teaching to go on the bit

[horses_rule]

my friends show pony used to be lovely to ride until my friend fell of. when she fell off she didnt want to ride her ever again. just recently i have been riding her for her but she has lost her beauty. she wont go on the BIT how can i teach her to go on the bit again?


please help

all advice is appreciated:D

[L J M]

being on the bit and going properly are two different things.

when people talk about being on the bit they often mean that the horses head is vertical - it should mean alot more.

The horse should move forward lightly and with impulsion, stepping under itself with the backlegs to create good self carriage.

Your horse needs to be well muscled up before you start asking for this and moveing forward freely when asked for from your commands.

When you have this your horse will probably offer to start going the right way - if not you can try lots of different things. With my boy i put my outside leg on (quite firmly) and just give a very gentle twitch on the inside rein - he then understands what i want i will often go better.

Draw reins etc are ok if used properly and sparingly, but they simply pull the horses head into the 'right' position if not accompanied with the self carriage and impulsion needed.

Work on the lunge to get your horse well muscled, then work on the riding - forget about the position of the head for now - just get it moving forwards on your command with impulsion. Once you have this just try closing your hand - increase the rein pressure VERY slightly and possibly keeping your leg on a bit more firmly. The key is to do everything gently and nine times out of ten the horse will understand what you want and realise that it is in fact easier to carry a rider like that.!

This is a pic of my boy - he is stepping under himself (not on the forehand) looks light on his feet, is moving forwards with impulsion and is using his back properly - his back has come up for me to sit on, rather than me sitting down onto it (not sure if that makes sense - I mean that if a horse is 'using' itself properly it's back kinda rounds upwards rather than down???) This is not a perfect picture by any means - he is not collected for one - i.e his back feet will not land where his front feet are - but he is engaged which means he is working properly.

Anyway - hope my answer is of some help! Good luck.

[horses_rule]

thanks 4 the advice i will try that

[No_Angel]

With my horse I have to flex her alot, changing the bend, today I did some weaving in and out of posts (like mounted games), this really helped her step under and start working.

[Tootsie4U]

Sounds like good advice LJM - and well put. I agree with you that one should be more focused on how the horse is going rather than head placement. Usually when one happens, the others fall in line. Just be consistent!

[vickie]

ljm, what a gorgeous horse, how big is he, what breed etc, do you want to sell him??!!!!!

[L J M]

Thanks vickie!

He is called ben, he's 19 1/2 (but wont believe me!) he's 3/4TB x 1/4 ID. He's about 16.1, but when hes excited grows to about 17.1! Ive had him for nearly seven years - sorry - i definitely wont be selling him!

Theres more pics of him under the "pics of my boy eventually" thread on the general forum - about 3 pages back from start.

Not sure if this link to it will work!

Ben's pics.

http://www.newrider.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?threadid=18691[/URL]

[Lucy J]

i've found with Ciara that the fitter she gets and the more muscled she gets the easier she is finding it to work properly, it will take time, but you will notice the difference even though it happens gradually. i am pregnant so do a lot of work on the lunge sometimes with side reins, sometimes with 2 lunge reins, sometimes just a headcollar over poles and she is so much better than she was before, but it has taken months of being worked a few times a week, depends how often you are riding, but 20 minutes daily is better than 1 - 2 hrs a few times a week - quality, not quantity and all that