The bridle slipped off one ear and the driver got down to fix it. Horse spooked and took off. His wife was in the vehicle and managed to stay in as the horse galloped several blocks...So, I am thinking I will braid my boy's forelock into the bridle at our next parade.
The driver is ALWAYS the first one to get in and the last to exit! Why wouldn't he put his wife down to fix the bridle instead? Was she not capable? The driver should ALWAYS have someone capable of helping them especially in a parade. NEVER leave the passenger in the vehicle by themselves. Even with our mini tandem that can't carry a whole lot of weight (my husband's not a small guy!) our 8 yr. old son knows how to harness the tandem and fix traces. He has had to jump out of the cart quite a few times and unclip the trace to get a leg out (typical problem with tandems, especially when the leader won't get his butt going!
) Also, when you are approaching the horse from the side when it is wearing blinders, always talk to the horse so they know where you are. I can see the horse jumping if it is getting touched by something (someone) that isn't normally there at that time!
My gelding's bridle slipped over his ear last weekend and luckily my uncle saw it and fixed it. I have no idea how it happened, if he rubbed it and I didn't see, or he shook his head. I had just gotten into the cart from putting him to. I know that I had bridled him correctly because I always do that ear first. I am thinking of getting a gullet strap but want to try it first with a dog collar or something before I make the investment in a black leather and brass one. If it doesn't work for my gelding's head, there is no sense spending the money and I will have to find another method. Alax's forelock was braided to match his mane, so braiding the mane into the bridle isn't really an option for me for show.
We had a novice driver drive one of our horses at a show one year. Her biggest "ah-ha" was she said she realized how "broke" your horse has to be when you take it out in public! (Do ya' think?!
) That year, there was a flea market in the same park we were showing in, there were guys putting up a new scoreboard with welders and hammers, and the HS marching band was practicing in the parking lot! That is A LOT of stimuli that the driver has absolutely no control over, but how many people just think that it would be "so much fun" to dig their horse out of the pasture and take it in a parade! Nope, not for me. I am just getting used to the idea of having to drive in through-town Presentation Drives at the shows. Alax is almost better than I am!
Myrna
