Craig and Cole Cameron Discuss Their Go-To Bridle Starting Colts
Craig Cameron of Ride Smart Horsemanship and his son, Road to the Horse 2022 Championship Competitor Cole Cameron, sit down with Road to the Horse for a discussion on their go-to bridle for starting colts.
Craig Cameron said it depends on the horse, but they usually start their colts in a halter with one rein.
“That’s what they’re gonna understand,” Craig explained. “You give people two reins, and they start pulling on two reins.”
Craig revealed that if a horse has been halter broke at all, it’s going to be easier for that horse to follow a big direct rein, so it’s best to throw it over and follow it from there.
“Traditionally, a lot of times, we will, depending on the horse, go to like a loping style hackamore,” Craig said.
The message here is to work on the horse, but let the horse carry the bit.
“The bit we always start with is the snaffle bit,” he explained. “We call that the true training bit because it’s easier for the horse to understand. It’s designed to work one rein at a time, and it’s a one-to-one ratio. In other words, if you’ve got one pound of pressure in your hand, you’ve got one pound of pressure on that horse’s mouth.”
Using the snaffle bit as a training tool helps a green horse learn.
“It makes it easier for the horse, and it makes it easier for us,” Craig imparted. “We want to keep it simple so these horses can figure out what it is we want and what we don’t want.”
Road to the Horse 2022 takes place at the Kentucky Horse Park on March 24-27, 2022. Tickets are available at here or by calling 800-514-3849. Follow Road to the Horse on Facebook for the latest information and stayed tune to find out who will be revealed as the next Road to the Horse 2022 competitor.
