The O Ring

I'm a bit-oholic.  I love bits and it shows in my tack room.  I have dozens of bits but only use about a half dozen regularly.  I think a lot along the same lines as Fred Hunter who says that different bits make up our tool box just as the hammer, saw, and a level may make up a carpenter's toolbox. Without those tools, he'd have a hard time completing his job.  The same can be applied to bits.

My all time favorite and most used bit is an O ring bit.  I use it on everything from a colt's very first rides to my finished horses and every thing in between. This bit just molds to my hands and presents a clear signal to my horses for what I'm asking.  If I could only have on bit in my trailer, this is it.

However, I haven't always been loyal.  In fact, I feel like I have cheated on my faithful companion the past few months. I've been riding a horse lately that honestly needed a step up bit when fast working the pattern. He is so powerful that I felt I needed a little more to help him to come back to me when the speed and adrenaline was added.  As time went on, more regular colt problems sprouted up.  I wasn't alarmed as it's all part of the learning process, however, instead of going back to the O ring and fixing the foundation, I thought I needed a different bit - something bigger.  I don't know how many bits I've been through, but it's been a handful. He was doing good, but I could just "feel" that something wasn't quite right.

After a lot of thinking and pondering on what I should do next with him, I had come up with a few drills I was going to try the next few times I rode him.

Nature stepped in and the next few days were not the greatest of weather. Instead of working the barrels, I opted to just go for a ride and stretch his legs. I was in a hurry so I just grabbed the first bridle within my reach - my trusty O ring.  Within minutes into our ride, I could feel the root of our problems. He was getting stiff in his jaw which followed through to his poll and shoulder.  With the other bits that I was riding him in, he wasn't quite as bad because they helped cover it up.  Regardless, the resistance was really the start of our problems.

The O ring can't cover up problems like those other bits can. It doesn't lie to me and my hands.  It gives me an honest evaluation of where my foundation has it's weaknesses. It won't take me long to get the jaw back to being soft and anything else that isn't quite up to par with the help of the O ring, but with those other bits, I would struggle and struggle moving on and on until I realized that bit did not fix it, so I needed another one. 

Thanks to the O ring, it saved me and my horse from creating more problems due to the weakness in the foundation.  Although it really isn't the answer for when I'm running this particular horse, I will never over look this bit again. It sure saved me from a heap of trouble in the making!

The moral of the story is bigger isn't always better and even the brokest horse needs a reminder here and there to make sure the foundation is strong. 

Until next time, Happy Trails!