If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it

[Bob Gould]

Hi,
my name is Kayla and I have a horse that has been on the barrels for about 8 months now. Before we started barrels he was mainly just a trail horse and was always rode in a curb bit.

Well when I started training to run barrels I was told that I should use a split bit so I first changed to a tom thumb until I found out how harsh they were. So I changed to a d-ring snaffle and he was still blowing up everytime you rode him no matter what so I switched to a short shank combination which made him go totally crazy so I decided to put the curb back on him and try that and now he's running a next to perfect pattern... collecting, making clean snappy turns, closing pockets.. I mean he's running beautifully but my friend recentally told me that I can ruin him in that bit and make him start to shoulder the barrels.

Is that really true and is it ok to use a curb if he really does work good in that bit, he's never shouldered or knocked over a barrel before and his nose is always pointing inward, I just really want this horse to work out but I'm having... "a bit of trouble."



Thanks for your advice,

Kayla





Tell your friend,
if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it……. All horses ( and people) are individuals and have to be treated as such. It sounds like your horse is more responsive in the curb bit and also more comfortable with it, so I would have to continue to use what makes the horse happy.

Martha Wright