Dear Reader,
Lyle is training me! And this is a very good thing. Today Lyle and I accomplished what we have been working for over 13 months to gain. Lyle is starting to understand that he can take the pressure off of himself by yielding to the bit. From the horse's point of view, he perceives himself as training me to respond in a "reasonable" manner. By that I mean that from his point of view, Lyle sees that I have given him the freedom to remove pressure from himself when he yields to the bit. Because he sees me as being trustworthy in the way, that means that he can start to give up his self preservation instinct and let me do the hard work of keeping him safe. It is this surrender of his self preservation instinct that will give me both true control of Lyle and that will obligate me to never break the sacred covenant that he and I are forging now.
Enjoy the pictures. You can see that Lyle is taking the pressure off of himself and that I am NOT making him do anything. Yet at the same time I have control, at least the start of good control, and that means a safe ride for both of us.
You can also see that I have Lyle in the gentlest bit made. This is a sweet water bit. You can see the slobber straps. These straps give Lyle a "pre cue" that tells him I am about to move the bit in some way. So Lyle has no surprises from me or from the bit. This kind of a bit is what Benny Damele, and Joe Mead wanted people to use when they break Damele line curly horses. Lyle has no nose band and there is nothing that ties his mouth shut. He carries the bit such that there are NO wrinkles at the corners of his mouth. He is able to decide where it is most comfortable for him to carry the bit. And that is exactly what he has done. I have put Lyle in this bit because he has earned the right to a gentler bit by starting to yield and trust.
Enjoy and be happy with me.
Sincerely,
Penny Johnson
Kootenai Curly Horses
Bonners Ferry, Idaho
He looks so soft and happy, Penny! I always wondered what slobber straps were for. I just thought they made a fashion statement. I like the purpose behind them.
ReplyDeleteSusan,
ReplyDeleteThank you. Lyle is a good horse. I am so very thankful that God has had mercy on him and that he is becoming truly soft and happy. In these pictures I am not "making" him yield. He is actively choosing to yield. When he puts his head into the hyper-flexion position, he allows me to use my hand gently move it back to the "neutral" position that is the proper place for it to be.
The slobber straps are an old time vaquero tool. They give the horse a message that the rider is going to use to bit to signal. Bill Dorrance explains this in his book.
Sincerely,
Penny