One of the things that drives me totally crazy is when people don’t adjust things properly on their horses, or themselves for that matter. The one that is more irritating than that is when they have no clue that adjustments are needed, what is correct, or know how to do it.
Riding helmets aren’t much good if they don’t fit or the chin strap is too loose.
A friend and I were looking over a new bridle she had gotten. It was really pretty with a figure eight noseband with a lot of bling on it. Growing up in the 60’s and 70’s Hunter World, no one used bling, it wasn’t even in existence yet. Plain leather hunting tack was used. When they came up with the fancy stitched nosebands it was frowned upon to use them in a Hunter Class or the Hunt Field. Western was the only place that used anything colorful or fancy back then. And I must say, nothing like what is used today.
The new noseband, dark leather with rhinestones looked beautiful on the flea bitten grey she was going to ride. This horse does not like a tight noseband, she thinks she can’t breath. Perhaps she’s right. The point is that she didn’t need it tight. She doesn’t play with the bit or try to evade it. They were just going for a spin around the pasture.
It got me thinking about how many people don’t even know how to adjust a figure eight noseband properly, or anything else for that matter.
Halters, for instance, are a curiosity sometimes. If they don’t have a lot of adjustment options, they don’t always fit right. I have one that is too tight in the throat latch part so you have to drop the crown piece. Then it hangs too far down on the horse’s nose. The horse only wears it for an hour at the most, but it bothers me. I’ve seen babies with nosebands (that they are supposed to grow into) but in the mean time if they reach forward with their back leg to scratch, they could get their foot caught and boy do you have a wreck on your hands. You need to make sure that the metal part on the side of the halter is an inch below the cheek bone, the noseband of a bridle also.
Oh yeah, you know what else will put me over the edge? When people leave halters on young horses and never notice that the horse has grown and the noseband is now embedded into their flesh. Sometimes the skin is even growing over the nylon.
Surcingles on blankets or flank straps/billet strap on western saddles can make me nuts. People leave them hanging too loose, and if a horse kicks at a fly and gets his leg caught, you’ve got big trouble.
Bits that hang too low in a horses mouth or bits that are cranked up too tight are something else that makes me crazy.
Most of the time people don’t give it any thought. Maybe they don’t notice, or maybe they were never taught. But if you are going to do something, or use something please learn how to adjust it correctly. It’s the safe thing to do. I’m crazy to begin with, I don’t need any more help.