I have a now 19 yr old Azteca (QH and Andalusian) gelding who also came from an abusive home. He’s been with me since ‘01 and has come a LONG way! The first time he and I had a discussion, I was in my old Siegfried and he decided after my riding around the barn for a couple of hours at a WALK working on his being barn sour, to do a 360 degree turn on the forehand! Thank heaven my legs still worked! This had been effective with the others who rode him. At my age then I decided it was safer to ride him western as well. About the time I had him going good (’03), the little guy being a gray horse, developed melonomias on the upper and lower sides of his mouth. They haven’t effected his eating, they just look different. I moved him out of a bit and into a mechanical hackamore without much of a problem.

With continual work and remaining consistant in asking him over and over again for something gently, he came around. Today, my kid called me and said that the little girl we’d hoped would take him, fell in love and rode him around without a problem. Of course her father (He’s a Charro and Grey does NOT like Charros, because of the prior abuse.) got on him and the first thing he did, was spin on the forehand (Something he really hasn’t done in several years!).

And he rode around in just a simple nylon halter to boot. Guess I did my job.
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Over 40 years of training horses, riders and making/repairing saddles and tack.

Horses have personalities, just like people, and some are just lazy, just oppositional, just ornery. They may enjoy being that way, who knows? But we have to accept them as they are, and go from there. We can’t change their personality in any basic way, as it is inborn and in your horse’s case reinforced by his early experiences.

Some horses, with no nerve damage and no bad experiences, just prefer the curb. It may be easier on their tongues; they may not tolerate the snaffle joint hitting the roof of their mouth; they may require constant reminding who the dominant party is.

I’ve had two horses who went beautifully in curbs, but would never behave at all in snaffles. One was an OTTB; in a curb he lowered his head, worked off his rear, was happy and content. In a snaffle, he was back to his racing days, head up and looking to run and darned if he was going to stop. The other was an Arabian. She just didn’t like the feel of the bit in her mouth, whenever it moved she’d panic. No abuse, she just wouldn’t accept it. Riding her with a snaffle, she was constantly on edge for no reason at all. In a curb, she was calm and happy. In both cases, I put them in curb bits with the curb chains so loose as to be nonexistent and went from there. They were both happy as clams.

Another Arabian I had hated anything but a jointed bit. As I was training her Western, I finally had to resort to a TomThumb. Problem solved. She didn’t need the harshness, she just needed the joint to fit the anatomy of her individual mouth better.

Your horse’s mouth may just be better fitted with a curb bit. Have you tried him in a straight bar or mullen mouth snaffle? Sometimes these will work – at least long enough to get through a dressage class where a snaffle is required!

You’ve obviously done a wonderful job on this horse, and I think you should consider yourself a major success here. Getting a horse to work well in a snaffle is not the only – or even an appropriate! – measure of success. He’s happy and secure in your leadership when he’s in the curb. He’s got the personality that will always test your authority. Keep him in the curb, and pat yourself on the back. You’ve done a great job; you’re just using the wrong yardstick.
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You are doing western, correct? Well that is what you are doing in the picture (tee hee! lateral movements in a western saddle! I do dressage and am obsessed by it!). It is perfectly fine if you are using a curb bit in western. I would know. I ride one of my friend’s horses and we tried him in a snaffle, fearing that the curb was too harsh. I almost died when he tried to run me into a tree. Well, anyway, we put the curb back in with a curb chain and he is Mr. Manners himself now.

Don’t worry, everyone has ridden that horse that makes you feel like you are an equestrian invalid. It’s not just you. You havce not failed if Dobbin is happier and healthier. That is the main thing: he is out of a horrid situation and into a wonderful one, regaurdless of bits.

I don’t think you should try the snaffle again. He is ovbiously a curb bit horse. Don’t worry about it.

Well, the moral of the story is that you are not doing anything wrong and just need to stop worrying about it. If you keep having dreams about failing, may i suggest psychotherapy?
Well, god luck with dobbin!
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I ride him in the side reins that go with a circingle (sp?) once a week to remind him how his head needs to be, because I’ve found draw reins aren’t as efficient with him. He needs that constant contact of the side reins being connected to the girth.

Here’s a picture of him a few months ago at his first horse show- his head wasn’t exactly right yet (I hadn’t started working on it yet) but he won this hack class anyway because his BODY worked the way it was supposed to
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12327730@N08/3063042553/

Hope this helps. Feel free to e-mail with any more questions.

