all. She will figure out pretty quickly that happy ponies get fed and watered. Stay around while she is eating and drinking. If she gets nasty take it away. Now please be careful and I would suggest having some discreet protection with you at least in the beginning. A short whip that you can use for protection would be great. But, try not to use it. Just to make sure you don’t get hurt. I have seen some horses go awhile without food and or water but this usually does work. Be consistent with this and if you have to for a while catch her and tie her up for cleaning outside of her stall. Then, gradually let her in but the second she gets nasty out she goes.

If she does ok turned out with other horses for feeding, you might consider finding a double stall and putting her with a friend to see how she does. Last but not least, (no pun intended) she is a pony and they are rarely my first choice for children. They were not necessarily bred to be amiable.

If she continues to be aggressive I would strongly recommend a replacement with a small horse because you could be found negligent in keeping a" dangerous " animal around..

Good luck

Dawn

.." He showed me his well cared for books when I purchased her with a transfer report. "...

Dawn,

I am wondering if you have advice about getting AQHA registration papers on a filly that both parents are registered but the older man I bought her from 1 year later hasn't registered her. He showed me his very well taken care of books when I purchased her with a transfer report. AQHA says both sire and dam are regestered and he just needs to send the breeding report. Anything else I could do to get these NICE bred reg. papers. I've already told him I would pay for everything!

He promised these papers to me. Do I have to take him to court?

Thank you for your wisdom in our wonderful horse world, Monica

Dawn Green's Answer:

Monica,

I would suggest that you get a stallion breeding report form and fill it out to the best of your ability then take it to him. Ask him to fill out the parts he needs to finish i.e. dates Have a check made out to AQHA to file the late stallion report and you can possibly fill out a registration application. Send the breeding report, the registration app and the transfer at the same time and pay with one check. Ask AQHA if those are all the forms you need and if you can do it all at once! Then just meet with him, and make it easy for him to fill out his part and mail it all in immediately. If he is unwilling to do this there may be a issue with who actually is the sire or dam of the filly you bought so he may not want to deal with the DNA aspect.You can try taking him to court but depending on several issues you may or may not have a case.

Good luck

Dawn