crupper fitting?

[pj1]

ALL roads seem to lead me right back to a crupper to keep from riding my mare’s neck down the mountain. I THINK she’ll be okay with it but I’ve very little experience with a crupper, breeching yes but not a crupper so would the crupper users answer these questions for me.

1-In inches how much slack should the crupper have when the horse is just standing still? The part between the tail and the saddle should you be able it raise it easily x number of inches?

1- Should the actual crupper (the tail ring thing) be pulled all the way up as in as far as it will go or should it have a few inches loose and lay below the most upper most base of the tail?

I HOPE I’m half way making my questions clear and hope someone will take pity on a crupper dummy (there are NO crupper for dummy books) and answer those things for me.

Thanks in advance.

OH yes… the crupper I have is leather is this okay or should I try to cover it with something like sheep skin. My mare is very thin skinned with a very fine short coat even in winter.

[katarine]

keep it cleaned and oiled. Wouldn’t hurt to desitin the under side of her tail to ensure it’s all happy. I would NOT bulk it up w/ sheepskin, etc- it will be fine.

Standing still I like 1-2" of slack in the crupper which should want to rest in the groove at the base of her tail. She’s going to stick her butt under her to go down steep stuff and needs the room to do so. Trial and error will show how well she tucks her tush.

Get her used to it- free longe her or at least longe her to make sure she’s ok with it.

[pj1]

Thank you so much, katarine. Not real sure what you mean by the grove at the base of her tail though.
Can you pretend you are writing the cruppers for REAL dummys book and try to explain?

[mustangtrailrider]

the groove under her tail: it is where the tail adjoins her body. the very uppermost of the tail before it turns into the body.

The tail groove. It isn’t that complicated. Just look at horses tail where it connects to the body. That is where it goes.

I frequently make things harder than they should be. I overthing many things. I think you are doing the same here! LOL…

[pj1]

[QUOTE=mustangtrailrider;4764336]
the groove under her tail: it is where the tail adjoins her body. the very uppermost of the tail before it turns into the body.

The tail groove. It isn’t that complicated. Just look at horses tail where it connects to the body. That is where it goes.

I frequently make things harder than they should be. I overthing many things. I think you are doing the same here! LOL…[/QUOTE]

LOL yes I do tend to do that.
Thank you so much. That was what I meant when I said should it go up as far as it should go. In the future I will refer to it as the groove of the tail.

I really appreciate the help. Tomorrow I will confidently (thanks to y’all’s help) fit the crupper to her and lunge her to see what she thinks. I really don’t expect any resistance…poor mare, she’s had me for an owner since she was three and she just kinda rolls her eyes and very plainly thinks “well here she goes again.”

[katarine]

yep there really is a dent there, a groove, that the crupper will set down into. There’s a groove. I promise LOL.

I’m not calling you a dummy for askin’, fitting a crupper seems weird, I get it. Suggest a horse’s tail is one long bone, well…I’ll likely call you a dummy

[pj1]

[QUOTE=katarine;4764406]
yep there really is a dent there, a groove, that the crupper will set down into. There’s a groove. I promise LOL.

I’m not calling you a dummy for askin’, fitting a crupper seems weird, I get it. Suggest a horse’s tail is one long bone, well…I’ll likely call you a dummy :)[/QUOTE]

I really do appreciate the help!

You know one great thing about horses is as long as you deal with them you can learn new things. Have had horses for well over fifty years and learned two new things in just the last week. About anatomical girths (that was a first) and about cruppers.
The next thing on my list that I’ve never had dealings with is horse boots.
Before too long I may be asking for help with that one.

Thank y’all again.

[mustangtrailrider]

I have fitted cruppers to my mules and horses. Yes, they are weird pieces of tack, but they aren’t rocket science. LOL…My mules bucked like banshees, but both did get used to them. My horses never fretted much about them. I put them on loosely at first. I tightened them to where they needed to be after the horse got used to them. I don’t ride in one. I never needed to on my horses, but my mules had to have them…you know why.

Good luck, we all learn something new. If not, we might as well be dead. It is great that you are willing to try new things and learn! We all should have that attitude.

M

[Mtn_trails]

Just wanted to chime in here about cruppers. Yes, keep 1-2" of slack and don’t overtighten them right off the bat. Also, you better know whether your horse will be good about it before you head down that mountain. That crupper will hit her tail and she may take off bucking. Not a good thing going downhill.

All my horses are trained to accept a crupper and it’s really pretty easy to do.

First I get them used to having something under their tail and having it lifted and messed with. So I play with it and handle it, stick my arm underneath until they are relaxed about it.

Next, I put a rounded stick under their tail where the crupper would rest. Sometimes they clamp down and take off bucking but quickly realize that if they just relax the tail, it will drop out. When the stick is no longer an issue, it’s time to move on to the crupper.

Most times I will saddle with the crupper and pull on it in all different directions, pull then relax, pull then relax. Usually at first they will move around a bit but just keep it up moving with them (you’re on the ground). Eventually they learn to accept it and not worry about it.

By this time they should be pretty good about it and not worried. So saddle up and hit the trail.

[pj1]

[QUOTE=Mtn trails;4768494]
Just wanted to chime in here about cruppers. Yes, keep 1-2" of slack and don’t overtighten them right off the bat. Also, you better know whether your horse will be good about it before you head down that mountain. That crupper will hit her tail and she may take off bucking. Not a good thing going downhill.

All my horses are trained to accept a crupper and it’s really pretty easy to do.

First I get them used to having something under their tail and having it lifted and messed with. So I play with it and handle it, stick my arm underneath until they are relaxed about it.

Next, I put a rounded stick under their tail where the crupper would rest. Sometimes they clamp down and take off bucking but quickly realize that if they just relax the tail, it will drop out. When the stick is no longer an issue, it’s time to move on to the crupper.

Most times I will saddle with the crupper and pull on it in all different directions, pull then relax, pull then relax. Usually at first they will move around a bit but just keep it up moving with them (you’re on the ground). Eventually they learn to accept it and not worry about it.

By this time they should be pretty good about it and not worried. So saddle up and hit the trail.[/QUOTE]

Thank you, Mnt Trails. Good information to know!

[Bank_of_Dad]

Well, I’m a crupper dummy too. My new horsie is probably quite used to it with all his years of endurance, but I’ve never used one.