Hi, as many of you know, I'm a new owner (novice/mature rider)
New boy, Ed doesnt care how I put on his tack, particularly if he has a hay net nearby. I could put it on backwards, forwards, upside down and he would just munch.......bless.
However, I would like to start smartening up my act! I have the saddle, pad, saddle and girth all sorted. I'm now pretty good with head collar, slip nots and headcollar over bridle etc.
My most difficult moment is putting on the bridle (largely becuase by this point he is extremely engrossed in his hay net, as the rest of the stuff takes me so long!). When I put it on, I tend to put my right arm under his chin and wrap my arm up around his head and use my left hand to guide the bit to his mouth. It is by no means slick, but inbetween a bites of hay and me messing around he always accepts it.
The question is should I be wrapping my right hand around his head in that way, or should I just hold it above his face, without going under the chin???
I do realise that I probably need to remove the hay net.....
New boy, Ed doesnt care how I put on his tack, particularly if he has a hay net nearby. I could put it on backwards, forwards, upside down and he would just munch.......bless.
However, I would like to start smartening up my act! I have the saddle, pad, saddle and girth all sorted. I'm now pretty good with head collar, slip nots and headcollar over bridle etc.
My most difficult moment is putting on the bridle (largely becuase by this point he is extremely engrossed in his hay net, as the rest of the stuff takes me so long!). When I put it on, I tend to put my right arm under his chin and wrap my arm up around his head and use my left hand to guide the bit to his mouth. It is by no means slick, but inbetween a bites of hay and me messing around he always accepts it.
The question is should I be wrapping my right hand around his head in that way, or should I just hold it above his face, without going under the chin???
I do realise that I probably need to remove the hay net.....