How did you decide on which form of NH/tack to use?

[Bay Mare]

Only using Mayoguiness as an example, not singling her out :) But Mayo is very against bits and spurs etc which is why her name springs to mind :) It would be interesting to know how we came to make the decisions that we have made :)


With regards to treeless I bought a treeless just because I needed it to fit different horses, I couldn't afford to buy a saddle for every time the horse that I was riding changed shape.

I have ridden Saffy bitless but for what I want to do (dressage) you have to ride with a bit. I don't think that bits are cruel or harsh in the right hands and don't have a problem with anyone riding in a bit.

I don't use spurs on Saff at the moment, she's not advanced enough in her training. I am not anti-spurs though as long as they are used as a refinement to the aids and not as an accelerator.

Barefoot wasn't something that I'd really come across. Horses went without back shoes, that was 'normal'. Horses without shoes on all 4 feet were either pasture ornaments or were never ridden on hard surfaces. BUT I was seeing these horses doing all kinds of things without shoes on ... I was intrigued! I then started to research it and it made a lot of sense. Now, although I would never say that I would never put shoes on I certainly don't want to unless it's absolutely essential.

With regards to NH training I didn't like the PNH system but found that IH (Kelly Marks) and Mark Rashid and the like were more in tune with my way of thinking. I've had success with the IH RAs and I think that Saffy is a testament to the methods that we've used. I don't like the alpha human approach as it doesn't work for us which is why I chose a method without the increase in pressure etc.

[JustJas]

I use what is best for each of my horses- NH or more traditional methods. It would take forever to explain it all... I do not use spurs as my horses are all forward going- but I carry a whip as on a road it is handy to hit cars with and my arab mare when she naps out malice - I know when for effect not fear! Simple question of survival. Never needed to use whip on our cob.

Not a fan of treeless saddles as I do not find them comfy- no other reason! Would be great on our horses though.

[Bay Mare]

Not a fan of treeless saddles as I do not find them comfy- no other reason! Would be great on our horses though.


Which ones have you tried? Mine is the comfiest saddle that I've ever sat in! Even my ex trainer (BD rider) agreed :)


Oh yes, I do carry a schooling whip. Don't have to use it much at all but it's handy for backing up the leg aids occasionally.

[Shadowlark]

Good Thread!

Let me see.. I came to Treeless out of frustration with my morgan.. and havn't looked back.

I have never been a user of shoes.. all thru my many years with horses.. I can count on one hand how many times my horses have ever had shoes on. I think the techniques are far more refined.. Then I was a Renegade now I am a horsey hippy :D Pete ramey would be my barefoot guru if you will.

Bitless has tended to simply go hand in hand with western training, be it starting to a bosal or ridding in halters.

Clicker training (which I don't really consider to be NH to me it's just training) I have been working with Dogs and cats and other domestic animals for almost 10 years with the clicker.. so it was a natrual step for me to use sound training principals on a larger animal.

Spurs to me refine my aids to the point where the aid itself is almost invisible. It has realy helped me to deal with my very weak left side but I have used them long before that mess started.

I "follow" Clinton Anderson, simply because his presentation in his book is close to dummy proof and easy to pass onto others. I have not seen his videos or him in person - so cannot comment on that regard. I really like Stacy westfall's work and the more that comes available the better she is getting. Chris Irwin as a canadian and available to me has been facinating. Parelli always cheeses me off. Lyons is very practicle.. Marks and Rashid I have not read yet, but they are on the list. I think they all have value and each has added to my toolbox. But really going back it was my classical dressage training that has really influenced me going forward. My coach's english was very broken.. but my first lesson with her.. she stripped our horses nakid and informed us we needed to EARN our tack back.. we all ended up with a whole let less then when we started :)

[mayoguinness]

I guess I'm against bits and spurs because I've seen the bad effects they've had on horses, I've heard the bad effects and have seen what good bitless and NH can do if practised properly with a lot less force and I simply feel they're not needed. Barefoot - because it makes sence and Mayo's sound and treeless - well because from what I've read and seen work it seems the best option!! Just what I've learnt I guess and what I feel I know ;)

[Keket]

The more I learn about NH, the more I realize that my trainer is very close to NH. She's all about communicating with the horse in a way that the horse understands. At least once a lesson I get told: "If you ask Coquette right, she'll do it right." It's what she's learned through 50 years of being around horses and learning what works with them. She calls it her "goodie bag". If one method doesn't work, she tries another, and that's how I'm learning to ride and train horses. :) I don't like most "philosophies" because I feel they're not flexible. I want to learn how to get the most out of any horse I encounter, and one method won't work with all of them.

