Grace's Snaffle Bit Work

Grace and I did some more work with the snaffle bit this afternoon.  I took her out, tied her to the hitch rail and she was pretty mellow for all the usual grooming.  I got her dressed in the surcingle and bridle, and gave her a few moments to acclimate to the idea of having metal in her mouth.  She adjusted quickly this time, remembering the last time she wore the bit and bridle.  I put her halter on her over the bridle and we headed to the snow filled arena to do a little thinking.

I started Grace out on the lunge line, since young horses often need some time to mess around with the bit in their mouths a little more freely before setting up the long lines and ground driving.  Grace the adult thought that was dumb, she obviously knows what she's going to be doing, so why waste time with lunging?  After she stopped and stared at me a few times I caught on to what she was telling me and I set up the lines.

Grace and I proceeded to march all around the arena with her taking directions from the bit.  This is the first time we've done ground driving with the bit instead of her hackamore/noseband, but she figured it out incredibly quickly.  If she didn't understand something she would stop and look back at me behind her, and I would clarify what I wanted.  Then she would try a couple things, and as she figured out what the correct behavior was I would make my voice a bit higher and praise her.  This method of positive reinforcement works really well with most horses, but especially with the draft brain.  She gets a chance to think about each task and then builds her confidence with praise for doing the right thing.  After about 20 minutes of walking, stopping, and turning I began directing her over the cross rails, tires, and small jumps that were set up.  She marched over everything with no hesitation, nevermind the 5" of snow, she is a steady draft cross and will not be deterred by mere complications of footing. 

This is a great indicator that she'll be a lovely mount for riding, since she's figuring things out so quickly and has such a mellow temperament.  I'm getting excited for what she'll be able to do by the expo!