holeymoley
Well-Known Member
Haha! That's genius! How did you come up with that?
Eating grass while ridden- new habit!
- Thread starter holeymoley
- Start date
Haha! That's genius! How did you come up with that?
Kat
Well-Known Member
It is just a diy nose net.
A pair of tights can do the same job too.
A pair of tights can do the same job too.
Marciamac
Well-Known Member
Hacking may be a 'brain break' but if the horse is not behaving, you have to make him work. And I wouldn't worry about hurting him: if he's being disrespectful and disobedient, as long as you're not being cruel, a bit of a sore mouth might make him think twice about snatching for grass. And take two schooling whips - one in each hand - so you can push him forward. (I had to do that once when riding a horse I was warned would try to roll when we crossed a stream. She didn't - but she thought about it and I just kept tapping her and kicking her until we got acrossl)
Landcruiser
Well-Known Member
Mine used to be a nightmare for this, he's another one who'd snatch a mouthful off the ground in canter which is most disconcerting. I've more or less cured him with a tip from a western trainer which is to consistently make the horse work hard every time it snatches a bite. Usually this means trot on for a bit, but might mean trot circles depending on the terrain. My boy took a little while to work it out, and he's not past snatching stuff at mouth height even now, but for me it's a kinder way than hauling on their mouth or using daisy reins etc.
Skib
Well-Known Member
I too let my old share mare get into bad ways and she too snatched grass in canter. I once wrenched the bit crooked pulling one rein and once couldn't get her head up at all and a passer by picked up my dropped whip and helped me. My problem was solved by a Western trainer too. Tho not conventional uk strict riding, it suited me as an old lady. Mark Rashid was at the time very interested in the head position of the horse and how it affected the range of focus of the eye. He also talked a lot about the way the rein links the most touch sensitive part of the human to the most sensitive part of the horse. Then he taught us after mounting just to wait for a bit, till the horse lowered its head and we relaxed into a soft contact. Once the connection was there, I could feel through my fingers if the horse's eye and attention moved to grass, and anticipate with a half halt to keep the head central and at the height that I wanted. Part of the success of this was indeed that I was riding the horse every step, feeling through my fingers rather than only through my seat.
If a horse has been allowed to eat in a meadow, he will think that is allowed and you play into his hands if you just ask him to walk through it . That meadow needs to be taught as carefully as you might teach a horse to jump. If you are allowed to leave the track, you could back up and ride a small circle each rein which is what I do on a horse I don't know who eats on an RS hack. Or ride lots of tiny transitions including halt. So the horse knows it is working for you in that particular field. You do have to work and cunningly plot these things and allow yourself several rides to get the message across. John Lyons says you should always start teaching or training a horse with something you think you can both manage. So may be just walk a few strides into the field and then out again?
My experience of several RS horses one of whom is sent out in a grazing muzzle when ridden by beginners, is that for reasons I don't understand, the soft rein contact and communication with the mouth and head, does work. And it fails, if I talk to my companion or let my attention drift. It also doesn't work so well if you are using the rein contact to support the horse or encourage the movement of the hind legs. The reason may be that in order to stop the horse snacking the reins need to carry the information from the horse to me. But much proper riding is using the reins only to give the horse information from the rider, including the prohibition on eating. Which can be ignored as the horses neck is stronger than a rider's arms. Sensitive finger contact and tiny correctional cues gives the horse less to fight against.
I realise this is not a conventional solution but Rashid predicted it would work for me, and oddly enough it did.
If a horse has been allowed to eat in a meadow, he will think that is allowed and you play into his hands if you just ask him to walk through it . That meadow needs to be taught as carefully as you might teach a horse to jump. If you are allowed to leave the track, you could back up and ride a small circle each rein which is what I do on a horse I don't know who eats on an RS hack. Or ride lots of tiny transitions including halt. So the horse knows it is working for you in that particular field. You do have to work and cunningly plot these things and allow yourself several rides to get the message across. John Lyons says you should always start teaching or training a horse with something you think you can both manage. So may be just walk a few strides into the field and then out again?
My experience of several RS horses one of whom is sent out in a grazing muzzle when ridden by beginners, is that for reasons I don't understand, the soft rein contact and communication with the mouth and head, does work. And it fails, if I talk to my companion or let my attention drift. It also doesn't work so well if you are using the rein contact to support the horse or encourage the movement of the hind legs. The reason may be that in order to stop the horse snacking the reins need to carry the information from the horse to me. But much proper riding is using the reins only to give the horse information from the rider, including the prohibition on eating. Which can be ignored as the horses neck is stronger than a rider's arms. Sensitive finger contact and tiny correctional cues gives the horse less to fight against.
I realise this is not a conventional solution but Rashid predicted it would work for me, and oddly enough it did.
ribbons
Well-Known Member
Exactly my point skib.
Riding the horse is the answer.
By riding I don't mean aggression, I mean obedience, which has to be taught.
Once astride a horse you should be riding it every second, even in relaxing down time. A horse on a long rein after a training session should still be being ridden.
But hey, a nose net will do the job, saving time and effort.
A beautifully mannered, well trained horse takes years and endless patience to produce. In this fast moving world we now live in its possible to do almost anything in a fraction of the time it used to. Except training a horse to be obedient, reliable, and a pleasure to ride.
Ah well, like I said, the nose net will do the job. I wouldn't be seen dead on a horse with a fishing net, pair of tights or indeed a commercially produced equine nose net on its head though.
Riding the horse is the answer.
By riding I don't mean aggression, I mean obedience, which has to be taught.
Once astride a horse you should be riding it every second, even in relaxing down time. A horse on a long rein after a training session should still be being ridden.
But hey, a nose net will do the job, saving time and effort.
A beautifully mannered, well trained horse takes years and endless patience to produce. In this fast moving world we now live in its possible to do almost anything in a fraction of the time it used to. Except training a horse to be obedient, reliable, and a pleasure to ride.
Ah well, like I said, the nose net will do the job. I wouldn't be seen dead on a horse with a fishing net, pair of tights or indeed a commercially produced equine nose net on its head though.
amandap
Well-Known Member
I certainly agree training is the long term answer but I see nothing wrong with using a non painful aid to this problem, until obedience is fully established, to help breaking a cycle and stopping a behaviour getting entrenched. This can become a serious problem very quickly.