Back on the road, riders find amazing bit

A few weeks ago, we decided to head back out from Virginia to Ohio to join our friends from the Best of America by Horseback TV show on their Grand Tour  event at Smoke Rise Ranch, Glouster (smokeriseranch.com), a working cattle ranch that caters to those "dudes" and happy campers amongst us.

We had debated about whether it was really worthwhile traveling all that way for another few days at a Grand Tour Ride, and it turned out to be raining most of the time we were there, but we had been on the road for almost six months and hadn't seen the guys from the Best of America in all that time. 

This was probably going to be our last opportunity of the year to get together with everyone, so we really couldn't afford to miss it.

In the end, we were glad we decided to go, not just to catch up with old friends, but, as often happens on these rides, we met some other wonderful people who have now become our friends too.  Joyce and Terry Moyer were two of the most amazing characters in their own right, and were full of interesting, funny stories about their farm, their families, horses, friends and just life in general.  They are great lovers of the Tennessee Walking horse and raise many of them at their ranch a couple of hours further upstate.

They were giving an exhibition of the breed to all who were interested, and not only did they show us each of the seven horses they brought with them, but we were also allowed to try them out in the arena.  For those of you unfamiliar with the breed, the Tennessee Walking horse is what is known as a "gaited" horse, as opposed to standard Western breeds such as the "paint" and "quarter" horses, whilst English Riders generally use lots of "warm blood" and "Thoroughbred" horses, especially when competing!

As their proud owners will always tell you, gaited horses offer a much smoother ride to those in the saddle than the non-gaited horse, and it is often said that you can ride a gaited horse with a glass of water in your hand and not spill a drop.  I have actually seen it done myself, although to a degree, it does depend on the horse and the rider as to how smooth that ride actually is.

When Joyce allowed me on one of her young horses in the arena, I didn't find the ride that much more comfortable (at the trot) than I did riding Max.  However, when I was given the privilege of riding Joyce's personal horse - the 17-year-old "Electra" - I was just amazed at the difference.

It's no wonder us middle-aged folk learn to appreciate the gaited horse, the older we get!  No bone-jarring bouncing up and down in the saddle, and you'd be surprised how fast you move on one at the walk - your average non-gaited horse has to trot just to keep up!  Anyway, gaited horses, whether they be Tennessee Walkers, Rocky Mountains, American Saddlebreds, or any one of another 40 or so breeds are a rare find in the U.K., although there are plenty to choose from over here.  I should say that the "art" of gaiting a horse is more complex than first envisaged - suffice to say that there are five different types of gait in a horse that only the trained eye can spot.

If you want to know more, go take a look at this neat Web site I found - thefabulousfloatinghorses.com - for more.

In addition to the fun with the horses, we observed several demos of new  interesting products in the arena, and one of those was the amazing "one-hander" bit, which is declared by its inventor as the most humane bit available today, and proudly made in America to boot!

It is quite something to realize that a lot of the problems with troublesome horses can be put down to an ill-fitting bit, and it isn't until you see something like this that you realize just how big the problem is.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating," as we say in England, so as Max had been causing me a few problems with head tossing and general naughtiness lately, I thought I would try one out on him.

I had ridden in my usual bit the previous day, and Max was just so "dodgy" that half way round I had to call it a day and head back to camp - sometimes it is better to be safe than sorry and live to ride another day!

Well, of course I was a little skeptical of these bits and expected little more than a slight improvement from the boy.

In all honesty, I found Max to be 100 percent better behaved than he had been before in his old bit; he was like a different horse - calm, comfortable and just happy to be walking and trotting along the trail. You're advised not to expect miraculous results the first time around, but this was way above any of my expectations! 

As if to confirm my findings, as I rode Max back to the barn and returned the demo bit to its owner, there was another rider coming back from her own ride, saying exactly the same thing as me - her horse had shown a 100 percent improvement in behavior on the trail, and she wanted to buy a bit there and then! 

So impressed were we with these bits that we are carrying them on the new Best of America by Horseback Web store; you'll find a link to it on the Web site - bestofamericabyhorseback.com - go take a look and buy something both you and your horse will really appreciate!

David and Anita Hasbury-Snogles are British residents riding across the U.S. for charity. David can be reached at david_hasbury@ yahoo.com.