I have been absent lately because I have been looking at a lot of my pictures of Gilly. A lot are painful to look at. The faces he is making and his mouth open, he is telling me he hates the bit. I know I will probably get a lot of flack over this but..........what I see my horse telling me is he is in pain. I have a bitless bridle but started using a bit over a year ago because others have said that the horse needs a bit. Why? Why did I listen, Gilly does just fine with out one, he can be light, collected and doesn't need something in his mouth to guide and direct him. Do these pictures look like a happy horse?
I recently watched a DVD by Stormy May called "The Path of the Horse" something worth watching.Review from Natural Horse Magazine "To produce this exceptional documentary,Stormy May 'gave up' her horse training career. She set off on a mission to find better and this video portrays what she learned and experienced on the journey, which will astound the viewer who is new to this kind of horse-human relationship.
This beautifully produced DVD, featuring Stormy and the visionary horsemen and women she interviews (Mark Rashid, Linda Kohanov, Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling, Alexander Nevzorov and Carolyn resnick), clearly demonstrates how horses do have a gift to share and that the future of horse-human relationships is looking much better.
Footage of what is typical in today's training and treatment of horses is shown in stark contrast to the gentle, elegant and natural ways these folks relate to their horses and to amazing things with them, also shown.
We can be better horse people and The Path of the Horse challenges us to transcend. Thanks to Stormy May and her very impressive work, we have a place to start. This is a must-see, must-share video. Here's hoping it's impact on the horse world will spread far and wide fast."
Below is a trailer and from it.
This has given me a lot of food for thought. I need to listen more to my horse, he has a lot to say. He also has a lot to teach me, can my mind be still enough to hear him?
And before anyone asks, no it's not his teeth giving him any problems. His teeth are fine. The bit said it was a gentle training bit, expensive......but after thinking on this would I want it in my mouth? No matter how light and gentle someones hands would be it's still metal in the mouth, one of the most sensitive parts of a horse. The collage below is a sharp reminder of this, I can't stand to see him like this so we are going to leave bits behind us and move on.
To see some really amazing things with horses, check out Alexander Novzorov and Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling.
This is a picture taken several years ago when I first got him the Dr. Cooke's bitless bridle. A much happier horse; check out the link to learn more about his bridle. We are going back to bitless. I was lucky and able to send the expensive bit back where I got it for a refund because Gilly hated it. Now I have a nice synthetic dressage bridle that I thought I couldn't use but then I found this site, Natural Horse World the link will take you to the bitless bridle page. Cynthia has a bitless nose band that will fit my bridle so I can still use it and be bitless too. I am going to give Gilly a chance to chose which one he likes best or feels best on a given day. He should have a say in his comfort I think. A new chapter in our relationship; for the better!
