The JP SofTTurn Martingale offers a gentle yet powerful path to a more connected and responsive horse. By addressing uneven pressure, it helps your horse understand and respond to aids with greater ease and comfort.
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Start with the Clear Loop: Begin your training with the less flexible clear loop, clipped to the lower D-ring. Practice alternating short and wide turns, encouraging a "deep and through" contact.
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Develop Soft Lateral Bend: Focus on achieving a consistent, soft lateral bend with a lowered head position. This foundational step builds trust and responsiveness.
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Progress to Straightness: Once your horse consistently offers softness in turns, gradually lengthen the loop attachment. Work towards achieving the same softness on straight lines, with less engagement of the Softturn and a higher head position.
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Optimize for Jumping: For jumping, switch to the black elastic loop attached to the higher D-ring. Adjust the length to find the most comfortable and responsive setting for your individual horse.
A supple, trained horse will stay soft in the mouth and the neck, quick with his feet and using his back instead of his inverted neck to control his own balance under saddle. A coordinated rider will stabilize hand and seat movements as to not disrupt the horse’s biomechanics. A Master trainer’s hand will persuade the horse and fix many contact issues without even thinking. However, such harmony between horse and rider takes time to develop. In the meantime, a stiff, nervous, untrained horse is likely to pull on the reins. An uneducated, frustrated rider is likely to pull back an equal amount until one or both lose patience: the rider will jerk on the horse’s mouth, or the horse will jerk on the rider’s
hands. No improvement of the situation comes from that!
Havana
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