Double bridle or something similar??!

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Rochelle

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Im ready to compete my horse at elementary in the next few weeks and my trainer keeps saying my horse would be so much easier to keep in an "elem outline" if I rode him in a double. Im not too keen at the moment to try a double so I was wondering if anybody had any ideas what I could use for the same kind of "lift" effect of a double?? Thankies
 
I am working my horse at Elementary, in fact we are doing our first test on Sunday. If you are comfortable with your snaffle then stick with it, I use a double for my boy because I was jumping in it and he felt more confident, this carried through into that flatwork. I think it is best to make sure that the signals given down the rein are clear if this is something you can do in a snaffle then great.
PS I also use a double because my lad is a 17hh TB and I am 5ft2!!!! As the advert says 'Every little helps'
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Sorry bit of a 'purist ' on this one and your trainer is wrong, stick to the snaffle. There is no such thing as an elementary outline. There is a way of going that requires balance and self carriage for this level but that is totally possible in a snaffle and as for the 'i am little and the horse is big'thing, dont agree with that either. This is about training and teaching the horse to respond to the aids and if it was going to be about size then we would all loose! 'Thats why they pull carts and we dont!!'
The double bridle simply would not be invented if we were looking at it today. It was devised to 'save ' the horses from the unskilled hands of the calvary soldiers rather than just having a curb bit in unskilled hands on the battle and hunting field.
As i have said before, everyone gets all hot under the collar at the mere mension of roll-kur yet they are happy to ram a double bridle in their gobs.mmm bit of double standards.
For control in jumping there are far better bits. The curb should'nt really be used for 'steering' which is why the 'classical' schools hold the curb in one hand.
You sound like you have the right idea carry on training in the snaffle , the horse will then be happy to go forward to the hand and your hand 'recieve' him. Collection comes from this ability to step into the hand not pulled in at the front.
 
I dont agree with your trainer at all, stick with your snaffle for now, thats what you and your horse are used to!

Lance is elementary level and a big horse, im 5ft 5 and 8 stones, he is a strong horse, but its nothing to do with that, its not about what is in front so much as what is coming from behind.
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