As far as treeless/bitless/barefoot, etc... Do what the situation warrants. The horses at the yard are all easier to fit types, so saddle-fitting isn't an issue. They've all got a nice amount of wither, not too wide through the back, not too narrow, not too short/long, etc. One horse goes barefoot on the back and Natural Balance aluminum shoes on the front, ones is barefoot on the back with regular shoes on the front, one is shod all around...

Finances are a part of it too. Treeless saddles are impossible to find here, and if they were available, I probably couldn't afford it. Coquette's treed saddle fits her nicely. Competition requires a bit, althought we've ridden in a halter. I'm not opposed to any of the more natural methods, it's just not what works for us and what we want to do. :)

(Sorry for the essay.)

[india]

My one horse detests a bit in his mouth, so I ride him in a natural hackamore. I did try him in a Dr Cooks bitless bridle but after a very short while he began to react badly to it. I have nothing against the use of a snaffle bit for refinement but would never use anything stronger on any of my horses.

I've never had the need to wear spurs as all my horses have been very forward going. I guess if they're worn by a competent rider who uses them purely as an aid for refinement...that's ok.

I no longer follow any one NH training method, but I do have great admiration for Pat Parelli and his methods of training and followed his programme for three years. It's also thanks to the help and support of one of his 3* professionals that my one horse was able to overcome his behaviour problem without the use of a certain gadget that other NH trainers would have been prepared to use on him.

I also admire Mark Rashid and Michael Peace for their approach to horsemanship and have recently started to look into Clinton Andersons method of teaching (thanks to Kate Wooten)....and like what I've read so far.....plus he's a quite a nice piece of eye candy, which is an added bonus :D

Monty Roberts is my least favoured trainer.

[Joyscarer]

For me it is all about tweaking.

I look at what works with Joy and what can be improved and make little changes to test the water.

I read loads (which is why I love NR) and cherry pick the bits that suit me and will in my judgement suit Joy. :)

I will never say that my methods follow exactly that of one personality because they don't know me or my horse so I tailor make a solution from all my gleaned knowledge which isn't very much as I am so new to horse ownership. :D

[alwaysfallingof]

Good thread:)

I ride in a treed saddle because, as much as I read about it, I cannot bring myself to believe that the weight distribution of a treeless saddle such as a Barefoot or Torsion is as good as a treed saddle. I am quite big on Max, and so I do worry about this.

However, I would like a fhoenix if I could afford one.

I used a bridle to begin with because I needed it to stop my very cheeky pony from occasionally deciding that *he* wanted to decide where to go.

Now I don't need it - I can w/t/c with one finger on the buckle of my reins and still control speed and direction. BUT I get a nicer outline in a bridle than a headcollar. I don't use my reins for control, but refinement (99% of the time:o ) and he doesn't soften as well from the purely face pressure of a bitless bridle (headcollar!)

I use a schooling whip to back up my leg aids, and occasionally to flick him on the top of his quarters to remind him that he's meant to be engaged:rolleyes:

I put front shoes on him a year and a bit ago because he was footsore after my farrier's trims. If I had the money and time to do the transitioning properly then I'd pull them and use an EP.

[capalldubh]

Interesting to think about this...

Saddle : my horse is young and bony with no muscle. I want his early experiences of being ridden by me to be comfortable, but I know he will change shape fast and often - so treeless seems the logical choice. I like hacking and popping the occasional small jump, so researched saddles that would suit the shape of the horse, his potential for growth and what I hoped to do with him. So far, we have settled on a Trekker Master - which by the by is the most comfortable saddle I have ever used :)

Bitless - hmm, a lot of the training we did was groundwork because the horse was off work, and a lot of the exercises involved just using a rope halter and long rope, so didn't use a bit. Then started riding, had no saddle and used the halter we'd been doing the groundwork in - bingo, bitless and bareback ;)

However yesterday, wanted to test new saddle, so needed to hack out on road - without bit and saddle with stirrups not insured, so that's what we did. I will be back to halter tomorrow and will only use bridle with bit when I can't achieve as good a result with halter.

