This message is from: Genie Dethloff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Karen,
I'm sorry that my response made you so hostile.
I am not a dressage snob, but that is the riding
I choose to do for my own rewards and I am not
very accomplished at that. I board at a mixed
barn and have friends that ride western and have
wonderfully trained horses that go in ported
bits, but they do not ride with continual contact
and their bit and/or curb are not engaged all the
time, just the short times that they need it. We
also have hunt seat riders using all kinds of
snaffles and Kimberwickes bits. Most of them do
not ride in the frame that seems to be preferred
for the NFHR english test which is based on a
dressage test. In the NFHR test the horse is
judged on flexion, bend, roundness of back and
acceptance of the bit (copied from the
scoresheet).
As I remember when a very good fjord trainer rode
a stallion in the intro english test the judges
marked the stallion down on acceptance of the
bit. The trainer had him beautifully accepting
of the bit as in not resisting and responding
very well, but he was not as fully on the bit as
they wanted. It seemed that the judges were
looking for the same things as a dressage judge
looks for in training and first level tests.
I think some low ported bits that allow tongue
room are very kind; actually many snaffles are
now coming in curved versions to relieve tongue
pressure and follow the contours of the horses
mouth better. In response to Amy's quest for a
low ported eggbutt, try Myler bits.
I think bits with curbs, for english riding where
contact is required (versus pleasure riding) is
fine with double reins so that the curb is not
engaged all the time. If pelham bits are used, I
personally feel they also are best with double
reins as they were designed so as to have
separate snaffle and curb effects, not with one
rein on the bottom ring. When dressage riders
use a double bridle, the ported curb bit is not
engaged all the time but the snaffle bit is.
Also I am not sure what people are proposing
should be acceptable bits: Any curb bit, Any
Kimberwick, any Pelham, how large of a port -
just relieving tongue pressure or action on the
roof of the mouth, how long a leverage arm, where
should the reins be attached, should there be one
rein or two, are rein converters to go from two
reins to one rein allowed?
As far as letting the judges decide who is not
riding well in their bits, that is fine. I think
riders would appreciate getting proper guidance
in how they should train their horses to be
successful in the evaluation rather than being
excused from the ring.
If NFHR wants horses that go in any english frame
and only require that the horse not resist the
bit, then we should rewrite the test to make
that clear. If you watch Morgan hunt seat
classes, the horses look very different than in
an open breed hunt seat class and that breed club
has decided that is acceptable.
If the standard is comparable to a training
level (intro english) or first level (advanced
english) dressage test (plus trail and jumping)
then that is how the horses need to be trained
and acceptance of the bit means on the bit with
contact. If the test is for the "average person
who rides frequently" to be able to do well and
the standard is not the same as in the dressage
test, then the guidelines and rules need to make
that clear. I know our evaluation is different
in that the evaluators try not to penalize the
horse for riders mistakes, if the horse
demonstrates what the evaluators are looking for.
As for the Spanish riding school - anyone who has
their skill and training (two years on the
lungeline exclusively to develop a great seat
and hands) and who is expecting such elevation
and collection from their highly trained horses,
can use a "stronger" bit much more successfully
than most of us can.
This message is from: "Karen McCarthy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Genie, have you thought at all that there might be riders out there that
for whatever reason use a mild curb bit to ride their horse in English
tack, and KNOW how to use one? By your reasoning I suppose we should not
allow ANY curb bits, for ANY of the NFHR tests as they brutalize the
horses mouth. Pshaw! Go tell that to the Spanish Riding School, ok? It
ALL signal: if you are reefing on a horse's mouthÝw/ a snaffle, IMO this
is just as disgusting as reefing on a horses mouth w/ a curb and one s/b
given low marks or even excused from the arena (and told why).
let's do provide reasonable, useable and realistic guidlines in bitting,
but let'sÝallowÝthe judges decide which horse is going correctly, OK? Not
you, not I. if someone thinks they will get better marks by using a curb
bit and then not use it correctly, or overbit the horse, let the judges
mark them accordingly.
Sorry Genie, but I do tend toÝget really riled up about this issue of bit
abuse; as a former 'just English' rider (eventing + dressage) i too had
this mindset. Getting into western riding, and working with some terrific
horsepersons who have ridden western their whole lives, I have "seen the
other side" so to speak.
--
Genie Dethloff
Ann Arbor, Michigan
