Tools, Stick, String, Mecate Reins, Bits, Slobber Straps
by Rhett Russell Natural Horse Supply
There are many methods of horse training. There are also many different "tools" which you can choose to assist your training. You are probably familiar with the flat halter, longe line, stud chain, martingale, and other traditional training tools.
There are other tools that you can use which work better than these traditional tools. These are the rope halter, lead rope, longe line, and progress string made from double braided marine rope. These tools work so well because they send a clear message to the horse about what is happening in terms that the horse can understand -- yielding to pressure.
A normal flat halter and lead rope do not work very well because the flat halter is too wide to apply enough pressure for the horse to "learn" from your queues when training. On the other hand, a rope halter works because the relatively thin rope along with the knots apply pressure which the horse quickly learns to yeild to.
Flat halters do have their place, but training is extremely difficult with one. A good comparison would be mowing ten acres of grass with an old non-motorized push reel mower vs. using a riding lawn mower. Sure you can get the grass mowed with the older style lawn mower -- eventually. But, you can't stay on top of things and you would be working at least ten times as hard and probably not be doing as good a job as you could with a different tool.
The other comparison is "normal" rope vs. double braided marine rope. This is a tougher sell because everyone has some old rope around and "rope is rope" isn't it? At first glance and from pictures, double braided marine rope looks a lot like a normal rope. The difference is that this type of rope has a center core of rope covered by an outer core which can move independently. When you hold double braided rope in your hand the first thing you'll notice is how "heavy" it feels compared to a normal rope. We don't want to get into the technical specifications of rope here, but this allows the rope to move with a "live" feel which in turn allows you to send energy down the rope to the horse. This is something that you just can't do with a normal rope lead line or longe line.
Why is this important? We have asked ourselves this question many times. Someone had to tell us too. The first thing is obvious, double braided rope sends such a clear message to the horse. The second thing isn't so obvious, it's timing. When you are training your horse you only have 2-3 seconds from the time you send a message to your horse and it reacts or responds. These crucial seconds are the most important in the training of your horse.
You are always going to find someone who disagrees with this and has a different point of view. And, until you see someone who understands these concepts, you may not "buy in" to these training methods either. I am a firm believer in using what works for me, we try to keep an open mind and if someone shows me a better way of doing something I'm willing to try it. Ten years ago if you told me that you could teach a two year old horse to leg yield, side pass, neck rein, do a turn on the haunches, turn on the forehand, be a "self loader" in the trailer and most importantly -- dead calm on the trail, I would have asked you if you'd been doing drugs. But, in nine months we not only have this, but a horse that can do flying lead changes and much more -- and you can too. This almost sounds like one of those late night television infomercials.
In your evolution of training you will eventually find that you won't need to use these tools to get what you want out of your horse. But you need to start with this foundation or you'll never get to this point. By this I mean doing things at liberty. Once you get good enough at reading your horses body language, and more importantly, you are consistent with your body language you can get a response from your horse with posture and body language.
Other Tools & Games
These training tools are even more non-traditional than the rope halters and lead ropes. Horse games are an easy way to expose your horse to different situations. We have done clinics in our arena where that’s all we do for 5-6 hours. These are fun things that you can do that don’t cost a lot of money but do make a big difference in the bravery of your horse.
Tarp: A plastic tarp is a valuable piece of equipment. Lay it on the ground and ask your horse to walk over it. It’s easiest to lead your horse over, but you should also try to longe and drive your horse over the tarp. Reward the horse for appropriate behavior. Let your horse smell it first. Then ask them to follow you over the tarp. This may take some time. Eventually, you will want to build the bravery in your horse by asking them to go over the tarp first (ground driving). You should also be able to ask your horse to stand quietly on the tarp.
Another exercise that you can do with the tarp is to put it on the horse’s back. Use the approach/retreat method of introducing the tarp. Don’t just throw it over the horse. After you have mastered this technique you can work towards covering the horse completely with the tarp. Remember to reward the horse for appropriate behavior. We started with the tarp folded into a small square and gradually opened it up and placed it on the horse each time. Eventually, we got to the point of having tarp completely enclose the horse.
