Whereas the early training in the sidepull and snaffle taught the horse to yield and turn to direct pulls of the rein, a fully broke horse in a curb bit responds to pressure of the rein on his neck. This is a major transition for the young horse. Of course, one more test the snaffle horse must pass before graduating to the curb bit is to respond to the neck rein. They’re to go on a loose rein without resistance.” To this end, Hokana wants her horses to carry themselves in a snaffle at the walk, jog and lope without being held together by the rider’s hands. “In our western classes, the current trend is not to hold a horse. As a successful competitor and frequent judge, she knows what is required of a top performance horse. Hokana lays a foundation that will allow the horse to be a dependable show mount. They should be able to execute turns on the haunches, turns on the forehand, sidepass and back up willingly.” They should give or yield to the snaffle without any resistance. “I like to have my horses really broke before going into the curb bit. Just like evaluating any student, Hokana has a checklist of accomplishments for her young horses before moving into the curb bit. It’s only there as a preventive measure.” I don’t like draw reins and tie-downs,” she says, “but I have found the martingale is effective because when the horse has his head in the correct position they don’t feel the martingale. “During the first stages of training I will use a long running martingale on some horses.” She emphasizes that the martingale is not used to pull the horse’s head down. “As the horse learns to give or bend with forward motion, he learns to follow his nose, making him steerable,” Hokana explains, which then permits the horse to become supple through his whole body.Īs training progresses, Hokana uses very little additional equipment. When she rides a horse in a snaffle and applies light pressure with a leading or direct rein, she connects first with the corners of the mouth, which enables her to turn the horse’s head from one side to the other, encouraging the horse to give or yield with his jaw, poll and neck. Even though, with increased pressure, the snaffle can work on the tongue and sensitive bars of the mouth, Hokana’s goal is to encourage the young horse to yield to her hand through just light pressure on the corners of the mouth. “A snaffle is an excellent first bit on a horse because it is a mild bit that works primarily on the corners of the mouth,” says Hokana. The choice of a snaffle as a first bit on a young horse is a logical one. I recommend getting a good-quality, well-made snaffle.” “I have a few that I like with copper inlays set in the mouthpiece. “I prefer a good quality sweet-iron snaffle,” Hokana says. After 30 to 45 days in the sidepull, she switches to a smooth D-ring or loose-ring snaffle. A sidepull is a sort of bitless headstall with reins that allows her to introduce the horse to the idea of turning and giving his head without directly working on his mouth. Then, as the equine equivalent of kindergarten begins, Hokana starts her horses in a sidepull bridle. She also has all caps removed and sharp edges filed down. The vestigial wolf teeth are usually pulled, as they may interfere with the placement of the bit and can irritate the gums.
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