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HEADGEARI use the rawhide pieces(jaquima) because they are stronger and have their own lead-line(pisador) attatched. They are made with a standard rawhide bosal(nose piece) and barbada(curb piece). You will find that there are a lot of single pieces available, the reason is that you will need different combinations of bosal/barbada, before getting your horse to reach the goal set. The jaquima will allow you to have one head set but to change the bosal or barbada without the need of another head set. When teaching a horse commands such as stop, turn, flex, etc.; it is important that the horse is comfortable but does not overpower you. When you start asking of the ho rse through the riens, his first instinct is to pull or fight back. The following combos will hopefully allow you to understand better the pieces and their role in training. The main idea is to have combinations with soft on top(bosal) and hard on the bottom(barbada) and vice versa. These combos will give the horse a sense that youare in control but at the same time they feel the reward throug the soft piece you may have on, regardless of which one it is. Also it is good to have soft/soft and hard/hard combos available. When starting your horse, you should have a soft/soft combo. This is so that you find out the horse's sensitivity and their personality through the introduction of an unnatural change to their regular habitat. The use of different headgear works in a cycle. Your goal is to start with a soft/soft and to eventually end with a bitted horse and a soft/soft head hear. The combos will be used at your own judgement. The hard/hard combination is used for a very short time and only in extreme situations. If you are riding a horse no one else has worked with, the use of this combo may not be needed as often. |
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Every horse is different and so the following ex. will not be able to cover every single situation or guarantee every horse's response.
Your ability to teach and correct problems are the future of the horse.
*A hard bosal with a soft barbada will help you by softening the horse who sticks its nose out and runs away.
*A hard barbada with a soft bosal will help you elevate a horse's head who is trying to lean down on the bridle or put its head down to his chest to pull away with you.
Flexing and suppling will make the use of these combos more understandable later on.
You need to be able to see the horse from a conformation view, and that will tell you the ideal headset for your horse. The way the horse collects naturally as he plays freely in the open is the ideal picture you want to have when you are done training your horse. If your horse maintains its natural headset as you move through the stages of training, tome, that means you are doing your job properly. At the same time you have to be able to recognize the reason why the horse may not have its nautral headset.
Horses will not lie when it comes to being uncomfortable. Remember that from the time you mount that horse, you are inhibiting its natural ways. So your goal in training is to make him perform as he woruld naturally, while carrying you.
The tightness of the headgear is also based on your need and desire. With some play in the headgear the horse feels the relief when the pressure of contact is released when asking for a command. This is also a reward to the horse. When the headgear is always tight e may feel that when you pull on the reins it means punishment. Again it depends on your touch. Paso's are not likely to give in to hard punishment or abuse. They will fight until you get smart or they win the battle. Be sensitive if your horse fights you in any way, for this may indicate that the headgear is too tight or severe if not both.
I hope to never use a bit on my boy, but for those planning to show it is necessary. Pasos respond best to bosal work, so the bit should not be introduced at an early stage. Bitting a Paso too early generally results in a horse who tosses its head, resists the bit and becomes stiff, impeding its natural ability to gait.
Bitting a horse is often considered the most difficult phases in training. There are lots of different kinds of bits.
Some general bit rules:
a-The bigger the spoon on the bit, the more leverage to pull heard in and/orup.
b-The shorter the shank, the milder the bit.
c-The more vertical the shank comes from the port of the bit the more leverage and severity the bit has on your horse, regarldess of the port. The reason is that the leverage puts more pressure on the horses pole. IE, a plain bar, with a straight down, long shank is MORE severe than the bit with a big spoon and a short, reward sloping shank.
d-The tightness of the curb chain will increase the severity of the bit.
e-Every horse will need a different height position of the bit in their mouth, although a good rule of thumb is to see 1-3 wrinkles in the corner of the mouth.
f-Bits with rollers or barrels is amatter of knowing what your horse likes. These encourage a horse to mouth the bit.
g-A flat bar bit will give a horse more confidence than a round rubber or round steel bar. This bit will only be a severe as the leverage of the shank. It's benefit is that you can push the horse into the bit with less fighting since there is no leverage inside the horse's mouth.
h-A spoon bit that does not lay flat on the horse's tongue is more severe since all the pressure is to the bars of their mouth.
i-A bit that is jointed in the middle will put more pressure on the bars of the mouth than a non-jointed bit. Non-jointed bits distribute the pressure across the bars and tongue of the horse.
Bits can be tricky because no horse will react the same to change. You must allow time for the horse to get used to the change be it a bit or saddle or whatever before you can accurately say it works or not. This is the reason you MUST REALLY UNDERSTAND AND KNOW YOUR OWN HORSE.
Any peice of Paso Fino equipment is only as gentle or as sever as the hand behind it. By this I mean you should be aware of your strength vs. your tocuh.
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