03/28/2025
We love our trainers!!! Every step one of our horses take from being retired from racing to entering their new adoptive home is a big part of our trainer’s journey with our horses in between. Following up on Chachtki and why her trainer Lori, chose to use the Pessoa ropes during her initial training. From Lori…”So why the Pessoa ropes for Chachtki- There have been some videos/illustrations floating around social media talking about how some training devices (all training devices) are evil. Anything, when used inappropriately can be harmful, including a bit, a rope, a whip. Used appropriately, conscientiously, and not excessively most training aids are better described as a tool. Sure, I can (maybe) dig a hole in the dirt with my hands, but a shovel certainly helps. Same with training horses. Sure. We could potentially get to where we want to go slowly, over years of riding, but sometimes we need the basics solidified better before we get there. Chachtki, didn’t know how to give to pressure on her head, in fact she reacted dramatically to pressure on her head. I don’t know about you, but accepting pressure for cues while being ridden is a prerequisite to function with most people. We worked on it with a halter. She’s 4. Presumably lived without having to do that for at least some time. They managed without really pushing the issue. She would decide she didn’t want to do something or did want to do something and would just go. We slowly worked to her understanding that giving to pressure was the right answer. And once that was better. Reindtroduced the bridle. And she flipped her nose, up and down. While being ridden. She didn’t know anything about contact, and next to nothing about mouth pressure. I opted for the Pessoa ropes because of the way she was playing with her head, and the bit. The Pessoa ropes were loose enough that she had plenty of room to figure it out and were not meant to set her head or force her into a frame. What they did teach her was, that her grabbing the bit had a direct reaction, while giving her a nice place to go and be relaxed and accept the bit. If she went hollow, the ropes engaged to correct her, and as soon as she gave, they gave. She learned a lot, in a relatively short amount of time. And she taught herself in many respects- a rider wasn’t there to mess it up by not rewarding quick enough. A rider wasn’t there for her to blame the situation on and a few more sessions in the Pessoa ropes and I bet she is way better under saddle. She took to it so well, argued with herself at first and then figured it out. I don’t know how far she made it into training to be a racehorse before they sent her on, but she didn’t learn many things a lot of racehorses actually do. My job is to fill the holes so she can be adopted out. She is a smart, athletic mare, who is going to take her person all the places. If I had a spot in the barn, she is one I would think hard about keeping!