Plastic Bag: A plastic grocery bag on a stick or riding crop is a wonderful tool. You have probably heard of "sacking out" a horse. There is more to it than waving a bag at your horse. You need a 5-6 foot long stick with a plastic bag tied or taped to the end. Desensitize the horse to the motion of the bag and to the touch of the bag and the stick on their body. This is a whole lesson topic in itself. You want to teach the horse to yield to the pressure of the bag when it is directed at them, but to remain calm when the pressure is not directed at them. Use the approach/retreat method of introducing the bag and remember to reward the horse for appropriate behavior. We always chuckle to ourselves when we see this bag and stick setup for sale in some of the horse catalogs for $39.95. See the training section on Training Sticks for more information.
TarpWall: We all want a brave horse that will go through brush, or tolerate things flapping against their bodies. You could work on this when the occasion arises or you could prepare the horse for these types of situations in advance. We use an old tarp cut into 8" strips and string it up between the opening in our arena. We first ask the horse to follow us through on a lead line and work up to driving the horse through the tarp wall. Eventually, we will ride the horse through the tarp. You have to approach this understanding that this is a strange concept to the horse "you want me to do what?" But, by introducing this in steps to the horse you will have no problem. Ask the horse to stand near the tarp. Then rub some of the strips on the horses body. Then ask the horse to move into the tarp. Then ask the horse to follow you through. Use the approach/retreat method of introducing this to the horse and remember to reward for appropriate behavior.
Balloons: Get a balloon and fill it full of air. A helium filled balloon with a weight on the string works best. Show the horse the balloon, let him smell it. Reward the horse. Pick up the balloon and rub it on the horses body. This is a big deal to a horse. Let the balloon rise over the horse's body or head. Do this until the horse is desensitized to this stimulus. Use the approach/retreat method of introducing this to the horse and remember to reward for appropriate behavior.
Flag: Want to be in a parade? How do you think those drill team riders introduced the flags to their horses. This is easy if you understand what you are asking the horse to do. You may have noticed the common theme with all of these tools -- no matter what the stimulus, if you use the approach/retreat method of introduction to the horse and remember to reward for appropriate behavior you will teach your horse to respond in the manner that want. We didn't have a flag but we did have a long stick that we tied some scrap material to simulate a flag (we don't think the horse knows the difference). Do the same thing as you did in the other exercises, introduce the flag to the horse -- let him sniff it. Then rub it on their body, And finally, wave it near their body and above them.
Soccer: Get a large ball. The kind that you can get in a toy store works very well. We have a giant 3 foot rubber ball that we bought at Toys’r’Us that is excellent for this. Show the horse the ball, let them smell it. Reward the horse for appropriate behavior. Move the ball on the ground, let the horse see it. Reward the horse. Roll the ball backwards and have the horse move forwards into it. Reward the horse. Roll the ball into your horses knees from the front. Your horse may jump back, that’s OK. Keep doing this until your horse will stand still. Reward your horse for appropriate behavior. If you are under saddle, ask the horse to move into the ball and move it with his legs. Reward the horse. Keep at it until you can show the horse the ball and they will try to move into it on their own. We have a horse that likes the ball so much that we have to hide it from him.
Musical Chairs/ Tag: This is a good way to expose a horse to a lot of action, fast movement, and close contact with other horses and people. This is a variation on the game that you played as a kid. Horses obviously can’t sit in a chair, but they can stand on a piece of cardboard. You need one fewer pieces of cardboard than you have horses (5 horses = 4 pieces of cardboard). Cut the cardboard into 1 to 2 foot square pieces, the size isn’t that important. Lay the cardboard out at least 20 feet from each other. Make someone "it" and everyone else has to get their horse to stand on a piece of cardboard. Agree on a time limit for being "it", three minutes is a good limit. The person who is it has to go touch anyone who’s horse is not touching the cardboard. If you are touched you are "it" and have to find someone to tag. After the time limit, remove a piece of cardboard, so that there are even fewer "safe" places to stand. You can’t push or knock someone off their horse but anything else is open game. Continue until all of the cardboard is removed.
