February 2008 • VOLUME 30 • © HORSES For LIFE™ Magazine

This is an enquiry e-mail from Luis Pine (luis2491@sbcglobal.net)

Susannah,
Thank you for your story in Riding by Torchlight. It touched and inspired in too many places to mention. I loved it when you revealed "the secret weapon":
"When they called for drawreins, sidereins, gag bits, flash nosebands and tougher riding, I looked to Tom and all he asked for was more patience. It has become my secret weapon, this patience that has sometimes been my only useful tool on this journey with a great but injured soul."
Lu

I would also like to say how much I am enjoying your magazine, or what I have managed to catch up on thus far. By profession I am a chiropractor specialising in the treatment of equines (using McTimoney technique) and find your articles insightful and thought provoking. I myself am a strong proponent of the age-appropriate correct fittening of the horse and the importance of the biomechanics of riding. Keep up the great work.
Best wishes
Joanne

Hi Nadja,

I am interested in the two articles on the pressure of the bit. I was approached last week by an organisation here campaigning for bitless riding to be encouraged and also permitted in competition.

They asked me if I would be part of a test. I tested the Bob Cook bridle for him some years ago. My Arab stallion who had a very fat tongue and never liked a bit, loved the Bob Cook. My Dutch warmblood mare hated it with a fervency! But I am not sure I could have trained my Arab to the level he was at, without a bit. I still feel that the fingertip lightness afforded by a correctly used double bridle or curb, is not achievable in a bitless bridle. Maybe I am just not skilled enough to achieve it, but as a professional, if I am not, how many amateurs would be?

The evidence in Nevzarov’s article would appear to be compelling, but if I ever got off any horse of mine and had to use pressure on the bit that made his tongue go purple or blue, I would be mortified. But it is not just in a double bridle that this is possible- the snaffle is quite capable of cutting off blood supply, and riders frequently use far more strength in a snaffle than they do to achieve a response in a double.

But surely, it is not just about the bit, or lack of it? It is lack of attention to developing a really secure, deep seat, truly independent of the reins, that is the biggest culprit, encouraging the rider to have to hang onto the reins to stay in balance. It is also that so many of today’s horses are such big movers, that many of the riders, simply haven’t the ability to sit to such huge paces, and end up using the reins to help keep them in the plate. It is lack of education too, in HOW to use the reins/bit.

If many of these rider had a mentor as I did in Capt Desi Lorent, ex student of Oliveira, who used to fine us a drink down the pub, if he saw us pull back as much as an inch, and believe me, at UK pub prices, you soon learned not to keep him inebriated for too long!! I will never be able to pay the debt of gratitude to Desi, sadly no longer with us, for the refined use of the hands that he instilled into me.

Until more attention is paid to the rider’s seat and application of the aids, there will be no respite for the horse. Even in a bitless bridle, if the rider is hanging onto the reins to maintain balance, there will be uncomfortable pressure on the nose, and the horse will start to resist. Riding without a bridle simply is neither a safe nor practical solution for the vast majority of riders, certainly here in the UK. If you were to venture out on today’s roads, without a bridle, and an accident ensued, insurance wouldn’t cover you. It would, frankly, be completely irresponsible to other road users, especially on our deeply dugout lanes here in Devon, with literally nowhere to go to get out of the way of traffic.

The standard of teaching the seat is often dire and is why I have just written a new book for complete beginners, who are the most important of all. Instil a correct seat at this level and there is a foundation on which to build. So concentrate on the seat, and educating the hand, and the horse would have a far better life.

Heather Moffet

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I want to say how much I enjoy Horses For Life. It is a magazine that speaks to my heart.

I enjoy all the articles but especially enjoyed What is Training by Ann Bradley. Ms. Bradley clearly understands horses and her article is a refreshing change from articles on training in most national publications.

Keep up the good work!

Maureen Gould
President, For The Horse Equine Rescue
Stanwood, WA, USA

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