Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Re-starting a young horse with a "classical" cavesson instead of a bit

When Leo came to us last September, we knew he had decent gaits, 60 days at a colt starter, and he was very spooky and reactive. The first time I went to saddle him, he about had a meltdown over the saddle pad. He was terrified of the mounting block. He wouldn't move once you got on, and when you finally got his feet unstuck, he tended to scoot if you were the teeniest bit unbalanced. He also chewed the bit like it was his job. CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP.

Pre-haircut days. He's now sporting a mohawk because I just could not with that mane.

Never having had such a young horse before, we were at a bit of a loss of how to approach things. My husband was gone quite a lot last fall and I wouldn't get on Leo unless someone was there (important for dialing 911, you know), so I ended up doing a lot of in-hand work. Walking, stopping, backing in hand. Trotting in hand (that was mind-blowing, omg). Turn on the forehand, turn on the haunches. Hanging out by the mounting block. Leg-yielding in hand. Anything I could think of, we did it in hand.

Once he figured out I had an endless supply of cookies and scratches, he also "helped" with the chores.

Initially, I used a halter, but I quickly decided I wanted something a little more refined. Last year when we visited Sweden, I'd picked up a cavesson to play with. It's not at all like the longing cavessons we have in the US, although you can use it for longing. It's a bit more like a bosal that western riders often use to start their young horses. It has a bicycle chain over the nose, but it's extremely padded (I only figured out it has a chain in there because I squished it really hard to see if there was any metal in the middle - there are also cavessons made with a solid metal noseband, so this one is quite gentle). It's made to fit snugly, and it doesn't rotate like a halter can.
As a bit of an aside - apparently in the 16th century (and possibly earlier), horses were often started in a cavesson, which could have been anything from a rope nose to a two or three part serrated metal nose (modernly these are called serratas and seem to be used on bullfighting horses, google at your own risk). Trainers were supposed to teach the horse to stop, turn, steer, etc. with a cavesson before putting a bit on the horse, to save his mouth. The bit was gradually introduced, along with the cavesson, and then eventually the cavesson was removed entirely and the horse went solely in a bit.

Rope cavesson from de Pluvinel (c. 1623)

Modern serrata. I've seen Iberian horses (in Europe) with scars from these, so they are definitely still used. :(

I figured there was not only historical precedence for this arrangement, but I also know several folks who have started their "classical" horses in a soft cavesson and then transitioned to a bit. Clearly, Leo was not super happy about a bit, for whatever reason, so we took the bit out of the equation and worked with the cavesson alone. That actually went really well - he was able to relax, and we worked on the basics of How to Horse (stopping and turning on request is important, yo).

Cavesson and bit in action

About a month ago, we decided to go ahead and start riding him with a bit as well. Of course his favorite bit is the French link Neu Scheule off Taran's double (couldn't go with the cheap option, could you Leo?) I just stuck the bradoon hanger under the cavesson, and volia! Fancy baby horse transition bridle.

Just the bradoon

Cavesson over bradoon

Here's what the whole thing looks like. I'm actually getting used to handling the double reins!

I'm very glad I had a chance to play with this option, because it's working great for Leo. At the beginning of the ride, I use the cavesson exclusively, and I pick up a little more feel on the snaffle as the ride progresses. He's able to get used to carrying the bit without actually having it do anything, which seems to be helping with his acceptance of it. 

Sometimes he even looks quite fancy and grown-up!

Have you ever used a cavesson before, either to start a young horse or as a bitless option? Curious to hear about your experiences!

17 comments:

  1. I plan to start my young horse in a rope halter (although if I had access to a nicely fitted cavesson or bitless bridle I would use that too). I feel that I have seen a lot of people start their young horses like this before transitioning to a bit. I also plan to do some ground driving and lunging in a bit before transitioning to it under saddle. I think it's fair to only ask a horse to learn one new thing at a time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sounds awesome, I look forward to hearing about your progress!

      Delete
  2. I love this method of starting (or re-starting!) horses 😁 I used it when I started my mom's Azteca! I also have several Spanish show halters called serratas that I use on the extremely infrequent times I dabble at halter with my girls - they're slightly different than the one you have pictured, but have the solid metal nosebands. Definitely have to use them with a SUPER light hand. I prefer the more modern presentation halters that attach under the chin with a regular leather noseband!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh interesting about your serratas.. I thought only if they were serrated were they actually called that? Clearly I need to brush up on my terminology. I actually have one with a solid metal noseband too but I'm afraid to use it because I really don't know what I'm doing with them lol!

      Delete
  3. What did the colt starter say about Leo? It seems weird he started out so skittish. I came up with a similar combination for my lease mare Lacey. She was a super chomper and very nervous about the bit so I switched her over to a sidepull. Then to transition back I added a bit and put on an extra set of reins. I have started young horses in halters but I really want to get a cavesson for my sensitive lusitano cross that I am just starting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. His time at the colt starter was before we bought him, so idk what the starter had to say.

      Very cool that you tried a sidepull on your lease horse! Definitely recommend the cavesson option as it seems to stay put better than the sidepulls I've tried.

      Delete
  4. That's really interesting! My neighbor starts all of the young horses she gets in sidepulls or rope halters. I'd never thought about it for re-starting a horse, but might try it on Candy. She is a dedicated bit chewer, and it seems more like a nervous habit than anything else.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Leo chomps when he gets anxious, then is quiet when he's not. I figure the more time I can give him in non-chomp-mode, the better of we'll be later.

      Delete
  5. He looks awesome! And what a great approach -- it actually is a common classical approach to start western horses too. Buck Brannaman starts his bridle horses with the bosal and they gradually move up over years before they get to a one-handed shanked bit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah I've definitely seen young western horses started that way, but it does not seem to be a thing for english horses and IDK why.

      Delete
  6. What was mind blowing about trotting in hand?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Apparently me moving at any pace faster than a walk was completely unacceptable. We've worked on it a lot and he now knows he's supposed to pick up a trot when i start jogging beside him (even if i'm jogging in place lol). Shenanigans not required.

      Delete
  7. Thanks for sharing this - I want to do something similar with my horse who I'm restarting from scratch. The bit causes a lot of anxiety so if I can get him to the point where he can calmly let it SIT in his mouth without me touching it, that would be great!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That was my thought too. Plus he was prone to scooting at first, and I didn't want to catch him in the mouth. Let us know how it goes!

      Delete
  8. I actually started riding Nilla is a similar get up. She hated bits and chewed and stuck her tongue out and we spent more time focused on the bit than on getting anything done. However, she liked to root hard so a straight bitless bridle was out of the question. I ended up riding her in a double bridle that was a sidepull and a mechanical hackamore each with their own rein. The trainer we were working with thought I was crazy at first, but then admitted it worked really well. I eventually bought a PS of Sweden Cavemore - caveson/hackamore combination that came with two reins. I am guessing more Europeans must do this sort of caveson work than Americans do since they had a purpose made bridle for this purpose. Once we got some actual riding done and established more confidence and fitness I was able to transition to a regular bridle, though finding a bit she liked took a lot longer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. whats this cavemore you speak of!

      Delete
    2. Sadly, they don't make them anymore, but I have a pic on my blog. It was a hackamore with a caveman noseband. It came with a second set of reins you could use on the caveson. https://diyhorseownership.com/need-some-advice-on-bridle-size/

      Delete