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Post by racaille on Apr 20, 2009 16:46:03 GMT
Aaaarghghgh! I was waiting to order mine as I didn't want it languishing in London (waiting for the OH to bring it out) but now it seems it might not arrive in time (before his departure) so I'll have to spend the extra on postage. Serves me right for being tight-fisted.  |
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ceej
Administrator 
im back.... :)
Posts: 5,363
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Post by ceej on Apr 20, 2009 17:11:46 GMT
how much is the extra postage? would it be cheaper to send it to me and i can post it to you?
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Post by racaille on Apr 20, 2009 18:25:10 GMT
That's a lovely offer Ceej but it probably is easier/cheaper to spend the £14 postage and have it sent straight here, given that they charge £7 postage within the UK.  |
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Post by hetty on May 21, 2009 20:08:55 GMT
Just found this thread and am very interested in giving bitless a go too!
Ceej and Racaille - Just wondered if you had both received your new bridles yet and how you are both getting on with them???
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Post by spotti on May 22, 2009 13:00:08 GMT
Hetty, Ceej has her bridle and has a thread somewhere ('ll find a link if you like) and I think I remember Racaille said she'd tried hers too??? I'll go and find out  |
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Post by hetty on May 23, 2009 15:09:41 GMT
Have had a good look and found it. Thanks
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Post by spotti on May 23, 2009 16:03:04 GMT
Oh...right...um...confession time - I completely forgot to look  |
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Post by racaille on May 28, 2009 4:28:50 GMT
Yes.....yes....YEEEEEESSSSSS!!!!!!!
Sorry, got a bit carried away, but you can achieve an outline in a Dr Cooks!
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Post by spotti on May 28, 2009 7:34:33 GMT
Wahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!! That's so exciting!! Well doesn't that just prove that the term "on the bit" is a load of rubbish...an outline comes from behind, it's got nothing to do with the bridle |
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Post by racaille on May 30, 2009 3:29:11 GMT
Tried the sheepskin noseband cover today (well, yesterday now) and it was a lot less sweaty. Hoever, I did feel there was a little less control. It didn't matter really as Paco adapted and was fine but on a naughtier horse it might make a big difference.
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Post by spotti on May 30, 2009 18:29:58 GMT
I got home from uni today to find mine redy and waiting for me - stuck it on the bridle earlier and will be giving it a go within the week sometime (we're having to re-school her to walk nicely as she's being a beast atm!)
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Post by jack on May 30, 2009 18:56:01 GMT
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Post by racaille on Jun 1, 2009 6:04:04 GMT
Spotti, I've taken the sheepskin noseband cover off again. I found it was making it too easy for Paco to 'resist' the action - he was sticking his nose out. It seems there is no alternative - I shall have to shell out for the leather version ......  Jack - you'll have to think long and hard about which type of bitless bridle you go for (as there are so many to choose from on your site). It depends on your style of riding and what you want to do with your boy. |
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Post by spotti on Jun 1, 2009 13:22:28 GMT
I tried the sheepskin cover this morning... Faith didn't like the smell of it - with it being real sheepskin and all - but after the initial investigation she was happy enough for me to put it on her noseband and then seemed fine after that. I've obviously not tried riding in it or really used the reins BUT it did seem to keep her head lowered, stretching her back and making her walk a lot more powerful and less stiff (she's always stiff after a night in the stable due to her bone spavins and back/pelvis but eases up within about 10mins of walking) so even if it makes no difference to the action of the bridle then atleast its helping her back Racaille, sorry to hear you didn't get on with it - I think we may invest in a leather version at some point but for now the Beta is just fine I did wonder if the extra padding of the fluff might stop the action of the bridle, and according to you it does, but we'll keep testing it and keep you updated |
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Post by brigadier on Jun 1, 2009 15:09:46 GMT
Wahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!! That's so exciting!! Well doesn't that just prove that the term "on the bit" is a load of rubbish...an outline comes from behind, it's got nothing to do with the bridle Hey Spotti- have to comment as there is something a touch too evangelical about your statement. On the bit is simply a phrase that describes a way of going and means the horse is obedient to the hand however it is often interpreted differently. I would still describe a horse that is working in an outline using a Dr Cooks as on the bit (despite there being no bit!). A horse that is working correctly does work from behind but it is the combination of what is happening behind and how it is contained and directed in front and by the seat/legs that makes a horse 'work on the bit'. Dont forget in the wrong hands this bridle still can cause pain. All that said Im really glad that you have found a bridle you like. |
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ceej
Administrator
im back.... :)
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Post by ceej on Jun 8, 2009 21:54:17 GMT
Dr Cook calls it on the bridle rather than on the bit for the obvious reason!!!!
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ceej
Administrator
im back.... :)
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Post by ceej on Jun 8, 2009 21:56:09 GMT
hetty - have you decided to get one?
Expect a wait...I STILL havent had my second one. I waited three two weeks for the first and now this one has taken nearly 4!! But it is worth it - harrys a stupid pig now evading more than ever now he has tried bitless - he seems to object extra hard to the bit now...
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Post by spotti on Jun 9, 2009 7:06:53 GMT
Oh dear, sorry to hear about Harry  And Brig, what you say always makes complete sense and when I posted that comment I merely meant that an outline doesn't come from holding the horses head down by pulling on the bit (like I see soooooo many people do these days and then claim "my horse works in a beautiful natural outline"...  yeah right). |
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Post by brigadier on Jun 10, 2009 10:35:18 GMT
Spotti- I realised what you meant and know you mean it with the best intentions, but, and it is a big but, some horses will go better with a bitless, some wont, just as some will be better with a treed saddle, some wont and its realising this balance when we ask our horses to do something totally unatural to them, ie carry a rider that must be born in mind. One cap has never and will never fit all. You say you meant not holding the horses head down, but that is what the Dr Cooks can do, exactly the same as a bit, but actually in a way that can be more problematic in a horse.
If you watch footage of lions catching a zebra- this is what usually happens when they jump on their back, they reach round and grab the animals nose, pulling it round so severely that pressure is caused on the vagus(sp) nerve in the neck causing the heart rate to slow and the animal to lose power in its legs, it falls over and it gets eaten! When you first gentle a young horse it is always harder to place a hand on its nose than it is to put your fingers in its mouth. Basically because they do not associate being captured and eaten with the mouth, but they do with the nose. In all instances we have to overcome their natural fear to ride but IMO it is easier and kinder to train a horse to yield to pressure in the (normal) mouth than it is to use the nose. I do however accept that when it goes wrong, and this is usually because of rider error then the nose control is an option. But I go back to what I said originally, pain can be caused by these bridles, just as it can with bits!
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Post by racaille on Jun 10, 2009 11:29:53 GMT
I have to agree with Brig here, Spotti. As a reluctant convert to bitless, I have been worried about that pressure on the nose, especially with a horse who leans  I think it is just as easy to force the head down with a bitless as with a bit, because I have done it myself and it is one of the things I now try to be aware of. In kind hands a gentle bit is no worse than anything else. Whereas some bitless bridles can be terribly severe - some hackamores are fearsome. The only solution, I think, is to be open to new ideas and to try them out but to accept that not all methods work for all horses, as Brig says. I've always had an issue with the term 'natural horsemanship' for example, as there is nothing natural at all - at least for the horse - about a person getting on its back.  |
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for so much hard work we thank ye!!
yeah right).