it's been a while...

Still progressing. I was having a nearly impossible time getting Nina to go forward in the hackamore. She has been backed off a bit so badly that just touching a rein leads to a dead stop. No bit because of her reactions.....but wait....

I decided to try a rubber mullen mouth. No metal, no moving parts...worth a try.
The only one I could find was a pelham, which turned out to be a good thing.
She is fine in the rubber bit, better than fine...trotting and stopping...both!

I decided to hang the second rein and a curb chain on it...just in case. She was doing some rooting in it and I realized that with the rubber bit, if she grabbed it and ran I couldn't do anything about it. So the second rein is an emergency brake.

I am riding on the snaffle rein, she is accepting some contact, going forward, somewhat giraffe-like but still an improvement. The second rein is very loose but it's there if I need it.

good stuff!