I have been riding Tex! My husband took and rode him regularly for 4 days, and I'm sure pushed him pretty hard. He came home a much more respectful horse. He is keeping his speed more constant, going when I ask, and definitely stopping when I ask. His stop is great! Now, I feel comfortable working Tex at a walk and a slow trot, and almost feel safe to ride him without the husband around.

It's become more obvious to me that Tex's bad manners in public were due to a severe lack in confidence. It's made me realize that my job is to help him gain confidence in himself. In doing so, however, I also gain confidence.

Many people would have told me that with my experience level (I would consider myself a low intermediate rider), breaking a horse wouldn't be a good idea. And that's what I would recommend for others too. However, I do have a VERY supportive and knowledgeable husband who has given me wonderful advice throughout the process, and he's been there to hop on Tex when he's giving me trouble and not be afraid of a little bucking or acting out.

Here are some current goals I'm working toward with my little guy:
1. Help him learn to focus on and trust me when I'm riding him. How? When he loses focus, I change directions.
2. Desensitize him to many different obstacles, in preparation for the stock horse association trail competitions. How? Right now, I'm sending him over many different obstacles on the ground.
3. Sensitize his turns. How? Riding circles & figure 8's in a bosal right now. I'm considering using the tighter rope halter instead. He seems to respond to the tighter halter better.
4. Let him learn to hold a snaffle bit in his mouth. How? I put the snaffle bit (full cheek snaffle) LOOSE in his mouth with no reins, latch the throat latch, and leave him locked in his stall to figure it out for a couple hours. He has done this about 4 times and has come a long way. Why loose? I read an article once that said the only way the horse would learn to hold the bit correctly was to let him figure it out himself. I'm happy with the technique, and it seems to work for Tex.
5. Teaching him to "send" into the trailer, instead of being led into the trailer.

Remember my struggle of whether or not to teach my horse to flex? Here's a neat article I found about why teaching your horse to flex is important, from Jody Cunningham, a trainer from Crockett, TX.
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