The Case of
the Retained Cap© 2008 Cherry Hill
©
Copyright Information 
For this month's newsletter, I'd like to applaud one of you for
putting what you read into practice, which makes life better for your horse and
for you too! And is a huge treat for me ! The
majority of letters I receive are people telling me of bad things that their horses
do and wondering how they can fix them. The horses all of a sudden start biting,
throwing their head, kicking, bucking, spooking, pawing.......the list is endless.
In each case, even though I can't see the horse, the person, the management, the
facilities, I try to get at the basic reasons why the horses are doing what they
do. If a horse that is usually good starts acting up all of a sudden, there usually
is a pretty good reason, and often one that you, as the horse's caretaker and
trainer, can take care of. Case in point
- often when horses start fussing with or resisting the bit, readers ask about
using a different
bit (often the subtext is a "more severe bit" for control) but the
reason for the behavior and the solution often lies elsewhere - poor bridle or
bit fit, rough hands, and many times, as you'll read below, dental
problems. The thanks goes to you
Ron, for being a good horse detective and for writing me so I can post your letter.
I'm sure you will inspire other horse owners to do their own investigations and
get to the bottom of behavior changes in their horses. Dear
Webmaster, Three years ago a friend
of mine adopted a horse through the Equine Rescue. When he went to pick her up
at her birth farm where she was temporarily stabled, he found that her younger
sister was for sale. The owner cut the price in half to keep the two together.
He asked if I wanted in and I said yes. We were two greenhorns with one green
horse and one abused horse. With the help of experts via video and books, we now
have a 4 1/2 year old Quarter horse that has recovered from her abuse and a three
year old Quarter horse that is trail riding under western saddle and learning
everyday.  Cherry
was one of our biggest sources of materials. "How
to Think Like a Horse" was very helpful and we stuck right to "Making
Not Breaking" as our guide for the younger horse.  Recently
the three-year-old was acting up and I used Cherry's articles to figure out it
was a tooth issue and the vet was impressed. The stubborn cap was removed and
"Sugar" was sugar sweet once again.
Please
pass on my thanks to Cherry for the wonderful way she writes and for sharing her
knowledge with all of us horse lovers. Ron
Theriault | 