Barefoot - the horse had terrible feet and the farrier was unreliable. I had already read a lot on barefoot and was interested, but events pushed me a bit faster than I'd intended to go. 3rd EP visit today and feet improving lots :)

Training. I'm a psychologist and my background and training covers a lot about how humans and other animals learn. So I already had a preference to use a method that focussed on positive reinforcement and minimised negative reinforcement and punishment. Clicker training fitted that bill for me, and has been an enjoyable and rewarding way of interacting with my horses. I read lots of books by other trainers and have enjoyed John Lyons particularly, Mark Rashid and Michael Peace. I spend a lot of time working out how to achieve the same lightness and responsiveness but using the clicker. I've seen research in support of their ideas of ethology, but also research that says different things, so I'm waiting to be persuaded that anyone has yet published a totally reliable account of how horses behave :) .

[Lucyad]

Hmmm, I use a treed saddle, that I got with him that is a good fit. However I would love to try a treeless, just to feel how it is - I wouldnt make the switch as our intended discipline is showjumping (albeit not very big showjumping!). I ride in a french link - I got him with an eggbut snaffle, but preffer the action of a FL, and he goes fine in it. I wish that there was the whole bitless thing going on 20 years ago for my old pony though - she needed tooth surgery, after which I rode her bitless until her mouth healed, and looking back on it, she never was happy with a bit, even after her mouth was fine - retrospectively I would have definately stuck to bitless - she went soooo much happier - so now I have a very open mind in this respect.

I was reluctant to use spurs when my RI asked me to, but they have made a great differnce, which has improved reaction to leg aids when I dont have them on as well.

Whips - I carry one, but am really rubbish at using it, hence spurs are my preffered back up. I echo PP that they are very useful at waving at troublesome cars! Apart from that the most I use one is a slight wave if a canter aid is ignored, but I must admit that my multi tasking doesnt actaully extend to it hitting the horse!!

Clicker training - instigated by Capalldubh due to loading problems - now read up a bit more and excited at the prospect of introducing positive reinforcement into our ridden work.

Generally I think that I am quite open minded, and although my current horse is pretty straightforward, and I use pretty straightforward methods, I now feel that I have a greater knowledge to call upon if I did need it for any troubles.

[Yann]

I do use a treeless saddle but prefer treed on the basis that both my horses seem to. Tess prefers a bit to the Dr Cook, so that's what she gets, but Rio is happy either way. They're both barefoot and booted if necessary because I think it's a healthier option for them, especially for Tess whose feet were particularly weak. However I don't personally consider tack and footcare to have anything to do with 'NH' as such.

I like any trainer or training method that works with sensitivity, patience and with the minimum of force and pressure.

[MelanieD]

I use a treeless because its comfortable for me and pony seems to like it, have a Freeform now, but have tried a few others that I was not impressed with and would rather use a treed saddle than some treeless saddles I've tried. I do have treed saddles as well. Coblet has one for schooling and poncing about at shows. Mia only has a treed saddle because she's very TB shaped and I think treed suits her better.

Mia is only 4 so is bitless because I'd rather start youngsters bitless, she'll be wearing a bit later on. Fatty wears a bit, she finds it harder to ignore than bitless and she's very opinionated and she's happy wearing a bit, with her I think light pressure on a bit is better than having to pull hard on her nose trying to persuade her to listen to her bitless bridle.

Both barefoot. Fatty had disaster feet and were getting worse despite pretty good farrier so decided to try barefoot. Worked so well I bought another dodgy-footed one. Both now sound over everything and unlikely to ever need shoes, though if they did need something old macs would be far more likely.

I am a fan of Mark Rashid, but otherwise prefer just plain old common sense rather than any particular specific variety of NH.

[Showjumper]

Dolly's treeless cause when I was backing her she decided it was a competition to outgrow any treed saddle I put on her. Started in a Fitform and have progressed onto a Freeform :)

Bitless because it's the way I started her (didn't want to accidentally jab her in the mouth and scare her) and she goes so well I've not really changed back. I have ridden her bitted but we need to do some more work in the bit to get ready for the shows this year :)

Barefoot...she's always been barefoot and is sound over everything.

I adore Mark Rashid - he just makes so much sense :D

[herondell]

has micheal peace got a web site

[Yann]

It's http://www.thinkequus.com/ :)

[herondell]

thanks yann