Those who have a heart for colt starting and training, understand all to well how the life lessons horsemen witness and receive, somehow all relate back to how we train. In this case, it is no different. It is colt starting “season” here at the Double M Ranch, our junior stallions first foal crop turned 2 this year, leaving us with the blessing of 5 head to start.
The past four weeks our Sunday sermons at church have covered the 4 chairs of discipleship. Our brains by natural progression heard the message and lesson of chairs and interpreted it into colt starting and horse training. We are so very blessed by our church, our preachers do a great job, I’m sure our horsemen’s rendition will be subpar at best in comparison, but the message is still the same and if it resonates with one soul, it’s worth attempting to retell.
Bridle One: The Brain-Chain (or….The Round Pen?)
For others, the aforementioned scenario may not be the case, Barrel racers call this bridle the “brain-chain”. Your colt is blown up, hot and wants to control the run. They’ve stopped listening to rider cues and start pushing through their bit, they’re confident they know what to do, are acting out from pain, they don’t need your help or guidance, or you’re merely a passenger…..we all know where that train is headed.
Some resort to using a bit severe enough to break the cycle on them, to control that energy and momentum #DuctTapeTraining. You can tell these horses from the ones that use the same bit to rate the control, to have a check if they need it. If they’re not broke to it, they fight it the entire time, mouth gaping, foaming, wild eyes that scream the locomotion is about to run off the tracks. It might work….for awhile….but it will eventually fail. When it does, you go back to your foundation, fix it if it’s broken and start again. Maybe try a different approach, start by vetting them for unsoundness, feeding them accordingly, fit and prepare them properly for a career in performance. Then get them soft, get their body round, get them collected, lift their shoulders, get them using their hind end, help them place their feet and most likely you do it all away from the pattern so their mind can function in unison with their feet, it’s rarely good when one out paces the other.
The brain chain represents those walls and challenges we face as people when we try to do life on our own. When we believe we can control the outcome of every situation. When we forget that we need God or believe we don’t. When we think our physical fitness, grit or hard work should be enough. For some the brain chain band-aid works longer than for others. But, that beautiful, smooth, willing and effortless run you see top performance horses lay down will always be a struggle for these horses, for these people. Eventually it breaks, someone/thing gets hurt and either you end your career or you pick up the pieces and rebuild.
Some never experience this bit, this stage. For those individuals, they start at the round pen stage. Those colts are blessed to start their training on-time, have few hurdles, a willing mind eager to learn, eager to please, their trainer is patient, stern and consistent. They learn hard lessons but have the blessing of not having to unlearn one way to learn another way. They’re an untouched colt, a clean slate and are taught early on about the blessings of Jesus and the value of a relationship with Him. So they advance to the snaffle bit fairly quickly.
Bridle Two: Snaffle Bit
For those that choose to rebuild, you’re in bridle two, the snaffle bit. O-ring, egg butt, D-ring, dog-bone, double twist, tight twist, loose twist, reverse twist, smooth, copper, you choose. In this stage your colt learns to follow his nose, you learn to follow the Lord. You learn when you feel pressure, to give instead of fight, give your troubles to the Lord, to trust your Trainer, the ultimate Trainer of life. You build a foundation, you build knowledge, understanding and the physical finesse to move on to the next stage. You are pushed out of your comfort zone, you try new things. For a colt that might be a trail ride, learning your leads and lead changes, a cattle drive, standing tied at the trailer at an event, hauling over long periods. As the trainer you continually push their limits, the hope being your colt will come back to you when they are scared or in trouble, that they will listen to you when they are in a bind.
God wants this same relationship with you. He wants to be your numero uno on your speed dial, not just when things go south but all time. He wants your struggles, your praises and everything in between. The hardest times to give it all up to Him are when you are struggling the most, learning new things is scary and hard. The constant growth and give-take of this bridle grows your colt to the next bridle, grows you to your next level of Faith.
Bridle Three: The Junior Cow (or your step-up bit of choice)
In this bridle we test the foundation that has been laid. We add a little shank, maybe a little port, we test our colts response to pressure. We increase our expectation and our trust in our colts. We add more advanced maneuvers, sharpness and accuracy. It’s great your colt can follow his nose but now we want to lay a leg on one side and one on the other and based on their position we want them to frame up, take a lead and hold it, roll back on a fence or cow-down. Your colt now knows your seat, your hands, your legs and feet are all cues, they work in unison and depending on the combination, they mean different things.
Above all else, regardless of the distractions the world hits us with, God wants you to practice and focus on His combinations of guidance: prayer, studying scripture, fellowship, witnessing. There will always be umbrellas, banners on the fence, crazy fans, carnival rides, upset horses, etc etc etc to throw your colt off course. There will always be people with opinions, scary opportunities, insecurities, etc etc to throw you off course from God’s plan. In this bridle, we hope you and your colt hone your focus and dedication.
When (not if) you fail or get stuck on a cue, look to Him for help like your good-minded colt looks to you as his trainer. We want our colts to trust us and keep trying when they get frustrated. We want to teach them about what the rest of their life will be like in whatever discipline we are training them for. God wants to show you blessings He has for you on the Divine path He has chosen for you. Isn’t it a miracle that He cares enough to choose a custom one for each of us! You are never to far ahead to behind His plan.
Sometimes in this stage our training gets a little monotonous, we are training to a discipline, there may be fewer “new” exciting things to experience and more discipline required in repeating the same things correctly. Trust me, the work you put in, in this bridle will serve you well in the next. If you skip steps here, you’ll both regret it so take your time in this bridle, work hard, be disciplined.
Bridle Four: No Hit Bit/Competition Bit/Show Bit
You’re almost there, the seasoned veteran. Your colt is now wise enough to know his job but he’s also wise enough to know he will fail and mess up every now and then because he’s a horse and we are human. The growth never stops. His foundation has taught him that in those moments he should collect up and rely on his Trainer to guide him rather than grabbing the bit in his teeth, raising his head and running down the fence. You haul him along with the other young colts to teach them etiquette, how to stand at the trailer quietly, how to drink on the road. He’s a mentor, you are now partners, together you compete, Together you summit the mountains of life. When your colt falls, you help him get back up, you doctor him and condition him to try again. God is there when you fall, he’ll help steady you, he’ll help you back up and doctor you. Your colt has put in the effort and made it to the performance, he learned from you and you from him. Now you get the honor of helping the next colts building their foundation through their bridles. Now you get the honor of helping the next Christians building their foundation of Faith.
What would happen to the performance horse industry if every top trainer stopped training new colts and only competed on ole trusty? Eventually the industry would become extinct. What would happen if every saved Christian chose not to help other people who haven’t experienced the blessing of the Lord and being saved?....#GutPunch. Bridles 3 and 4 are the hardest, they require the most dedication and take the longest. You (and your colt) experience the most growth in these bridles they are critical steps, so in true horseman fashion let’s….GET. TO. WORK.
