Damage Control

This video is not for those with weak stomachs. 

A fellow blogger sent it in, with the question, what do I do now?

She had been riding the horse with a mechanical hackamore, but wanted to advance her horsemanship beyond it.

The bits weren't working out at all, and then the vet found this...

His advice? Use whatever works.

Thanks, vet.

First of all, let's think about how this horse got where he is today.

I do believe he was a rope horse.

This doesn't necessarily have anything to do with that horrific injury, but the roping reins might.

Also, many rope horses are trained to rope and only rope.

They are one-leaded, their life involves standing tied, warming up and blasting out of the box.

The tie downs used for "balance" (don't get me going), create a horse who travels hollowed out and pulling with his front feet instead of with a rounded back and pushing with his hind legs.

This is WHY you see so many high-headed rope horses, complete with an over developed muscle along the bottom of the neck and none along the crest. The head set and neck are not a reason to need a tie-down as we are often led to believe, pushing against the tie-down creates the whole mess.

Not all rope horses are trained this way, the barn I keep my horses at has a roping trainer who makes an all around broke horse, then teaches it to rope.

All his horses know both leads, spin and stop. They go out on the trail. They don't wear tie-downs. He's got ropers flying in from all over the country to buy his horses and some absolutely gorgeous stock in training, so I'm thinking he's taking the right approach.

I'm not going to jump to the conclusion the horse with a damaged tongue was abused. It's tempting to go there, but probably not what happened. Not intentionally anyway.

I knew a young woman who had a nice all-around gelding she showed in IBHA. She had the horse for several years, loved him to death, took excellent care of him and showed primarily in halter, Western Pleasure, Horsemanship and so on.

One night she was doing a tune up on her trail work. She was riding in a snaffle and roping reins.She hopped down to change a few of her obstacles, leaving her good gelding standing in the middle of the arena, waiting patiently for her as he always did.

He lowered his head to the ground, the roping reins slid over his ears and he put a foot through them. He jumped back, but the rein was so short it yanked on his mouth and he panicked. By the time his owner got him undone the snaffle had severed his tongue. Not just cut it, but ripped it in two.

No one beat him or ripped at him with a big old western bit (a favorite reason from folks who know nothing about our bits). He was in an egg butt snaffle. The most damage I have ever seen done to  horses tongues has been with broken or chain mouthpieces.

If a horse in a shanked, broken mouthpiece bit and a tie-down, trips at a full run and piles into the dirt, he will try to regain his balance by slinging his head. He will be stopped by the tie-down and fall with the bit cranked across his tongue.  I've seen some pretty serious wounds happen to tongues this way. Then there's your basic, tie the horse with the bridle reins approach. My guess is this is the primary way these accidents happen.

From what I was told, he is afraid of ropes, so I'm going with an arena accident. A roper is not going to make a horse afraid of ropes through abuse or any other means, that would kind of defeat the purpose. You know, of roping stuff. But, if a horse ends up with a scarred tongue and a fear of ropes, no matter how it came about, it's a good way to end up being sent down the road.

So, our reader now has a tough, stiff riding horse with a severely damaged tongue. What should she do?

If she was going to trail ride, I'd say stay with the mechanical hackamore. I don't care for them, but a tool is only as dangerous as the hands using it.

The thing is, she wants to do lateral work, develop her hands and feel and get her horse working the way a good horse should. She's very aware this won't happen in a mechanical hackamore.

Personally, I don't think he should ever carry a bit again. I think the damage to his tongue is too severe for him to ever be comfortable in a bit, it could even be excruciating, which means dangerous.

So what's next?

Go all Parelli and ride him with a rope halter?

If that's what you want, go for it, you'll have lots of company. I'm more of a traditionalist. I want to actually do stuff, like ride.

So I did a little research and found some alternatives for this horse.

Here's what I came up with. I've used some of these tools and others I haven't tried...

Go Nekked - Let's get real here. Stacey did not start this horse bridleless. Riding like this is not for the faint of heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YCgsZmjsww

Neck rope - This is the step between bridle and bridleless. Again, not a method I suggest for most riders.

http://juliegoodnight.com/bridleless/neckrope.pdf

Tack rein: When I was a little horseless child in Boise Idaho, I ran with a kid named Tammy McClure. I do believe she's a pleasure horse trainer now. Anyway, she had horses and rode with a riding group, Ehcapa (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HfUsyZ9tMM) where they rode in the Rose Bowl Parade, jumped, did drills, and just about anything else you can think of bareback and bridleless. They all rode with a tack rein, a leather strap with studs in it that hung around the horse's neck.

