Nope. But she shows in a double bridle. So he has worn/does wear a bridle and a bit. I have never seen her before. I am now a fan, too. I know a number of people who ride their GP horses with a snaffle. I believe that is the goal. But how do you know she trained that horse without ever putting a bit in his mouth (which is what you seem to suggest)?
I answered this question above. I donāt know her, just admire her riding and donāt make any statements about her training as I have never met her.
I do enjoy watching good riders that come from a ācircusā tradition and went to see Katja Schumann train when she was head equestrienne for Big Apple Circus.
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I know little about training in the Cordeo or neck rope, however it is entirely possible to use the bosal to teach collection.
Please keep in mind I am NOT saying this is superior to dressage, that this is dressage, or arguing in any way. Just explaining that you arenāt necessarily traipsing around on the forehand just because youāre not using a snaffle or double.
The first parts of bosal training start on the ground. Before even putting the horse in the bosal, you teach them that pressure backward on the rope halter means to back. You work at that until the horse shifts his weight backward at the slightest touch of the knot. You work at coming forward and rocking back and get the horse light and responsive to that.
You also have the horse able to turn and rock back on their hocks from going around you. It is hard to explain, but this is what Brannaman calls āthe danceā. Essentially you lift your left hand, the horse goes left, you switch hands with the rope and the horse pivots on his hocks and goes to the right. This is a rebalancing exercise taught from the ground first (with a flag or rope) and then utilized under saddle.
A smart horse, relatively well balanced naturally, will pick this up amazingly fast. Pick up on the bosal lightly (no bumping or pulling) and the horse will rock back on his hocks. You do the ādanceā exercise and the pick up on the bosal in practice work under saddle and the horse learns to keep his own horizontal balance quickly as being on the forehand during this exercise wonāt work out well. There are more exercises like this, but all with this same goal of having a flexible and well balanced horse.
The same thing happens with seat and leg. Initially you use whatever cue youāre going to use to send them forward (I personally sort of lift them with my seat and thighs) and then follow with the known cue of a cluck, which I have taught first from the ground. I also have the aid of the rope to send them forward but I rarely (personally) use that as the horses Iāve had all learn the cluck pretty quickly. If I donāt have a reliable cluck=forward on the ground, I donāt ride. Most equine issues come from the balk and I am not a fan.
I donāt use the flag for much of this unlike Hunt/Brannaman, but thatās because I am clumsy and I donāt like a lot in my hands. I am much quicker and more precise with my rope. Hunt said later that he wished he hadnāt taught people to use the flag because they ascribed magical powers to it instead of realizing that itās just easier for us humans. I still do use it, but only for certain things.
The leg is used for yielding of the hindquarters, the lateral hand for yielding of the shoulders. Again all of these things are taught on the ground first and transferred to the saddle. I do use the flag here initially. A dressage whip works here too, but the flag is more visible. I also have a long TTouch whip that is white that I will use. Again, I think the visibility helps.
Philosophically everything is done rewarding the slightest try. If you pick up on the bosal by closing your fingers and the horse even thinks about rocking back, you release instantly. Then you can make the cues come together in ever more quick sequences but never together. The aim is not to shock or surprise the horse, that would create tension, but it is to keep the aids clear.
From a animal behavioristās perspective you are providing a stimuli and getting a response, rewarding instantly when the horse provides the correct response so that you can use lighter and lighter cues because the horse understands the meaning of them. Then you can use the cues with more complexity (in quicker sequence) because the horse understands each cue with great subtlety.
Anyway, the horse doesnāt wear the spade until it can do everything it needs to in a bosal. It needs to be able to change leads, rollback, yield, and wtc in a balanced fashion. We also do half pass. Iām sure we could produce piaffe & passage if there was a need for them on a ranch and the horses were capable of it conformationally. Just not many people do since there isnāt really a need for it on the ranch. I wonāt say no one does, as Iām sure there is someone out there who has, but it isnāt real useful since the goal isnāt to move in formation. I do wonder if the early Vaqueros did it because they were ex-soldiers.
This is not the use of the bosal as the AQHA or show western folks use it. There is no similarity, and the Arabian folks use one that is weirdly gushy with their hands way out to the sides. The AQHA/APHA folks seem particularly keen on bumping. No idea why, as it really isnāt necessary.
Anyway, thatās the long explanation of how you can indeed teach collection without a bit. The weight is on the hind, the hindquarters are lowered, the stride is elevated and shortened. The thoracic is lifted, the horse is ready to move in any direction indicated. Unless there is another more mystical definition of collection that I have missed, it is the same.
To translate to a dressage understanding I do think itās more similar to the balance before movement theories. The flexions that many of the āNHā clinicians teach I think came from this as well.
And I donāt say that to start a āclassical vs competitiveā/French school/German school debate, only to liken and map things to the degree that I can.
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