Hi Pocket Pony…sure wish you could come ride with me.
Yes, I have my chestnut mare in the 1/2" bosal. I tried my 5/8" bosal and it worked OK, but it gave too strong a signal and it didn’t fit her face. The swell on the nose made it such that the only contact was usually on the nose.
Then, I tried my mentor’s 3/8" bosal. It worked just fine for ‘arena’ work (which I do almost none of, but my mentor was here to help with cattle/daywork so I had a lesson in the corral). But I didn’t think it was quite enough bluff for riding out, at any kind of speed.
And I must say, a high quality horsehair (mane hair) mecate has a really pleasant feel to the hands. There was a 3/8 mane hair mecate on the 3/8 bosal I used.
I still really like my 1/2" mohair mecate. Mentor says he likes the feel of them, but doesn’t buy/use them because they are terrible for picking up stickers. We have some cheatgrass here, but not too many stickers.
As far as the transition, it seems to be going well now that I have a bosal that fits her (both her face, and her stage of training).
Giving a lateral signal is a little harder, because I had my inside (leading) snaffle rein pretty close to her neck, and quiet right before I went to the bosal. The bosal demands that if you need to give a lateral signal, your hand has to be out farther to the side to give a clear signal, so that takes a bit of remembering.
But the mare generally works so well off seat and legs, that we rarely need it. And if we do need it, I go to a short serpentine or circle a sagebrush…for which I expect my inside rein to get pretty lateral. And once her thought changes, and she softens on that circle…on we go.
I have a game I play with myself when I ride her…I call it ‘Release Too Soon’.
She was ridden in a running martingale, and taught to pull and brace. But she’s really an exceptionally light touch. So when I ride, if I have to ask for something with the rein, I release as soon as I feel her make an inkling of a try. She appreciates that release so much, that I have never had her not complete the maneuver on a loose rein (as in, I released too soon!) .
We were galloping through the sagebrush last week, after a contrary cow…the cow stopped, and we had to as well. I picked up my reins without contact (and stopped my seat) to indicate that we needed a fast stop…she made arrangements to brace and push through my hands…I made arrangements for her to ‘run into the bosal’ in an unpleasant way…she hit the end of the rein and came off it a wee touch…I released completely and she absolutely buried it stopping so hard. I’d have gone off right over her shoulder/head if I hadn’t been ready for it.
She’s been really good at stopping on a feel, and backing up, when things are quiet. But it’s good to be doing something at speed, that she can see ‘matters’. And she’s really cowy, too, so that’s fun.