References :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmU2P_RichQ&feature=related

http://www.wilhowe.com/articles9.htm

http://www.eastcoasthorses.com/western-pleasure-bits.html

A link to snaffle bits and how to use them….Will maintains there are no hard mouths, only a hardened mind … this would apply to your horse before you found him…..Will’s article is worth a read….many of our top western trainers begin training colts using these methods…Will states that you don’t "yard" a 1200 lb horse around as they really are sensitive creatures.

I’ve been trained in the bitting up experience..have done it and it is a lengthy process…..there are progressive steps to putting a horse, "in the bridle"…..

Don’t feel that you have failed, you haven’t…you’re cleaning up after someone elses disastrous mistakes with this horse. Usually a horse will live "in the moment" but a truly traumatized horse will "rerun" many things in his head…we have to figure out what the triggers are. Your "Dobbin" is an attractive horse!! Love the white in his face!!
References :
PE

If your working on framing, use draw reigns. But if you dont want to use those this is what you do to get a nice, low, hunter frame.

Use a "see-saw" motion with your hands, like a half halt in time with his stride, almost like your squeezing a sponge, alternating hands so "left, right, left , right…." and dont stop or lose contact ever, and when he puts his head down squeeze alot with your leg so he knows to stretch and move forward. keep doing this and he will lengthen out
The most important thing to remember is, when he gets his head where you want it, although you can stop see-sawing, dont lose contact and dont take off your leg!

Bending:
A really helpful tip with bending is stand in the middle on your horse, pull lightly to make him turn to your foot, and do the same with the other. Then, eventually he’ll know to do this with just you sticking out your foot

When riding, do little half halts on the inside reign before you come to the bend. With some horses, the "pull and give" might have to be exaggerated "pull, pull, pull…give" till they get it. What some horses will do is TILT their head, so theyre nose will be to the inside, but their outside ear will be to the outside. If this happens, pull up on the outside reign so they correct it. You can work on bending to the inside all the way around the arena with constant pull-gives =)
CIRCLES CIRCLES CIRCLES
help SOO much starting big and then getting smaller and smaller and then back to getting bigger and bigger, all the while working on bending. Whats important with circles is inside leg is pushing your horses bum out, and your outside by the girth pushing his shoulders in, making him bend almost around your foot and so hes not drifting out. ALso, make sure your square to your horses shoulders, not falling in to the circle.=)

One more thing that helps is figure 8’s from corner to corner. Your horse has to change his bend in the middle and it helps him realise when he needs to bend in what direction. There are so many other techniques you can use as well, weaving in and out of pylons, etc.

Sorry this was so long! >.< I could probably go on but ill save you the reading if you want any other info just email me! The most important thing to remember is you give back as much as you take and you’ll have a happy horse!

Keira
References :
10 yrs of riding

No stirrups work, I would guess inner thighs and hip flexors. Try a pigeon stretch: from a plank position, bring one knee up and angle the lower leg across your body. Like this: http://www.womansday.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/galleries-slideshows/yoga-for-everyone/yoga-for-your-hips-pigeon-pose-variation-i/47626-1-eng-US/Yoga-for-Your-Hips-Pigeon-Pose-Variation-I_slideshow_image.jpg
Lower your upper body down on your elbows and breath deeply into the stretch. Repeat with the other leg.

Also try standing, place one angle across the opposite knee. Bend the knee and lean forward to balance. See if you can get low enough to put your fingers on the ground.

The stair stretch is a good one for your heels/calfs, as others have mentioned.
For a stiff lower back, try laying on a tennis ball. It sounds stupid, but place the ball under the stiff parts of your back and lower your weight slowly, shifting the ball in circles with your weight. It feels like a deep tissue massage.

For shoulders (I hold mine tense when I work no stirrups and they tend to be stiff), sit on your knees, place your arms in front of you and bow backwards, pushing forward with your palms as your weight settles back.
Or, go on hands and toes (plank position. shift your weight to one arm and slide the other underneath it (palm up) until your shoulder is on the floor. With your legs still extended, drop your knees to the ground and reach your other arm straight up from the shoulder. This will loosen your shoulders and stretch your spine. Repeat on the other side.

The looser you are, the more easily you’ll find things like no stirrups work. In my experience, the absolute best substitute for riding is a really good yoga or pilates class so if you’re financially limited in lessons, a good yoga dvd can go a long way.
References :
17 years ApHC, USDF, mandatory yoga sessions on college team made huge difference in my riding.