Posted by admin | Posted in tack | Posted on 25-08-2010
Tags: australian, bitless, bridle, draft, dressage, horse bridle assembly, horse bridle parts, horse bridle sizes, horse bridles, horse bridles and bits, horse bridles for sale, saddle, spanish
What is the best way to get a horse used to a closed bridle?
My horse is extra sensitive when being worked with blinders. I would like to spend a lot of time over the next few weeks/months getting him accustomed to it. Suggestions?
I removed the bit from a blind bridle and put the de-bitted bridle on my mare who also hated blinders. I took her for walks in hand, sometimes staying within her range of vision and sometimes behind the blinders. I didn't take it to the utmost because the whole driving thing kind of fell to the wayside when my harness was stolen, then I moved her from my carriage-company boss's boarding pasture so I didn't have a vehicle to train her with anyway.
I did most of my training and riding of this mare without a bit anyway, so a bit was sort of one more *thing* for us to deal with. She did start to get used to the blinders though. (I had the bridle in my truck and the rest of the harness in my boss's trailer, which was stolen.)
I have always started my green horses by taking them for walks in hand, so this was just an extension of that idea. The horse gets used to seeing all the street and trail monsters, while seeing me right alongside her utterly unperturbed by them.
Do all the same groundwork exercises you've done before, only with the blind bridle on (with or without a bit). Help your horse 'see' that even if he can't see you, you're still the same fair, consistent, worthy leader you are when he can see.
I've done a fair bit of driving OPH (other people's horses), from racehorses to carriages to farm equipment. I always thought I'd prefer to allow my good horse to see what's going on around her/him, because I know my horses and trust them to take care of me in every other situation besides driving. I also believe that 4 eyes are better than two, and since the horse's eyes are about 8-10 feet in front of mine, they can see stuff before I can and alert me to any potential problems. A friend who has a wonderful relationship with her horses says that her mare has expressed a clear preference for the blinders, that they help her focus frontward to where she's going and rearward to the driver's cues. I haven't personally harness-trained a horse of my own to the point of being a finished driving horse, so I accept my friend's assessment. One day I will go there with my own horse and test the various theories.
All the best!