Now I'm back to riding properly by enthusiasm for studying has increased. So the other night I watched the Mike Bridges DVD on hackemore riding again.
I picked up on several ideas that make more sense to me now. One of the key ones is the idea of riding inside the bosal.
The bosal is a raw hide "hoop" that encircles the horses nose and hangs from a piece of leather that goes over the poll. If the horses face is vertical there is little or no contact from the bosal on the horses face. If the face is not vertical and the nose is sticking out then the bosal rests on the horses nose and provide pressure there. The pressure is supplied by the weight of the bosal and the weight of the heel knot that ties the reins to the bosal. Thus if the horse is flexed vertically then his nose is on the inside of a ring. The rider can use the reins to move that ring around. So if we want the horse to laterally flex to the right the rider applies a little right rein and the left cheek bar of the bosal comes into contact with the horses left cheek/jawbone. If they move there head correctly then the contact comes off and the bosal hangs loose again. Thus they remain "inside" the bosal.
This is what makes the bosal so effective for teaching the horse how to carry there head compared with using a bit. With a bit there is constant contact to ask for the flexion so there is never true release of the entire signal. With the bosal if the horse moves correctly then the bosal is hanging free again and all signal is removed. Thus the horse can search for this spot of complete release and be rewarded when they find it.
Of course this is in the ideal world. In practise they can take to leaning on the bosal, which is a pretty mild feeling. Milder than a rope halter anyway. The rider must not let this happen, but using steady pressure will not be a strong enough signal to get the horse to come of the pressure.
Thus when riding in a bosal it is important to never accept steady pressure from the horse. The signal can be applied with a nice soft feel but if the horse pushes into that feel then the reply should be bumps from the rider proportionate to the pressure the horse is applying. The bumps start light and increase in frequency and intensity until the horse comes of the pressure when they should cease instantly.
This instant release of pressure is a part of the function of a well set up hackemore. To get this to happen reliably and quickly the size and weight of the mecate rein must be correct for the size and weight of the bosal. So for a 5/8" bosal the best is to use a 5/8" 22 foot mecate. As the horse gets lighter in this set up then the mecate can reduce in size and weight to the 1/2" with the 5/8" bosal. When this is light then the horse is ready for the 1/2" bosal.... and so on down the sizes to the 3/8" bosal and mecate.
I've found this image of being inside the bosal has suddenly opened a new door to effectiveness for me. At the moment I'm awaiting a new bosal for Filly so I'm riding her in the rope halter. The snag with a rope halter is that there is never a total release of course, it's too flexible and is always in contact with the face. Even so this image has had a powerful effect actually making me lighter and more precise with my handling of the reins.
Ritchie was using the image today when riding Bonitao in a true bosal and also reports that it helped her feel.
Can't wait for my new bosal to arrive so I can explore this concept further with Filly.
Here's a picture of a bosal for those who aren't familiar with them. With the nose in this position it is easy to understand what I mean by being "inside the bosal"
I picked up on several ideas that make more sense to me now. One of the key ones is the idea of riding inside the bosal.
The bosal is a raw hide "hoop" that encircles the horses nose and hangs from a piece of leather that goes over the poll. If the horses face is vertical there is little or no contact from the bosal on the horses face. If the face is not vertical and the nose is sticking out then the bosal rests on the horses nose and provide pressure there. The pressure is supplied by the weight of the bosal and the weight of the heel knot that ties the reins to the bosal. Thus if the horse is flexed vertically then his nose is on the inside of a ring. The rider can use the reins to move that ring around. So if we want the horse to laterally flex to the right the rider applies a little right rein and the left cheek bar of the bosal comes into contact with the horses left cheek/jawbone. If they move there head correctly then the contact comes off and the bosal hangs loose again. Thus they remain "inside" the bosal.
This is what makes the bosal so effective for teaching the horse how to carry there head compared with using a bit. With a bit there is constant contact to ask for the flexion so there is never true release of the entire signal. With the bosal if the horse moves correctly then the bosal is hanging free again and all signal is removed. Thus the horse can search for this spot of complete release and be rewarded when they find it.
Of course this is in the ideal world. In practise they can take to leaning on the bosal, which is a pretty mild feeling. Milder than a rope halter anyway. The rider must not let this happen, but using steady pressure will not be a strong enough signal to get the horse to come of the pressure.
Thus when riding in a bosal it is important to never accept steady pressure from the horse. The signal can be applied with a nice soft feel but if the horse pushes into that feel then the reply should be bumps from the rider proportionate to the pressure the horse is applying. The bumps start light and increase in frequency and intensity until the horse comes of the pressure when they should cease instantly.
This instant release of pressure is a part of the function of a well set up hackemore. To get this to happen reliably and quickly the size and weight of the mecate rein must be correct for the size and weight of the bosal. So for a 5/8" bosal the best is to use a 5/8" 22 foot mecate. As the horse gets lighter in this set up then the mecate can reduce in size and weight to the 1/2" with the 5/8" bosal. When this is light then the horse is ready for the 1/2" bosal.... and so on down the sizes to the 3/8" bosal and mecate.
I've found this image of being inside the bosal has suddenly opened a new door to effectiveness for me. At the moment I'm awaiting a new bosal for Filly so I'm riding her in the rope halter. The snag with a rope halter is that there is never a total release of course, it's too flexible and is always in contact with the face. Even so this image has had a powerful effect actually making me lighter and more precise with my handling of the reins.
Ritchie was using the image today when riding Bonitao in a true bosal and also reports that it helped her feel.
Can't wait for my new bosal to arrive so I can explore this concept further with Filly.
Here's a picture of a bosal for those who aren't familiar with them. With the nose in this position it is easy to understand what I mean by being "inside the bosal"
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