1. maria10/02/2005 17:43:26

Jessica, I have a question about bridles. Mualim has been extremely easy to saddle and ride but he isn't very willing to take the bridle. He keeps throwing his head around, snapping at me etc etc. So I have been riding in a pressure halter.

Should I persevere with bridles or should I just take the easy route and carry on with pressure halter until he looses his bitiness?

I also have another dilemma: I now have a lovely new sandschool and take him there for light lungeing. He is DESPERATE to roll but I usually don't let him because I think he will get used to it and will want to roll with me on him, when I start riding in the school.

Do I:

1) Never let him roll in the school, to avoid the association between it and rolling
2) Let him in the there loose to go for a roll but forbid it when he has cavesson/lunge on
3) Let him roll at the end of the traing session as a reward

2. Jessica 10/02/2005 20:13:51

Maria. Mualim must take his bit when you ask him to. Make sure to check his mouth to see that he hasn't any teeth issues. Then you begin you training sessions with the goal, take the bit nicely. Do not let HIM decide to fuss around with his head and bite you, never allow him to do that. Do not forget to give him a treat when he takes the bit nicely the way you want him to do.
Every time you handle him he will test you as he is a stallion, be patient, consequent and fair and you will do fine.
Stallions like to roll when they come into new pastures, paddocks etc. When Mualim is with you though, it is time for work and he will have to focus on you, not his primitive instincts, no more rolling in the in the school. Rewards are always the same a pat on the neck, good boy and if he was extra nice a treat. Always use the same rewards otherwise he will mix things up.

3. maria10/05/2005 16:48:33

Going better already! "Having the goal" is key. If you plan in advance what you want to achieve, you approach the training session with a much calmer attitude and plan in your head what you would do if things did not go according to plan.

Mualim is so completely trainable! Today he didn't mess around half as much as he did before and looked for his treat as soon as he saw the bridle. "A horse or a monkey?" - I ask.

I then rode right past our old pony and he didn't stop to threaten him with his sexual advances.

In our ground work, I am working on reverse gear in the middle of the field. We have mastered manners in the yard and on the edge of fields, but right in the middle a field it is still "touch-and-go" who is the boss. Every time I win, Mualim makes a hilarious squealing noise, indicating that he is very frustrated but accepts that he had lost the argument! It's very sweet!