Extra control leading needed - advice please

LOL this thread is just jokes.... I have perfect control in a headcollar leading across the road, why do people insist leading over the road in bridles and chifneys are the only way to go. I get bored of the chifney crew down the yard, looks like the bridle brigade are on this thread!

OP I know before you said you dislike wrapping the leadrein over the nose (I dislike it as well), my mum has a chain lead rope which goes over the nose which she finds gives her brilliant control if a scary lorry/gust of wind/boy racer/plastic bag comes her way! Good luck
 
If it were me and with the wonderful benefit of hindsight, which so many people are good with on here...
I would have had mare and youngster in bridles (my 3 year old 'fug' goes everywhere in his nylon bit, even in and out of the field every day as hes a sod without it) and then the youngster being a twit wouldn't have mattered so much. Piper can be lively (same age as yours) but as he doesn't know how to use his strength against me he always stoppable.

Dixie, my mare, is broken at the mo and is being walked out in hand and I am doing it in a headcollar...
 
I never realised people found insurance such an exciting subject . . ;-)

Control, IME, comes from the training you have done previously, not just from the kit you have on the horse's head. (eg the Bridleless not Brainless teamchase team, they are in control, calm and come back in the same order they went out, just wearing headcollars. But a lot of training goes into achieving that.)

If I need to give an "oi" tug on the leadrope in an emergency, I'd rather be putting pressure on the nose/head than the mouth - yes it can hurt them and make them pay attention if you get them in the mouth, but it can also panic them more. And anyway, why deliberately hurt a horse if there is another way.

Beatrice, sounds like you have done a good job with your leading, respect etc work in the school. Now it is working in a calm situation you want to gradually add distractions and excitement until they are happy and attentive as they are in a calm school at the moment.

The only reason things went a bit haywire was that they were suddenly in a new situation, and that took so much of their brain space up that they forgot their training. Like when you take a horse to a show and they rarely go as well as they do at home . . ! I teach this stuff all the time, and you do need to introduce distractions etc once you have the basic methods down pat.

In retrospect it would have been good to have one horse each to make things simple, or an extra person if you had to take all three at once. But you learn by experience. :-)

Duallys and rope halters are equally good IME, for different horses. Some don't like the poll pressure from the thin rope halters, others are not bothered and go well in them. Have heard of Lodge Ropes and I believe they do good halters.
 
Re read your initial post and you were asking what to put on the filly.

I would suggest a red Dually would be safest, as least likely to cause injury/hurt her in an emergency. A rope halter should be ok if carefully used - if she got loose and stepped on the rope you would want to check for soreness at the poll. Plus a lunge line so you can give her extra space if needed for a quick boing.

Have you done leading work with the filly? She is not too young for the basics. I would want her to understand how to release herself from pressure, stop, go and turn from your body with the leadrope staying slack all the time. Also I'd get her used to being led with a rope attached to her halter trailing on the ground among her feet, so that when at some point in her life she gets loose with a lunge line on, she is less likely to be scared and bu**er off. :-)

Hope this is of some practical help :-)
 
Highly amused at the Insurance and MUST lead with a bridle on :rolleyes: As long as you have control there wouldnt be a problem, OP thought she could control them, horses act like saints sometimes, other times not so much.

OP Dually`s are great, my youngster was a bolshy little **** a few months ago, now he doesnt put a foot wrong, they`re really good for that little bit extra control :)
 
I have to bring my boys in down the road when the ground is boggy. Most of the time they are well behaved but I keep a "Be-nice" halter which I use if anyone is starting to get a bit above themselves. A few goes in that and they go back to walking nicely
 
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