One alternative therapy I have been exploring for myself is Acupressure. I have had good results, BUT some of my “pet names” the acupressure therapy items are “crown of thorns” and “bed of thorns”.
There is no way I will think of acupressure with these particular therapy tools as a permanent therapy for a horse. My imagination has repeatedly come up with a little “video” of a horse biting me when I try to do it. I think I am being “warned.”
I have the hope of being able to ride an Arabian mare (pure Egyptian?) after Debbie gets the feeling that it is the proper time during the process of turning a 14 year old mare into a reliable lesson horse. Yesterday I took 5 bits over to the barn to try on Stella, two 4 1/2" wide stainless steel full cheek snaffles both single jointed and a Dr. Bristol, a 4 1/2" stainless steel Cambridge mouth Kimberwick, a 4 1/2" stainless steel Korsteel JP Dr. Bristol D-ring (I added a “bit loop” in the top of the D), and a pretty unique 4 3/4" Eggbutt 3-piece titanium coated “rainbow” snaffle with a center dog-bone with a copper roller.
Stella mainly has one rider now, one of Debbie’s students. I fully approve of Debbie teaching her riding students how to train a horse, and as we all know, the only way to learn how to train a horse is to train one yourself, hopefully with knowledgeable guidance.
Right now Stella is inverting when on contact with a 4 1/2" eggbutt Dr. Bristol, which is why Debbie wants to try a variety of bits. Stella is also resistant to being turned if she wants to go somewhere else than where her rider wants to go and the eggbutt ring on her current bit is a little small, so Debbie asked me to find my full-cheek snaffles. She is going to talk with her daughter Sam who runs their 4-H show program, consult with Stella’s rider about her impressions, and hopefully out of 7 or 8 bits Stella will find one that is bearable for her when a less than perfect rider gets up on her back. We live in hope.
I am not worried about fixing her inversion when I finally get to ride her. For one thing I am holding all my titanium Fager bits and all my stainless steel Wellep bits in reserve for myself. And then there is my key, no one else at the barn rides in a double bridle, much less a double bridle with titanium bits, with a Fenwick liquid titanium face mask with ears, and no noseband. I am not like all the other riders at Debbie’s barn.
But I would only be riding her 30 minutes a week and if my new tool could reduce the amount of time I have to take in my 30 minute lesson to get the horse moving correctly I would be thrilled.
The first step to a good riding horse is to get the horse comfortable with being ridden. Horses may be forgiving, but I notice that the horses give riders who TRY to make the horse more comfortable a lot more leeway when all hell breaks loose. Horses like people LISTENING to them!
I want Stella to be on my side, to think about my well-being when all hell breaks loose so she controls herself enough so I can stay in the saddle. I know I have a weak seat and she will definitely know I have a weak seat.
Curious to hear how it works on horses