Little bit of food for thought for horse riders .. Ive noticed lately that there are a few people around that are completely metal free / barefoot and bitless when it comes to their horses. To be honest, if theyre happy, thats great!! But I think there is a stage where you cant be completely metal free and the metal free campaign, while awesome in some cases, needs to be rethought as this would not suit a majority of the horses that are ridden at intermediate level and above. Horses were not meant to be ridden, jumped or to do dressage. It is completely unnatural for them to have a human sitting upon them. So to help the horse, we use correct shoeing/trimming and for our own safety/piece of mind, we use a bridle (bitless or bitted). That is all well and good but as you move up the levels of what ever discipline you choose, the tougher the work the horse needs to do, the more support he needs. This leads to the addition of shoes, supplements, hardfeed and covers. If the horse becomes strong in this discipline (particularity jumping) the horse may need a stronger bit (bitless or bitted) that looks a little unappealing/harsh to outsiders when in fact, it is there to ensure the horses safety when jumping a course and the riders safety in the ring. Im not saying that I agree with all bits and their methods, but all bits are not harsh bits or cruel to the horse - It is the hands of the rider, but that is another story. A plain snaffle can be just as harsh as a Dr Cook bitless bridle - Just because the pressure isnt on the mouth, doesnt mean that there isnt pressure anywhere or that it is any kinder than a bitted bridle. As soon as the rein is activated on any bitless bridle, there becomes pressure is on his poll, the whole side of his face and his nose until he releases to the pressure. While some people say they dont want a piece of metal in their mouth, I would also say that I dont want a contraption telling my head where to turn by applying pressure on my face until I gave in. What is cruel to horses in the long run, is not giving them the regular correct exercise they need in order to support a human upon them. This means lateral work to establish the collection of the hindquarters to work the topline of the horse. If you are consistently working on no contact (bitless or bitted) the horse cannot properly stretch or use his topline which in the long term, leads to muscle wastage and inability to move as freely as he possibly can and making general life harder than it should be. Correct muscle building is proven to prolong the life of horses and also make them a lot happier as they have the muscles built up to do more, move more freely and allow us to ride longer. Horses with poor hoof management, regardless of being shod or unshod, are those that suffer from hoof problems. I guess that what Im saying is, horses were not made to be ridden so we need to accommodate their needs dependant on what we ask of them, whether youre a happy hacker, dressage enthusiast, western rider or a 1.30m showjumper. At the end of the day, its the riders / owners decision what they do to their horses and what gear the horse needs / prefers in order to perform to its best ability. And just because you disagree with someones choice of bit, shoes, lack of bit or lack of shoes, doesnt necessarily mean that their idea of riding is wrong or harsh or mean to the horse - it means that they care enough about their horse to make their job as easy as possible so both can have fun and enjoy the riding experience.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 18:58:31 +0000
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