> OK, what about a hackamore?  Let me begin over....  Was the horse abused
> when you got him/her?  (You mentioned about the stallion, so I am not
> sure.)
 
I've worked with several abused horses.. starting with CJ. CJ is one of the 
few horses I've never tried a bosal or hackamore on. The stud was mishandled 
for years.  
 
> 60's that from then on, I would show for the fun only.  Folks get hostile
> when they show, and I had enough whips 'accidentally' hit my horse and
> gotten bumped a lot.
 
Learn how to ride alongside someone and "slip" their bridle off.. ;)
 
 
>  I only wanted to do a decent show, and let the rest
> go as it may.  There is too much favouratism anyway.
 
Goes well beyond this.. politics and trends are a factor.
 
 
> So, was the hard mouth from abuse or just a bad bit?  (Almost the same
> except 'abuse' means 'all around' abuse, not just working the mouth.)
 
depends on which horse you want to discuss.. Kiss was misrode and poor 
handling especially with the bit..  
 
 
> care.  Anyway, I had to support the femur, meanwhile the ankle and hoof
> began to pull back and atrophy so I had to cast them for about 3 weeks.
> To make a long and off-the-subject story shorter, mom went home with the
> other horses, all well and happy AND spoiled, and he gave me the colt.
> (A line-back dun with a terrific pedigree.  I just do not know much about
> Quarter horses so I am treating him differently than my Arabs.)
 
Well you're not completely clear here.. but a horses is a horse arab, appy 
quarter or otherwise..  
 
> show horse was very abused and was going to be put down.  A national and
> Canadian champion who was abused since he was 5 months old, on the road
> in a trailer most of his life, but abused until he rebelled and became a
> rogue.  (So would I had I been him!)  He was a stallion who had dozens of
> foals, but they had him gelded thinking that would help.  Still a rogue,
> so they were going to put him down.  (There are no problem horses, just
> problem riders/trainers!)  I got him and the chemistry was great!  I used
> a halter, rode bareback, and it was wonderful.
 
CJ was a rogue and hated people.. took her years to trust people. It was 
never a matter of chemistry.. it was a matter of handling her the way she 
needed it and then building trust. By handling I mean that when she was 
re-trained.. she was re-trained so that she could make the choice of two 
options offered to her.. an easy way (what I wanted) and the hard way (what 
she wanted). I won't even get into dealing with all the emotional problems 
this mare had and still has to this day. 
 
 
>  It is a matter of what
> works between horse and human and if the chemistry is there or not.  I
 
I know.. CJ was brought along with a combination of Lyons, Dorrance, Hunt, 
etc etc etc..  
 
 
> get away with things they should not do.  But, abuse can really scar a
> horse.
 
I know I own one that will never completely recover.
 
 
Continued.. and watch your message length..  shouldn't post anything that 
approches 100 lines.. make it into two messages if you have to.
 
 
 
                                      BK 
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