Following yet another perfect ride on Petra where we had three million and one steps of calm walk and just ten paces of whooshing, I am thinking that I may have found the right formula. I no longer brace when she sets off towards home in anticipation of or as a reaction to her bracing against me - getting into a pull pull situation with a horse is a bit like having an argument and it's only ever the human that can choose to stop it. Petra was never going to come up with the answer on her own. Now that I have her attention and haven't got to work against her sheer stamina, I can start to work on some real softness.
I am two thirds of the way through a Mark Rashid clinic and really wishing that I was taking part with my horse. As always there have been some dramatic changes in the horses. All four of the afternoon horses wear Rocking S snaffles. Now, I have had an aversion to single jointed snaffles ever since hearing Hilary Vernon's talk at the various bitting clinics I have attended. She points out two problems - they rest on the tongue all the time making it difficult for the horse to swallow (try placing a finger on your tongue, now swallow) and, in a pull pull situation, they can pinch the tongue quite badly. Indeed I have seen massive improvements in a horse's acceptance of the bit when switched into low port Myler comfort snaffles on a hanging cheek. These bits lock out (and can't pinch), are designed to the contours of a horse's mouth and give tongue relief through the port and through the hanging cheek. I cannot however ignore the evidence of these four horses, all standing with the quietest mouths. Although they do have a single jointed or French link mouthpiece, the cheekpieces of the Rocking S are designed to keep the bit very stable in the horse's mouth and they really seem to like it; they also prevent the bit from pinching. The mouthpiece is made of sweet iron which they seem to like. Needless to say my bitting wardrobe now includes one and I shall report back on what Petra thinks of it.
It's been hard for me to cope with my sensory defensiveness at the clinic. Yesterday I found the perfect aisle seat at the back with the steps in front of me. As soon as I am in a crowd of people, I am always in danger of sensory overload. The best way I can description of SPD is to say that life is hardly ever energy neutral - my ears feel bombarded with information and I am constantly on guard. No wonder being with horses has always been a retreat for me.
