Phil Mandelbaum beautiful Balding bit!!

Phil Mandelbaum I don't think you're overthinking it.  Just use common sense.  The more he can wear the bit, the more comfortable he'll be with it.  I try to time my bit transitions when I feel like my horse can't get any better with the one they're in.  In other words, if I come out one day and my pony feels amazing in the hackamore, better than he's ever felt, I change the next day.  The reasoning is that horses don't stay static.  They're either getting better or going backwards.  So if I continue in a piece of headgear past the point where he feels the best, he'll start to go backwards on me, so I swap.  Does that make sense?

Phil Mandelbaum, personally I wouldn't go from a snaffle or hackamore into that bit.  That's a lot of bit!  I'd go to a shanked snaffle or a short shanked correction, then up to a longer shanked correction, then to the bit pictured.  I'd say that one is for a finished horse.

Stephen Gowling its been great having you here!  I hope you made it home safe and sound an I look forward to your next trip when you AND Marsha come😉!  Until then my friend.

Hunter Green sorry for the late response!  I do like to teach my horses to stop straight once I have their attention pretty good.  The reason is that I want to scaffold up to what I'll be expecting from the saddle. My logic is that if I teach them to turn in the stop from the ground, they'll turn in the stop from the saddle.  Hope this helps!  Richard

Nancy Ramsey The best cure for this problem is time and consistency.  You can try a few different approaches.  One I like is to put the horse in a halter, then put my lariet rope on the saddle horn and drop enough slack that the rope almost reaches the ground.  Then I swing the rope around jump rope style.  She will spook at first, but just keep going slow until she relaxes.  When she does, stop swinging the rope and back away.  wait until she licks and chews then start again.  Do this on both sides and if you're like me, the left side will be very cumbersome.  Just swing slowly and stand off at an angle so you don't hit her in the head with the rope.  Eventually, you want to work up to where you can swing the rope gently and throw it over her head to the other side  and then back.  Let me know when she will accept this far and we'll go the next step.  Good luck! 🙂

Aubrey Isaacson All I can say is give it a shot.  Some horses prefer a nose band over a bit for whatever reason.  A sidepull is a great choice, but it won't be like a bit.  If you want to transition back to a bit, let her wear it while standing around tied and train her in the sidepull.  Then maybe transition back to a bit if you like.  Usually, if a horse doesn't get along with a bit, it's because they aren't comfortable with it for some reason.  I like to just let them wear it until they become comfortable.  Good luck and keep us posted.🙂

Stephen Gowling Thanks for the input.  I look forward to talking more soon.