June 29th... I am a firm believer in starting horses in a snaffle. It's the best way to get them soft and supple. But I also believe a well broke horse rides best in a shank bit. It provides much more refinement and finess.
The clock is ticking and I have just about 45 days left with Journey, so I wanted to introduce her to a shank bit now to be sure she is good and solid when it's time for her to move on to her new home. I like to teach neck reining with a shank bit. Some trainers advise teaching the neck reining with a snaffle, but I find that to be way more difficult.
I have the time this week to ride Journey a little more consistently, so it seemed like a good time to switch her to the new bit. I've transitioned lots of young/green horses from a snaffle to a shank using two different bits. One is a long shank, swivel cheek, broken mouth training bit. The other is a medium shank, with a low port, broken mouthpiece but with a barrel, and swivel cheeks. This one is a starter reining bit. Some horses do better in one bit or the other, but I haven't found a horse yet that doesn't do well in either of them.
I chose the reining bit for Journey. It does have the broken mouth piece so each side moves independently, but it has the barrel which prevents the nut cracker affect like most broken mouth pieces.
Once I got the bit properly adjusted for her, we worked on circles, giving to the bit, backing, stopping, etc. We progressed on to giving vertically at the trot and even the canter. Journey has always been one of the softest horses I've ridden in a snaffle, and now she's one of the softest horses I've ridden with a shank. She is quiet and pays attention.
After Charlie's gate training session with Journey yesterday, she was much more hesitant to dart out on me. Now with the shank bit, I had even more control and we loped circles in front of the gate without her trying to leave.
Journey is really learning to stop nice. When you sit down and say whoa, she stops and subsequently the saddle pops up and sorta launches you forward. I need to put a different saddle on her and introduce her to the rear cinch. The saddle I've been using on her does not have full rigging.
Today was quite successful. She never got upset, just did her best to figure everything out. She is in heat, and even with the stud in the pasture adjoining the arena, she still continues on and does her job.
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