Games of Knowledge | Sports and Exercise

Games Guy | February 2, 2012

Equines are admired not only for their natural splendor but also for their power and speed. Furthermore, the rider must be able to communicate with equines well in order for them to function productively. One of the many tools that will help in the efficient connection between the rider and the equine are the bridles. Horse bridles are found on the equine’s head. It is one way to empower the connection between the rider and the equine in relation to direction, flexibility and speed.
There are certain types of equine bridles that are commonly used everywhere. The rider needs to know exactly how to utilize the tool correctly to obtain good results. It needs to be used with patience, light pressure and it should be released when the horse responds and leg pressure must be used to guide the cues of the bridle. On top of that, a defined size to the equine is an excellent component to its terrific performance. A mismatched bridle can detrimentally affect the equine’s ease and comfort, stride and synergy. Even though there are different kinds of equine bridles, they have typical features which make them one-of-a-kind.
The Browband
A strap that rest across the forehead of the equine, just under the ears is known as the browband. It is essential to prevent the bridles from being pulled back over the ears and down the neck. Ensure that it suits snugly and doesn’t pinch the horse. Many horse owners who prefer western bridles because it does not use a browband, alternatively it uses two ear loops attached to the headpiece. Together with either a browband or ear loops, a noseband is also being utilized to force a equine to drop its head. It is used above the nose but its usefulness and exact placement varies based on the style of bridle applied and riding discipline. Sometimes, cosmetic nosebands that do not apply any pressure to a horse’s nose are desirable to owners.
The Cheekpiece
Another essential piece of the bridle is the cheekpiece. It determines the level of connection between the reins and the bit. It has to fit appropriately simply because if it is suited too freely the bit will rest low in the horse’s mouth. It will result in the bit to hit the horse’s front teeth and the tongue to be suffering from uneasy pressure. This is unquestionably a negative experience for the equine and can negatively influence its overall performance. A correctly fit cheekpiece will allow one wrinkle in the corners of the horse’s mouth.
The Throatlash
A piece that is found underneath the upper jaw near the neck is called the throatlash or also called throat latch. It holds the bridle in position and inhibits the horse from rubbing the bridle off his head. Be certain that these horse bridles have the proper clearance of about three fingers to avoid constraint in the horse’s breathing.

Check-out the KW Saddlery website for quality horse gears and equipments. Various equipments such as horse bridles and halters are also offered.

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Tags: Bridle, Cues, Different Kinds, Discipline, Ears, equine, equine bridles and halters, Equines, Exact Placement, Forehead, Headpiece, Horse Bridles, horse bridles and halters, Horse Halters, Horse Owners, Leg Pressure, Natural Splendor, Patience, saddlery, saddlery equipment, Synergy, Terrific Performance, Typical Features, Western Bridles

Games Guy | January 31, 2012

Are your horses jigging on trail? Horses wait for your cue to figure out what action they should perform next, and when they are not used to your cue, then comes the jigging. Baptism by fire won’t do; the simplest way around the issue is to work on their training at home first by establishing your cues and ensure that your horse is responsive to them.

Here is a simple technique of equestrian coaching to get your horse to be right on cue, so to speak. Use a round pen of about 60′. In this round pen, use your rein and seat position as coaching cuess for your horse to either decrease or increase their gait speed.

It’s less complicated if you start with a trot on a loose rein: Shift yourself to a two point seat position and let your hand go as far up the horse’s neck taking care not to get your face in front of or over the pommel. Use your established cue (voice, or leg) to inform your horse to go quicker without changing gait. Keep her at this pace till you feel she is prepared to slow down. When you think she’s thinking about letting up, sit down and remove your hand from its position on her neck. If she slows, good—praise her. Otherwise, resume your two point position and push your hand up her neck again and give her your cue to speed up like before. If she breaks gait turn her head towards the railing and change direction using the rail to help turn her. Get her used to breaking down gait when you sit right down and start changing direction you wish to build this as a definite stop.

You must have patience with the procedure , and at first there won’t be any outstanding changes. You may expect some degree of understanding in your horse after roughly 20 minutes of work. But like many other techniques of equestrian coaching, once your horse tires out, the routine will start sinking in more and you’ll be able to see satisfactory results. Keep on applying this type of training for a couple of days depending on the horse you are coaching until you get both a robust trot and a slow one. You know that you have won when there’s a greater spread of gait speed at your immediate command.

Back on the trail, rein in as much as you can. If she breaks gait, just do as you did in the pen: turn her back and let her know to continue the gait you started with. If in case she breaks gait again, just repeat what you trained for. Soon enough she’ll stay on your chosen gait. A word of caution though: going out with a large group straight after training would put a lot of stress on your horse, so try the trail on your own first or with someone who can wait for you to catch up.

Horses are Heather Toms’ passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers… like all things about stable rugs

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Tags: Baptism By Fire, Change Direction, Coaching, Couple Of Days, Cue, Cues, Face, Gait, horse riding, horse training, How To Stop Your Horse from Jigging on Trail, Pace, Patience, Point Position, Point Seat, Pommel, Railing, Resume, Satisfactory Results, Seat Position, Show Jumping, Tires, Trail Horses