I was so jealous I could spit. she was so amazingly cool it just killed me. Every once in a while I got to ride with her, all we had was the tack rein. It was awesome. The only reference I could find to the tack rein is here http://buckarooleather.blogspot.com/2011/07/bridleless-rein-tack-collarrelief-from.html

I don't remember actual tacks in the rein. They were more like a round stud, or the dots on an old style western bridle and it was a simple leather strap.

Anyway, I haven't used one since way back then, but we were little kids tearing around and I had no experience at all. The horses were fine and nobody died...now I'm wanting to rig one up. 

Grass hackamore: Also known as a loping hackamore, this is pretty much a bosal that works like a snaffle. Very gentle, very light, don't plan on much whoa, because there isn't any.Cutters often use them on their youngsters and there, they are an effective tool. They guide right to left without breaking the focus or frightening a young horse. http://www.nrsworld.com/dennis-moreland/grass-hackamore-w-grass-reins-3183

Bosal : One of my favorite training tools, it has taken me quite a few years to get a solid handle on it. The bosal works off the nose. The reins are attached under the chin. Steering and stopping are done mostly off weight aids and guiding the nose. I put my youngsters in a snaffle for a year or two before I go to the bosal. My personal philosophy is to get the shoulders with the snaffle and then the nose with the hackamore (bosal). The bosal works the opposite of a ring snaffle, with the pressure pushing against the outside of the face instead of pulling the inside. This gets them neck reining even though you're still riding two handed. http://calclassics.net/php/buy/bosals/

Sidepull: I have started many colts in a sidepull, the rein action is similar to a snaffle, and I have a little more oomph than in just a halter. It also works off the nose as well as the sides of the face. As long as the rider doesn't hang on a horse's face, this is a good tool. It consists of a headstall with a noseband made of leather, rope, or braided rawhide. The side pull has rings or loops on the sides of the noseband to connect the reins. Some sidepulls are simply a rope halter with rings tied into it. The reins apply direct contact to the side of the noseband giving considerable turning control but limited stopping. http://www.horsemansshop.com.au/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&keyword=sidepull

I haven't used a an Indian hackamore, but I see the logic, it's close to a bitless bridle. If I wanted to mess around with one, I would try this one.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Jose-Ortiz-100-Hand-Braided-Rawhide-Indian-Hackamore-8-Plait-All-Natural-/161024490839?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item257dcebd57

Scrawbrigs: This is an English version of the bitless bridle and I know nothing about it.These act on the nose and chin. The reins are attached to a strap which runs under the chin, and tightens when pressure is applied to the reins. Better brakes, but not very sensitive in the steering department. http://www.onestopponyshop.co.uk/superbasket/product.php?product=375

Crosspull: The Crosspull is the official name for Dr. Cook's bitless bridle.This bridle acts by tightening at key pressure points on the horses head, dispersing pressure over the largest possible area. Unlike all other bitless bridles, this one pushes the horse into a turn, rather than pulling, which is how a bosal works. This would create a good base for neck reining. When pressure is applied to one rein, it is transferred to the opposite side of the horse's head. The most common one is the Dr Cook's, however there is also the Nurtural and the IV Horse Super Pro among others. Again, I only know about them by reading, studying, and not needing to try one for my particular purposes.

http://www.horseandharmony.co.uk/iv-super-pro-bitless-bridle-954-p.aspv

English Hackamore: A short shanked mechanical hackamore with lots of padding, it still has communication issues. Nope, haven't used this, if  I'm going to use a mechanical hackamore I'll buy one stateside. http://www.thesaddleryshop.co.uk/P/English_Hackamore-(479).aspx

German Hackamore: Same thing, longer shanks, much like our American ones. 

http://www.horsegroomingsupplies.com/horse-forums/types-of-hackamores-full-and-detailed-photos-463816.html

Meroth: The Meroth bridle is a crosspull that works on the chin groove. There is a nose band, but the majority of the pressure will come from underneath. Haven't tried it....

http://www.divoza.com/english/collection/horse/bridles-bits/freedom-riding-articles/7839_f-r-a--meroth-bridle.html

So how would I approach working a horse like this one, and which bitless bridle would I use? First off, I would get all my pity, angst and endless love under control by taking him out to graze and weeping softly into his mane. 

