Buck Brannaman
(Natural Horsemanship Classical Dressage Cowboy)
Riding Braced-up Horses
Riding on a horse un-aware 30% of the time is enough to maintain a bracing on the bit against the rider. Bracing on the bit is not just about the head but it is about the feet. The horse will not gel soft in the head until it is soft in the feet.
Change has to go to the ground, not just the head and neck.
There is lateral & vertical flexion, separate them out. Is not stiffness but lack of balance on all four feet in the horse.
To get soft feel without a brace then roll the behind to get hold of them, roll the front across, stop and walk ahead to soften. Soft feel comes from the ground up.
Un-track the hind then cross the front…
*
Rooting the reins away from you is different from releasing into softness. Sometimes the root is because the hands of the rider are late. Work on the lateral.
A bobby-head is a rolling in to softness. Work hands at actively nipping with softness just as it happens. The average person is behind the horse. Nip the bob with softness. Ray Hunt timing & hands. Or, take up reins, move the horse into it, when the horse comes up to it then soften.
A busy mouth is indicator you’re not getting to their feet. Feet, guts, mouth. It is about riding. Tying a mouth never fixes it.
Crabby pinning ear type of horses. With crabbing, do something to move the bubble. Break up the brace. Get them to move their feet. “They have to pay for sin”. Sometimes is necessary to put the spur in but then take it out. Do what is necessary and then get out.
Un-track the hind, cross the front and walk out.