Here you can see how I use the rubber band to build the correct muscles for work under the rider as well as train the horse to respond to the reins by stepping under itself with the hindleg, lower the head neck as well as use the muscles in the back to carry the rider. This is a good form for a three-year-old, the goal is a higher form of collection.


The rubber band goes over the neck, through the bit rings......this is a good position of the head, the nose is a little bit in front of the vertical line, and the right neck muscles are activated.



and are attached in the girth between the front legs. I use a leather strap and connect the snaps of the rubber band in the lealther strap.



This is how I want the horse to work with the rubber band, you can see that the horse is relaxed, working in correct form, note how the back muscles right behind the saddle are used, the inner hind leg is well below the horse and how the correct neck muscles are activated. When the rider takes the reins, Merdjen will respond in this way. You will have to adjust the rubber band to the lenght that makes the horse work in this form, it is then the perfect body builder for the horse.

1. Jessica D.06/22/2006 13:23:31

The last pic is very Hunter looking

This looks very similar to the Chambon http://www.divoza.com/isroot/DivozaStore/listImages/g_grn197/g_11050.jpg

It just seems to be less expensive and attatches differently...I had never thought to try using a rubber band like that...Might have to try that...

I had used a thin piece of string once that I drapped across my pony's back and then went through his front legs (with it twisted to keep both pieces together and then seperated to go to the bit) and attatched to the bit with clips on each side. (I decided that this wasn't the best solution to get his head down) Though it was cheap and worked like a training fork used for western horses.

My pony no longer has a problem going on the bit though...I ended up teaching him by letting him have his head every time I asked for him to give and he gave. He is now very light on the bit though he has a tendency to lean on it sometimes...he's lazy....sigh....how do you fix that?!?

Thanks for sharing your training techniques....it's always interesting to learn how other people train...everyone has their own styles/techniques and I think we can all learn a bit from sharing what works and what doesnt. :)

2. Jessica 06/23/2006 11:03:43

Jessica D. We do use the Chambon on Rosanna, she likes it better than the rubber band, she is very responsive and nice to the riders hand from her Chambon training. The challenge and fun about training horses, I think, is to give every individual a chance to optimise its talents, in order to do so the horses need individual training programs and solutions (our focus and fairness policy).
I think the long, low form we work our youngsters in resembles the show form for the hunters? In that case it is really a great place to start our youngsters. I have no idea about what the judges will think though!

3. Jessica D.06/23/2006 17:51:25

Just a warning....Sometimes the local hunter shows can be a little political...especially in your area... (sometimes how you place depends on who the trainer is...) Even if you don't place...because of politics...it's still fun to get your horse around and do the best you can. Although since you've said that several hunter trainers have been eyeing your horses...you may not have a problem because they will want to be on your good side since they want your horses. :) You are just in a Hot spot for Hunters is all...FL is a big time Hunter/Jumper area...and you should be able to get some good $$ for your horses if they win too!

I think that if your horses have really nice movement that is not tooo dressage like...and they have a nice long and low collection relaxed look to them...I think they should do well. That's my opinion.

I agree with you that each horse takes a different training style...some just learn faster. Some are smarter and more sensitive than others and they need different attention than a dense, and think-headed horse would need.

4. Maria06/24/2006 19:33:10

Jessica, thank you very much for the pictures. This is exactly how I would use the bungee ("bungee" is what they call it in England, it's exactly the same aid). There was a comment you had made before which made me doubt whether it should go over the poll but here I see that it does. I have only tried it on Mualim twice, the second time was this afternoon. He puts his head down intermittently at this point, so let's see how it goes. Since I came back from the US, he has got much better on the lunge. It may be that he has either found his balance or just decided it's not worth misbehaving and life is easier when he cooperates. There is a big change in his behaviour also because it's been like a desert in England and the quality of the grass has gone down, so he has suddenly lost this awful fizz, and I am able to ride in a more relaxed way in the fields, which is great. Maybe, the better cooperation on the lunge is simply the consequence of heat! It's like Karakum desert out here - great for Mualim and awful for everyone else, sheep, cows and people.

5. Maria06/24/2006 19:43:28

By the way, what bit do you use on the youngsters? I have a French link "Happy Mouth" with full cheek. Never used it before but it's worked well with Mualim who has a very soft mouth (to make up for the lack of softness in every other department, physical or psychological!). I also bought a new conventional leather bridle which is very similar to Merdjen's bridle, after I got fed up with the endurance one which is too loose and floppy. Putting the bridle on is still a challenge with us, though Mualim is infinitely bribable, so I resort to liberal amounts of treats. It feels like a complete defeat but I am just hoping that one day the pleasant associations will prevail and he will just open his gob to take the bit, not to neigh at Spinney the pony or bite me or other animate or inanimate objects in his vicinity.

