Question on Using Flags to get a Horse to pick you up on the fence

Margaret sent me a question on using flags, specifically on the article Restarting Monte, Part 3, when I was getting Monte to pick me up on the fence. Her question was "Why did you decide on teaching the horse to come to the fence with a bit in his mouth as opposed to using a more gentle method such as a flag? After he is good at coming over to you, then you can do it with a bit in his mouth, but clanging the bit on his teeth when teaching him is detrimental to him."

Okay, not so much a full question but half lecture. I have no problem with that. And I assume she was meaning why didn't I start with a halter and lead as opposed to when the horse was in a snaffle bit outfit.

I did say in the text of the article prior to the video that ".....it was best to start with a lead rope. Sitting on the fence, with the horse usually perpendicular to you, and bump the lead rope until the horse searches for a release by moving his back end or even starting to just lean his hind end towards me. Its important to give the release with good timing and give the horse a good pause before bumping again....." While I have used a flag on a couple of horses to create some energy for them to move their hind over, I quit the flag just as soon as I can. For the one situation I use a flag, to get a horse to step over to the fence to pick me up, I just use the lead rope ten or more times. The flag in a great tool, as with any tool it has to be judiciously, but in my opinion, it can get in the way of a horse understanding the feel of the lead rope or a rein. They are moving due to the pressure of the flag as opposed to the feel of the lead or rein.

And I'll use the flag not right off, but bring it into the equation if the horse is having a hard time understanding the feel of the lead or reins, and again, this is important at least to me, I'll be looking immediately for where I don't have to use the flag it at all.

I did start Monte on picking me up off the fence using a halter and lead. He did well enough so I transitioned to asking him in the snaffle bit. Look again at the video, Monte steps over with a light feel or bump on the lead portion of the mecate. It's only when I ask him to make that last step closer when his head comes up, but even then, the "banging" on his mouth is minimal. If I was banging on his teeth with the bit you would have seen a much different reaction. This was around the fourth time, in 10 days or so, that I asked him to pick me up off the fence, counting the first time I asked using the lead rope.

I appreciate Margaret looking out for the welfare of the horse. In this case just a bit (no pun intended) quick to comment without a full understanding of where the horse and I were coming from. No worries. Like I tell people, I often need supervision and likely directions even to my grave, but hopefully that's well down the road.