Bridge: We do a lot of trail riding and come across all kinds of bridges and elevated walkways over wetlands in the Pacific Northwest. It's tough for a horse to go out over a bridge that makes all kinds of noise, doesn't have a rail, and may be high off the ground. You can prepare the horse for this situation with our "bridge simulator 9000". We made a bridge out of scrap plywood and 2x6's. We start by asking the horse to walk over it through the middle (the short way), this introduces it to them. At first they may not even step on the bridge, don't worry -- be patient. You will ask the horse to walk across the bridge lengthwise and stop. Don't let the horse rush or run off the bridge. It's also important to make sure that the horse does not step off the bridge into your space.
When the horse is good at going over the bridge, stopping, and backing up, we introduce the teeter-totter to them. We insert a 4"x4" block under the center of the bridge so that it moves like a teeter-totter when the horse steps on it. We work with the horse until they are able stand on the bridge and shift their weight forward of backward to make the bridge move in either direction.
Llamas: These animals are more common on the trail nowadays with packs. When a horse sees one of these strange creatures for the first time with all of their fur and strange smell you can have some serious problems. The best thing you could do is borrow a llama from someone. Introduce the horse to the llama in an open area. Let the horse smell the llama and reward the horse. Ask the horse to stand still while the llama is near. This is a very difficult thing to do, make sure you reward the horse.
Bicycles: Get a mountain bike and let the horse look at it. Reward the horse for standing quietly. Have someone ride the mountain bike around your horse, don’t get too close. Reward the horse for standing quietly. Keep doing this until your horse is calm with the bicycle.
Motorcyles: Get a motorcycle, preferably a dirt bike (they are nosier) and let the horse look at it while the engine is off. Reward the horse for standing quietly. Start the engine and and let the horse look at it. Reward the horse for standing quietly. Have someone ride the motorcyle around your horse, don’t get too close. Reward the horse for standing quietly. Keep doing this until your horse is calm with the motorcyle. You want to desensitize the horse to the sound and motion of the motorcycle.
Use your imagination. There are many ways to approach these situations and many different training scenarios that accomplish similar things.
The training stick is one of the most useful tools that we own. It is a five foot long fiberglass pole that is 5/16" in diameter. Some people prefer a shorter stick because of the balance. Our training stick has a rubber hand grip on one end with a rubber plug and a leather tab on the other end. We like this type of training stick because it does not flex like a longe whip and is much longer.
We tie a plastic grocery bag to the leather tab on the end of the training stick to help with some of our training. We use the training stick primarily for these purposes:
We use it to initiate contact with a new horse. You can stay out of harms way and use the stick as an extension of your body to touch the horse all over. The leather straps on the end are great as a tool to feel the horse all over.
When round penning, as an extension of our body to accentuate power and to keep the horse moving.
To yield our horses from the ground.
While riding, to yield other horses from on top.
Introduce the stick to the horse.
Use the approach/retreat method of introducing the stick to the horse. You want to be able to touch the horse all over with the stick. Attach the rope halter and lead rope to the horse. We start without the plastic grocery bag attached. Lay the stick on the ground and let the horse smell it. While standing about five feet off the left shoulder, we move the stick in an up/down motion. Make sure that you don’t direct the motion of the stick at the horse. The horse may move away from the energy of the stick. That’s OK, let the horse drift but keep the motion of the stick going. Don’t allow the horse to back or go forward. If they are going to get out of work we ALWAYS make them move laterally. Lateral movement is harder for the horse and they will quickly search for a way out, or a solution that will get you to stop. Use this to your advantage. When the horse stops moving, reward this. This is the horse’s way of telling you that they are comfortable with the movement. Practice doing this on both sides of the horse.