Then I would train him exactly the same way I would any other rope horse that I was transitioning over to a new discipline. I would start him over like he was a dewy eyed three-year-old. My only acknowledgement to his past would be going bitless. 

Before I go any farther I have a blanket statement to make about any piece of equipment we put on a horse's  head or around his neck, for that matter. None of them are natural. All of them can be painful or painless, DEPENDING ON THE HAND THAT IS GUIDING THEM. Please read my last sentence over and over until it is branded deep into your brain.

I may not be able to stop a runaway with a sidepull, but it doesn't mean I won't rub him bloody trying. The sidepull is not designed to stop a horse and it can sure as hell hurt one -- if I am frantically yanking on it trying to stop. I can tear a horse to pieces with a spade bit, but I won't ride my horse in one until she has had the five to seven years of education it takes for her to know how to use it. If she's not a good candidate for a spade, she won't ever go in one.

Please don't let a sales ad or company spokesman talk you into a piece of equipment. Buy after educating yourself and truly understanding what your purchasing.

Another big pool of quicksand to duck is thinking the lighter the piece of equipment you use, the better horseman it makes you. 

There was a boarder at my first barn who liked to ride in the arena while I was giving lessons or showing a horse to clients. He wanted to be a trainer, actually, he wanted my job. He would ride around, doing exercises he had learned from his John Lyons video, riding his gelding in a rope halter with a lead rope, then eventually, taking off the halter and riding him bridleless.

It was all very impressive and to an educated horseman, extremely moronic behavior. I gritted my teeth and waited him out with a smile. My bosses were becoming infatuated with his deep understanding of horses. Lucky for me, the day his horse decided to come undone he was in the arena with the boss's son and their stud. The Lyons aficionado not only had no way to stop his
horse, but it had never been trained to understand who was actually in charge during a crisis. The wreck was astounding and educational, nobody got hurt and the wannabe was considered a total boob from that day forward. No horses were hurt, but there was a cracked elbow, lots of bruises and some torn out gates and fencing. Even riding a horse with nothing on his head can get him hurt if the rider is a dumbass. 

Just to be clear, I'm sure Mr. Lyons would have had a heart attack if he had witnessed this misinterpretation of his methods.

I haven't ever tried a crosspull bridle. I looked at them when they first became the rage. The first time I saw one was at a Horse Rescue I was trying to volunteer at. A brand new, never had a lesson, but adopted an angry, half-broke, three-quarter starved horse went by with a crosspull. She came back to the barn ten minutes later, at high speed, screaming and pulling on the angry horse's bridle with everything she had. 

The next time I saw her she was riding with a curb. Her horse was still angry (my guess is he was desperately wishing he had never been "rescued") but she could stop him.

Personally, I would start with a sidepull and move into a bosal, then stay there. I might play with the Indian hackamore. My reasons are pretty simple. I work off the nose and the other types get control from either the jaw or the entire head. The sidepull would educate my horse's shoulders and the bosal would educate the nose.

Anyway, I would start my rope horse with a side pull and lots of long trotting. I would ride two handed, and think about keeping a steady pace and turning lots and lots of gentle corners. Doing esses in the arena, thinking about hand and leg position, and cuing with your seat and calf will take you a long way towards beginning collection and flexing.

I would not try to stop my horse, or even slow him down, if he wanted to go, well then, we would go. the way to control your speed is with the size of your arena. Your horse will go much slower in a round pen than a rodeo arena.

I talk about all of this stuff in my colt training posts BTW.

My stops would come from my seat and a whoa, I wouldn't ask my horse to stop until he really, really wanted to. Again, my approach is somewhere in my past posts.

Active posting and keeping a horse forward though a turn will get him to pick up his back and flex at the poll. Trotting esses and zig-zags have done more to improve my horses frame than anything else I've ever done. 

Trotting is great for building muscle and balance, on horse and rider both. If you don't know how to post correctly, now is the time to learn.

I would squeeze my hands and release them in rhythm with my trot on our straightaways, along with a gentle squeeze and release from my calves. I'd be seeking a little flexion, not even asking really, just feeling around for it.

Where I would first feel some lift and flex would be through a turn. I'll relax my hands and my legs as a reward...

The give and take will never give my horse something to set against. He might flail around with his head, looking for his tiedown, but I'll be patient. Eventually he'll feel me and begin to work with me.

The rest...well that's your adventure, so get on with it.