The World Record-Setting Horse Trainer Who Never Uses A Bit!
Horse trainer, Penny Wheat may very well set the record for having trained the largest trick horse in the world…and the smallest. She uses some specialized tack to train her horses, but what’s interesting is what she doesn’t use - a bit.
Penny Wheat and her two horses, Bash & Boswell, perform daily at the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum and Theatre in Branson, MO.
You may very soon read a blurb about her in the Guinness Book of World Records. That’s because of the size of her horses.
Bash & Boswell
Her big horse, Bash’s is 19 hands tall. Yep. 76 whopping inches of Belgian Palomino from horseshoe to withers. Her small horse is also a potential record setter. Boswell is a 35 1/2 inch-tall miniature. Those numbers just may qualify the duo as the largest and smallest trick horses in the world.
And while she’s been training Boswell for years, Penny Wheat has been working with Bash for only two months!
She does use a a special piece of custom horse tack. Her husband built a unique haltar that Penny uses for training the pair. But here’s what I found so amazing: she doesn’t use a bit to train her horses. Not even a snaffle.
According to the Branson Daily News…
“No bit goes in the horse’s mouth, only a metal ring that fits around the horse’s muzzle. Wheat guides the horse by touch, and bump and release when he errors. He and Boswell know about eight tricks, including picking up a handkerchief and taking a bow.”
The paper describes the trick you see in the picture above…
“As the crowd watched, Bash mounted the pedestal about five feet across, made a complete circle first to the right then to the left. Bowsell mounted the pedestal and stood for a moment under the huge horse.”
I’ve never trained horses to do tricks, but I can’t imagine training them to do much without the use of a bit. But it seems to work for Penny Wheat.
Amazing. I can’t imagine.
Yours For Better Horse Training,
Sierra Lynch
P.S. I must say, when I looked at this photo for the first time, I didn’t see poor Boswell completely beneath the giant Bash. I was so completely taken by the size of the giant Belgian, I totally missed the poor mini.
Tags: Horse Training
Wow, How talented and connected to her horses she must be. Impressive!
Wow…Im pleased.I wish I knew ehat to do to help my horse learn like that…I bet it takes a long time…Good Job!!!
I have one(1) question for you where do you live and how do you do it? Training horses without a bit. Cause the truth is I want to become a horse trainer too. I’m a freshman in High school and that’s one of the three careers that I’ve choosen to do. So that’s why I’m asking. How do you do it? Where do you live at? I hope that we can talk sometime? Just use the E-Mail Address that I used to put this message on here. Please do
e-mail me. It would be much apprshated.
Sincerely,
Breann Wolfe
Using a bit is overrated. Look at Stacey Westfall…she rides horses without saddle or bridle, in reining competitions. Its all about the bond, body language, and halters work good too in controling horses.
Ever ridden with a hackamore?
NO BIT..just pressure on the nose.