Now you can touch the horse with the stick. Stand about five feet off the left shoulder, you want to be out of the danger zone in case the horse strikes or kicks out at the stick. Move the stick slowly over to touch just below the shoulder of the horse. It’s very important not to move too fast with the stick. The horse will probably move or drift away from the stick. Again, this is OK. Keep with the horse, don’t allow him to back or go forward. Remember, if they are going to get out of work we ALWAYS make them move laterally. When the horse stops moving, reward this. Work towards being able to touch the horse with the stick and hold the end against the body part you are after until they are desensitized enough to stand quietly. Then move on to another part of the horse. Touch the feet, be careful – you are definitely going into the horse’s comfort zone when you start touching their feet with a foreign object. Your objective should be to touch the horse anywhere on their body (belly, ears, rear, chest, etc.) with the stick while the horse stands quietly. You should be able to do this from both sides of the horse.
If you’ve read any of our training material, you realize that there is no time limit on how long this takes. We have gone from being able to touch a horse anywhere in 10 minutes to a horse that took two weeks.
Add the bag to the stick
When this is going good and the horse can stand quietly, we add the bag to the end of the stick. Again, we work towards being able to touch the horse all over with the plastic bag attached. This is a completely new thing to the horse, even though they may have been great with the stick without the bag. Do the exercises above with the plastic bag on the stick.
There's a million and one uses for this tool. Made from 5/16" double braid rope with an eye splice at one end and a leather popper at the other end. This is probably one of the most useful tools that you can carry. It is aptly named because you can progress siginificantly with your horses learning when used properly. I always carry a progress string in my pocket or belt to use when training or riding.
Use it on the ground to send energy to a horse -- spin the popper end at the shoulder or rump of a horse that is moving in to your space. You can fashion the progress string into a makeshift halter or use it to tie a horse out on the trail. Use it as a leash for your dog…
In the saddle, you can use the progress string in place of a crop to tap the horse in the rump. It is very useful to work out the neck reining concept on your horse -- with a helper on the ground using a lead rope or longe line, put the progress string around the neck of your horse. The pressure of the rope along with leg aids can easily teach a horse this concept.
I use a progress string to teach a horse how to ride "naked" without a bridle or halter. The progress string gives you something to hold onto during that "honeymoon period" where you may not be too sure that your horse is going to react the way it should.
Traditional Mecate reins (pronounced either muh-caw-tee or McCarty) are made from horse hair, but can also be made from nylon double braid marine rope. These reins are normally between 20-22 feet long. Don’t worry, you won’t have to figure out what to do with an extra 15 feet of rein. Approximately 8-10 feet are used for the rein and the remaining 10-12 feet are used as a lead rope or popper when in the saddle. The mota is the thing at the other end of the rope (from the popper) which has the knot or cluster of horse hair and tassle on it.
Mecate reins are meant to be used with slobber straps and bits with a 3" ring (you need room for the headstall and slobber straps). The slobber straps protect the mecate and help provide a quick release (feel) for training. When riding, we usually put the end through our belt/ belt loop or tuck it into the waist of our pants. Some people prefer to wrap the end around the saddle horn for easier access. This is really a personal preference kind of thing.
We prefer the horse hair mecate for a number of reasons:
The horse responds to the feel of the horse hair on their neck much better than nylon.
They look really good on our horses.
But, marine grade rope has it’s advantages too:
Feel on your hands. Horse hair takes some time to get used to.
Price. Horse hair mecates are hand made – which adds to the cost.
Easily washable.
Mecate’s are an excellent training device. Here’s why we like them:
The weight of the reins with the slobber straps provides an instant release when working with a horse. The release is the reward that the horse is seeking when you ask for something.
You can teach a horse to neck rein significantly faster with horse hair mecate reins than with traditional reins.
You can use the popper to make a correction while in the saddle without having to go for your progress string.
When trail riding, you can use the lead to tie your horse safely. You can’t do this with any other headstall, rein, bit combination that we know of.