6. Jessica 06/25/2006 18:58:37

Jessica D. I have also realised that there seems to be very many hunter shows as well as hunter people here in Florida. So far, no one that have seen our Tekes, moving and under rider have said that they would not work out in the hunter ring. Encouraging enough for me, I am a hunter "blueberry" but I am lucky enough to having myself andf my horses in the safe hands of hunter pros.
Let me know when you start looking for your Teke, it would be great if you could show your own horse in the Sunshine Teke Show!

7. Jessica06/25/2006 19:16:05

Maria. Great to hear that Mualim is improving. Being consistant in training pays off! Soon you will be out showing .
Now I have nice catalogue with horse tack so I know what horsey stuff is called in English. Let's see if you understand, I use heavy weight, loose ring, snaffle bits by default on my horses, some of them prefer French mouth bits. Tekes have smaller mouths than the average horses of their size, their noses are supposed to fit in a wine glass, therefore I am careful to not use to thick bits.
For horses that are very "mouthy", like to have a lot of things in their mouths, I have a home made solution with a chain that I attach to the bit, it works very well for some of the horses. For a hot, strong horse that has had a few years of education I have found the Pessoa bit very effective, it's called Pessoa in Sweden but I saw in the tack catalogue they call it European elevator here.

8. Jessica D.06/25/2006 19:42:22

Jessica, Im familiar with all those bits. When you are ready to take a Teke in the Hunter ring, just make sure that the bit you choose is not an "unconventional bit" for hunters...I school my pony in a hackamore because he has a low palette and he likes it, but it would be considered unconventional and I can't show in it...So I will use a Waterford...or Ball-bit...it's a chain of round balls connected together that breaks in 3 - 4 places...it works really well for horses with low pallettes and also for horses that tend to hang on or pull on the bits...it breaks up so they cant do that...anyways...Im not sure the pessoa is legal for hunters...just wanted to throw that out there for you so you would know...since you are new to the sport.

And I also think it would be really cool to be able to ride my own Teke in the show! Im really looking forward to it regardless of whether I have my own or not! I think it will be BIG fun! and told my hubby we HAVE to go...he rides too so maybe he will get to show also...who knows. I will definitly let you know when I am looking for a Teke...I'll want an expert's opinion on if I'm getting a good deal or not!

Oo...and just thought Id share.. --> this is my pony http://www.geocities.com/zoehesed/Myhorse.html

9. maria06/27/2006 17:31:22

Right, ladies, let's talk tack! Here is a page full of loose-ring snaffles. http://www.derbyhouse.co.uk/ProductList.aspx?CategoryID=Loose&Page=3&language=en-GB And the one I use on Mualim is here: http://www.derbyhouse.co.uk/ProductDetails.aspx?language=en-GB&ProductID=3140026&CategoryID=Nathe What a linguistic merry-go-round! I had a proper lesson on a perfectly behaved Mualim on Sunday. Transitions walk to trot, changing rising diagonals often to encourage natural balance, turning the horse without using my arms ("imagine he has no head or neck", well, yes, his neck isn't very long for a good Teke but what can we do now?), lifting my knees alternately to my chin to make Mualim move sideways and various other complicated things to do with where my seat bones go which I must say, goes mostly over my head. Mualim was complimented on being less nippy (not biting people quite so much any more). The catch-phrase of the day was: "You are training his mind, not his legs; where the legs go he will work out for himself".

10. Maria10/01/2006 13:47:42

To revive the training and raising discussion, we are faced with a funny problem: at the age of three, a young stallion has - 1) a lot of energy 2) a big appetite 3) must not be overworked in the sand school to avoid stress on the joints 4) not in racing training 5) on our steep farm, if turned out in a big 45-degree-slope field, the horse is prone to gallop like mad and do "hand-brake turns", yet, because he goes out by himself, hasn't got company to play with, so either eats or indulges in short, dangerous galloping -

the result is a fat Akhal-Teke pig.

Sending Jessica some photos as a prove of this sad state of affairs

11. Kerri-Jo Stewart01/31/2007 22:58:27
Homepage: http://Akhal-Teke.ca

Thanks for putting this page in the blog carnival! I am just starting with bits and already found out that the "nice" wide loose-ring snaffle is too big for Darginka's mouth as she can't close it! I am going to try to get one that as well as being thinner is jointed with a bar in the middle so the bit doesn't "break in half" in her mouth. Maybe that would be better as Darginka really hates the bit so far. I am thinking that maybe I'll use something other than a bit for training or is it really important to start in a bit? She is going really well otherwise, until you put that bit in her mouth!!

Suggestions are appreciated! Thanks!!

12. Jessica02/01/2007 08:12:00

Kerri, the thick bit is not really nice to a horse with a small mouth. I use the bridong (14mm) or one size thicker 16mm bits loose ring snaffle bits. What do you mean when you say that Darginka does not like the bit?