i tried all suggestions but still the problem persists .. so i've attached a picture to make my query more clear. As shown in the pic, there are 10 handles(6 along ths spine, 2 2 for ears n 2 more for tail). I'm not able to select these handles. they r not in reference mode since if i select the bone directly, the handle for that also gets selected. But what we intend is for the opposite to happen r8?