When schooling your horse, if you want to get off and make a correction or longe your horse – you have the lead rope attached and you are ready to go.
When working other horses from your horse you can use the lead to yield the other horse.
How to tie the Mecate Rein:
Tying the Mecate into the slobber straps is easy, Start with the bit attached to the headstall. You can do this on or off your horse. We’ll start with the right slobber strap (as if you were on your horse).
Place the slobber strap through the right ring on the snaffle bit and fold it over.
Bring the mota (the mota is the knot or cluster of horse hair and tassle on the opposite end of the rope from the popper) through the slobber strap from the outside to the inside, you will pull all of the rein through the two holes in the slobber strap. You do this by putting the popper end through the holes first and pull the rein all the way through.
Pull the mota about 1 foot out of the end of the slobber strap. You need some slack for the half hitch.
Bring the mota under the slobber strap and come up over the top of the slobber strap. This should form a hole that you drop the mota down through.
Pull the slack and snug the half hitch down. The mota keeps the rein from pulling through the hitch. You’re done with the right side.
On to the left side:
Measure out the length of rein you want. We prefer a rein between 8-10 feet in length, this is a personal preference kind of thing.
Place the slobber strap through the left ring on the snaffle bit and fold it over.
Thread the popper from the inside out on the left side slobber strap. Make sure you leave the length of rein you want.
Bring the popper under the slobber strap and come up the inside and over the top and back down through the hole forming another half hitch.
Pull the slack and snug the half hitch down. You’re done! You may have to experiment with the length of the rein and popper, but it is easily adjustable.
There are many types of bits out there. When I go to a tack store and look at bits, it's like walking down the spice aisle at the grocery store -- I see a lot of things that I have no idea what to do with. There are a lot of fancy bits made by people who prey on others inability to train their horses successfully. Many people believe that if their horse is not responding, they should get a stronger bit -- WRONG! A harsh bit in the wrong hands can do serious damage to your horse and set your training program way back. If we could only have one bit for any horse it would definitely be a snaffle of some type. Young and inexperienced horses need to be able to bend to varying degrees so the use of a direct reining device such as a snaffle is very important.
We are interested in the using bits appropriate for the level of training for both the horse and rider. The type of bit that you initially use will have a huge impact on your success. There are many books on bits, we aren’t going to talk about all of different types and their uses. We will focus on bits for training. Whether you’re training a western of english horse, the principles of bitting for starting the young horse are the same. For the most part, a snaffle bit is the tool of choice for the knowledgeable horseman. As with everything, there are many types of snaffle bits. These snaffle bits are differentiated by the rings that connect to the mouthpiece:
The loose ring snaffle is a jointed or broken snaffle bit on which the rings are free sliding. The loose ring prevents the horse from grabbing hold of the bit. If the horse attempts to grab the bit, it rotates, which makes it difficult to get hold of.
The eggbutt snaffle is similar to the loose ring, but the rings are fixed on a hinge which does not allow freedom of movement in the bit. The eggbutt was designed because of the tendency of the loose ring to pinch or cut the horse’s mouth.
The D-ring snaffle is similar in design to the eggbutt, the largest difference between the two bits is that the ring connection is even further away from the horse’s lips – making it even safer for the horse.
Do not use twisted wire snaffles, leverage bits, or mechanical hackamores when starting a horse. Actually, we can’t think of any reason you should ever use a twisted wire snaffle, mechanical hackamore, gag bit, or leverage bit with long shanks. Only when you and your horse progress to a higher level, should you be working with other types of bits.
There was an excellent post on the rec.equestrian newsgroup based on Dr. Deb Bennett’s July 1993 EQUUS article on bit fitting and severity. This page has been sourced from REC.EQUESTRIAN, the body of the text has been unaltered as far as possible. The information is for use at your own risk.
Using a bit incorrectly or using the wrong type of bit can create problems. Some of the most common are:
Avoidance of the bit.
Running through the bit.
Carriage behind the bit.
Dryness of mouth.
Overactive mouthing/chewing of the bit.
