working on the bit

[xox stace xox]

well ive got basic gaits etc sorted with honey and im now wanting to get her on the bit if possible and get her eye on what shes doing instead of looking every where, i have got in touch with my instructor who will be coming to give me lessons but in the meantime what could i do to help her work on ht it and work on a nice outline any suggestions

[coss]

your aim is for it to just happen ;) if someone said to you, how did you get her to put her head down, you should be able to say by riding correctly and just getting impulsion from the back end and it contained in the front end.

you'll have to refresh me on how old honey is :o

i have found that spirals and circles are very simple but efficient exercises that get the back end more engaged so that the head will naturally lower. hope that helps to get you started, your instructor is the best person to get you started. she will also know if your horse is ready. transitions are also very useful but not with all horses. it makes some horses worse.

[xox stace xox]

honeys 7, but we went through a rough patch through winter i only bought her in november but we had to pratically r sart her as she was very spooky and bombed reared etc but weve got through that i hope

[coss]

well done for getting through all that, i would take it gently. i suspect transitions will help engage her back end and it will get her concentration. some horses prefer to stay in the same pace and get relaxed but some get distracted. you'll have to find out what works for her. i would do lots of spirals and circles to get her back end swinging through. this should create relaxation through her back so that the head will come down on the bit. be warned, its not quite that simple. you may get some faffing on the bit as a lot of horses don't understand at first and they aren't used to working like that, you may only get one or two steps at a time but that is the start :)