Amy Hershey My pleasure!  Good luck!

Thank you Samantha!  I hope you guys are well.  

Once a horse goes into that shanked snaffle, I'll ride them one handed a lot.  But, I still have the option of two-handing them if need be.  It's the perfect bit to progress into while roping.

My personal preference is to let them learn a little speed either working a cow or roping.  They just seem to want to speed up.  But, I want to make sure I have control all the time.  If I didn't have cattle, I'd build speed in all aspects over the course of several months if not years.  Once they have a solid foundation, the speed will come.  It's just a matter of gradually building so that I don't scare them.  Make sense?

I like to work them 5 days a week with 2 consecutive days off.  It doesn't always work like that because of weather and other things that get in the way, but that's my aim. 

They look great!  Thanks!

Hi Mckenna, absolutely!  Those gaps can turn into major issues if they haven't already.  The ES20 is designed to expose weak areas and help the horse through them so that he has a firm foundation.  Keep us up to date on your progress.  Richard

Great!  Keep us up to date on his progress here, ok?  As far as him being insecure, just teach him where he's supposed to be and all that will go away.  It starts with leading.  I'll make a video today and put it on the site for you. R

Hi Amy,

Great to hear from you!

I would recommend the ES20 with Neches or Magnolia.  Both will give you a good foundation.   We also have a few more in the works so that folks have several horses to pull from.  They should be ready by Jan 1.

As far as desensitizing goes, I really don't.  I find it makes them dull and I want to avoid that.  It really doesn't help with spooking either.  I much rather spend my time getting a nice handle on my youngster so that if something does spook them, they won't try to leave me.  Just my experience, but a horse that is desensitized to tarps, etc is generally desensitized to a rider too.

How's your colt bred?