Training Tips

QUESTION: Hi. I presume you're not in business to give out random information like this...but I've been trying to track down someone with good common sense who can help me with my question: I've been riding Tennessee Walking Horses for pleasure for 16 years. I've always used a curb bit - 6" shank with an interchangeable copper snaffle bit and a curb chain. It's worked fine and I have a gentle hand...but I keep thinking the shanks are overkill for a horse that has a natural gait anyway. Can I ride in something as simple as an O-ring or D-ring snaffle? Should I still use a chain under the mouth? If these horses have such a wonderful, natural gait (barefooted even!) in the pasture, why do I have to use anything less than a D-ring to ride? This may or may not be your area of expertise. I'd appreciate it if you could steer me in the right direction. I never see Walking Horse people use anything other than a curb bit. I want to do what's best for the horses. Thanks so much!

REPLY: You asked a very good question and your instincts are correct. There is a great misconception out there in the gaited horse world, a world where natural horsemanship is embraced slowly, but is indeed making headway. Bits don't control horses, good natural horsemanship foundation training does! The only bit I recommend, for gaited or non gaited horses is a full-cheek snaffle bit. D-Rings are fine, I just prefer the full cheek gentle snaffle so the bit never gets pulled through the mouth by accident.

Good natural horsemanship foundation training is what controls a horse, not the bit, so...taught correctly from the foundation up, a horse should need no more than a gentle snaffle bit. Taught really well, even a bit at all may not be needed!

I want to direct you to a really good video set, Gaited Horses Naturally, by David Lichman, probably the premier gaited horse expert in the natural horsemanship world today. It is awesome, I highly recommend it to you -- you'll learn a lot from it and it will reinforce your instincts that TW's do not need harsher bits if taught correctly, and you'll learn far more there training wise in general. Let me direct you to the link where you can get this video set: CLICK HERE

I own over a hundred natural horsemanship videos myself, as a professional in this field. Therefore, I usually know what particular videos will help a particular owner at a given time -- that David Lichman set is going to help you, as a gaited horse owner, a lot with your specific questions there, and more, you'll see!

My daughter owns an Icelandic horse (5 gaited) and I retrained him using first my natural horsemanship halter/12' lead, then moved on to full-cheek snaffle bit after he learned to yield softly, compliantly at all times. That's all you need if the foundation is put down (or rebuilt as the case may be) properly. I'm also just completing the training of a client's rocky mountain horse here (also gaited). He has learned the same way. Repeat: bits don't control horses; good natural horsemanship foundation training does!