For training the green horse we use a sweet iron bit with copper inlays which has 3 inch D rings. We recommend starting with D-ring snaffle bits as opposed to loose ring snaffles because the loose ring snaffles can pinch or cut the mouth of a young horse. We want to make sure that everything we do when handling a young horse is set up for a positive experience. These bits also have enough room in the D ring for the slobber straps and headstall. Sweet iron rusts which causes the horse to salivate, the copper causes salivation too. For some reason, horses really like the taste of the rust. You may see this as ugly rust, but the horse will love it. The snaffle bit is broken or jointed in the middle, which means that it is intended to be used with both hands on the reins as opposed to a curb bit which can be used in one hand.
A snaffle is a mild bit which, in good hands should be held with very light pressure. If you have to pull hard on the reins and bit to get the horse to react, you’re doing something wrong. Pressure from the rein is not how you collect your horse. You may be able to get the head in the right position (this is called head setting) but the horse's back will be hollow and their movement will not be correct. The next time you go to a horse show, see if you can tell how many horses carry themselves with collection and how many just have their head in the right spot. You'll be surprised.
Contact with the bit through the rein should be light, remember that you want to end up with a light horse so don't start out by yanking on the bit or taking too much rein. Offer the "good deal" to the horse first – light pressure or contact. If the horse leans on the bit, do not pull back on both reins, this actually teaches the horse to push it’s nose out and lean on the bit even more. If you have a problem with the horse running through the bit, use a light pull on one rein. You may even have to tug a few times to get the horse's attention. Avoid constant pressure with the rein, you just want to make it uncomfortable for the horse so that they listen to you.
You also have to understand the dynamics of movement with the horse. With each step forward, the horse’s head and body move differently. If you maintain a static position with your hands and body, you will pull on the horse’s mouth. You need to be an "active" rider. What we mean by this is your body, arms, and hands have to move with the motion of the horse. This keeps the pressure on the bit the same throughout the range of motion of the horse.
We start the bridling experience by teaching the horse about things in their mouth. We use the lead rope to simulate a bit and ask for them to accept the rope in their mouth the same as if it were a bit. Ask for a bend at the poll and work the rope into the horses mouth as if it were a bit. The horse will get used to something in its mouth and it won't be a cold hard piece of metal the first time. The indians used a piece of leather as a bit in their ponies mouths -- be creative with the lead rope. We practice with the rope until the horse is accepting and soft with this exercise.
We don’t bridle a horse until they are proficient riding with the rope halter. You save time and can teach a lot to your horse before you ever get a bit in their mouth. When the time comes to put a bridle on, we will put it on over the rope halter and ride in the rope halter. In order to do this, you have to double up the reins over the horse's head so that they hang out of the way on the horse’s neck. It will look like your horse is wearing a lot of hardware. We put the headstall on the horse so that he can get used to the feel, weight, and bit in their mouth before we start using it as the primary training aid.
Once we have the horse comfortable with the rope halter and headstall combination, we remove the rope halter and do our training in the snaffle. We still use the rope halter for riding, especially when someone who doesn’t have very good hands rides one of our horses.
Slobber straps are a double strap of leather with a hole in both ends. They are normally used with a snaffle and mecate reins. The slobber straps are folded and fit through the rings on the bit. They are designed to be used with a bit that has at least 3" rings so that there is room for the headstall and slobber straps.
The rein is attached through both straps with a half hitch knot which allows for easy adjustment and removal -- no matter how hard the rein gets pulled, this knot will easily loosen.
Slobber straps are especially useful to avoid wear on your mecate reins and they keep the reins out of the water when your horse gets a drink. The weight of the slobber straps assist with the mecate reins in providing an instant release (reward) to the horse when training. This is essential when you consider that you only have 2-3 seconds to reward your horse when you get appropriate behavior before the horse looses the concept of relating the behavior to the reward. (c) 1999 Natural Horse Supply, Cloudburst Farm, and Rhett & Marilou Russell. Reposted with permission.
