The past several months I have been working with one of the ranch’s colts, Cabo.  Cabo is a coming four year old APHA gelding that I first mentioned here.

I’ve started a number of colts and I have to admit that Cabo continues to be the most challenging horse I have worked with!  We started riding in a side-pull and graduated to a regular snaffle bit late last fall.  Recently, I moved him into an Argentine (a very short shank and smooth snaffle mouthpiece) to work a little more on collection and control.

While his training is progressing and he will easily yield at the shoulder, ribs and hindquarter, there is a great deal of resistance in his body and lack of bend through his spine to his tail.  I am riding with my full body using my leg and body position in conjunction withy my hands, and Cabo has excellent flexion through the neck, but it isn’t translating down the rest of his body. 

Additionally, I’m not getting the collection I would like to see through his whole body.  I feel like our movement and stops are strung out and he isn’t getting his legs up under his body and moving efficiently.

It has been my experience when obstacles arise in the training process, a problem that seems to worsen with time and “progress,” is best resolved by going back and revisiting earlier lessons.  Somewhere in the chain of learning we’ve had a disconnect.  The bend in the neck both laterally and vertically, the flexion and collection we have on the ground and in the saddle at a halt, is disconnected from the rest of his body.

This made me think about the very beginning of the circle, the beginning of collection – the nose, the mouth, the bit.  I’ve often considered starting in a bosal, have read articles and even watched a couple of videos on the topic, but have never fully wrapped my head around the benefits and the mechanics of this training tool.  I had a general understanding that starting in a bosal could be the answer to the challenges I’m currently facing with Cabo – but I had questions.

And when you have questions about horses the best thing you can do is get the advice of a talented and seasoned trainer that you can respect!  Enter our guest trainer for today’s topic: Michael Hayes.

Michael was born in Washington State. While riding under Roberta Lindsey and Joe Jones, Michael rode to quite a successful youth and non-pro career. With several championships earned, Michael continued showing while earning his Bachelor of Science degree from Washington State University in Production Management and Animal Nutrition.

After earning his degree, Michael decided to take the next step and pursue his passion for cutting by giving up his non-pro card and relocating to Texas and Oklahoma to work with some of the industries finest.  Now having honed his skills and developing his natural talent, Michael is now accepts a select number of horses into his show string.

Following are Michael’s answers to my questions about using a bosal:

Question 1:   What is the difference/benefits of starting a horse in a bosal as opposed to starting in a side-pull or halter?

The main benefit of a bosal is you are using the the bridge of the nose instead of the mouth, I have always used a braided nose band. The main benefit of getting either method to work is starting with a really good ground work program.  I like the bosal over the side-pull because with the side pull you end up actually pulling the head around, which will raise their head up instead with the bosal it pulls down.  By doing this you can keep a head set and keep the horses rounded which leads to a better stop and turn. 

Question 2:  What do you like to accomplish in a bosal before moving into a snaffle bit?

The biggest thing that I like to accomplish in a horse is their confidence.  If a horse is unsure of what you are wanting then they are not ready to move on.  A horse should be able to stop by hearing the word WHOA and you sitting deep into the seat.  Then when trotting or loping you should be able to slow them down by tapping on the reins.  The biggest things is that if they are not soft enough to do the commands easily now all you are going to do by putting a bit in their mouth is a bigger fight and a tougher mouth.

Question 3:  If a horse has already been riding in a bit for some time, is it beneficial to go back to the bosal – can you improve carriage, collection and response this way?

I feel that you should always be able to gain some benefits by doing this in some training situations.  In older horses their training and anticipation of certain moves you just need something to get their attention.  But if you are just dry riding them I encourage that they ride in a bosal.  Most horses are always going to relax when they don’t have iron hanging in their mouths.  If you ride them for awhile in the bosal they soon will start listening to your hands and going by the cues instead of reacting to the bit in their mouth.  By doing this most of their heads should lower and then their gates should become a little bit more collected and relaxed.

Question 4:  What do you feel are the most common mistakes made when riding/training in a bosal?

I feel the biggest mistake on the bosal is having the headstall to tight.  By doing this the nose band is too high up the nose so you lose the sensitivity of the nose and end up pulling harder.  The second mistake is that the nose band is too tight.  By doing this you are not allowing the bosal to rotate forward and get the nose tucking action you are looking for.

Armed with this new understanding of the bosal courtesy of today’s guest trainer, I’m going to try moving Cabo out of a bit and into the bosal.  I’ll keep you posted on our progress!

A special thanks to today’s guest trainer, Michael Hayes, for answering my questions (which I hope also answered a few of your questions).  Please feel free to weigh in on this topic in the comments section below – I’d love to hear about your experiences!