How to teach percy to work ' on the bit'

[HorseManiac]

how do I train/teach him? he carries his head low when ridden...

I dont really want to use gadgets... but if anyone had great success with any please let me know.

:D:D thanks xx

[spannah91]

repetition is tha biggest factor in training a horse ... doing different exercises to get different responses which built up to tha end goal with plenty of praises for good work will show your horse that working on tha bit obviously isnt a hard thing to do and he will learn to accept it

Spannah xxx

[carthorse]

It's a gradual process because as well as you making him understand what you want he's got to develop the correct muscles to do it.

I'd strongly recommend getting some lessons from a good teacher who can help you teach him to go on the bit correctly. Without help there's a strong chance he'll just end up tucking in his nose & not working correctly.

[horsesforever]

Lots of correctly ridden basic transitons, start with walk/halt, halt/walk and correctly ridden half halts. He will need to build up the correct muscles and become stronger before he can properly "work on the bit" An outline is not something forced, so dont be tempted to try and pull his head in :)

[SJ_Superstars]

Ride him between leg and hand, squeeze with your legs and half halt with your outside rein and soften your inside rein to encourage him to work rounder.

Good exercises to try are...

- spiralling in from a 20m circle to a 10m circle and back out
- riding a 10m circle in each corner of the school
- leg yield (gets the horse moving off the leg)
- shoulder in (more advanced so I wouldn't try this straight away

Make sure you have a firm but steady contact with your outside rein (a horse needs to trust you to work in an outline and won't want to drop his head if he doesn't feel you are riding him into a secure contact. Then send 'messages' to your horse by squeezing gently with your inside rein. You should have supple wrists and you should ride from your elbow. When your horse responds by accepting the bit praise him and stop asking him to come round (this is his reward for dropping his head and working rounder) and as soon as he resists the bit again, ask him again.

Don't expect instant results overnight, it can take months and even years of schooling for your horse to start to work properly, keep sessions shrt and keep your horses work varied to keep him interested.

Good luck and I hope this helps!

[puzzles]

also have his back, teeth and saddle all checked.

:-)

xx

[EquusRider91]

Hm. If he's riding with his head very low, raise the outside rein straight up. Don't necessarily yank on his mouth, but let him know that he's not allowed to do that. And as soon as he raises his head, lower the rein and push him forward.

Like someone said earlier, transitions help A LOT.

[Bronya]

Can you post a pic of how he goes normally? That would help everyone give you accurate tips and help!