book12

12 Sidepull.

When you ride a horse for the first time he has no preconcieved ideas about being ridden. The first time you can mount him without any bridle at all. When he has to be directed it is easiest to show him where to look mechanically. Easiest is to use his halter and leadrope.
One leadrope is enough until the horse has to turn at a higher speed, then it is easier to use two lead ropes. It is possible to train a horse to World Cup level with a halter, but it is not practical, and it is not allowed in competition in some disciplines
A better tool is a Sidepull, the name tells you how it is used, a sidepull is good, because the horse needs no time to get used to it, the training can start immediately.
It works best if it is adjusted to sit around the nose just at the corners of the mouth. It must in no way touch the nose when the reins are hanging loose, it must not be so loose that it moves upwards when you lift the rein.
If it is adjusted too high, it is less functional. It is easier and more understandable for the horse to follow a guiding signal that is applied low on his nose. Many people think it should be adjusted as a hackamore, but they are two different tools with different functions.

In the English riding the sidepull substitues the double bridle, in Western riding it substitutes the bosal and the curb bit. It should not be used with one hand, that is not the purpose, it is used to train the horse to the level where he can be worked with a double bridle, or with a curb bit and one hand.
Everything the horse has to do can be trained in a sidepull. When the horse is trained, it is easy to start using a bit. The horse already knows how to use his body with a rider in the different movements, he obeys the smallest possible aids and is cooperative. To ride the horse with a bit is then only to getting him used to having the bit in his mouth and that he recieves the signals from a different spot. Are you not going to compete, you don't need to change to a bit, but it is good for the horse to get the experience.
The horse can't get hurt with a sidepull without the rider being really violent, the worst that can happen is getting rubbed on the nose which is not dangerous but unpleasant and can be avoided with a softer noseband. A rubbing on the nose shows, wounds in the mouth don't show, which is not to say that the horse doesn't get hurt in his mouth during the training, many horses have got hardened in the mouth while trained, but you can't see it.

If a horse is too sensitive on the nose you can move the noseband up a bit and use a softer one. A white blaze can have more sensitive skin, big white markings are no good in other aspects aswell, oversensitivity to strong sunlight, certain plants etc.

If a horse that is only ridden with a sidepull is constantly rubbed, it's a sign that his rider has got a too strong hand or the horse is not obedient. It is not the tool that is hard, it is the hand. A trained horse should never get hurt from being used, whatever equipment is being used. Wounds can be a sign of overuse, no matter what discipline. Of course, accidents can happen.

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