Bringing horse into an outline - how does it work?

[Em 1]

I've just started to try and work the horses I ride in an outline (and therefore on the bit). Can anyone explain how 'fiddling' with the reins and sqeezing with my legs makes my horse come round? It clearly works but I just want to know how!

[galadriel]

What you want horse to do is to round his back up slightly to support his weight well, and to take more of his weight on his hind legs. This requires him to use more energy; it's more difficult.

So what you do is you ask him to use more energy, to make more movement with each step; you give him impulsion with your legs--but you also ask him to please not go any faster, and "fiddle" with his mouth to keep him from taking that new energy and going forward faster.

This causes him to make more energetic steps at the same rate of speed, so he moves his legs more. In order to do this, he shifts more of his weight to his hind legs, and carries his back end a little lower; he takes longer steps with the hind legs and has more "action" to them. His front end will feel lighter and it will feel like he is carrying his own weight, and you can merely direct it gently; he shouldn't need to lean on you or pull on your hands.

He should relax his jaw and hang his head such that his neck is bent, but not bent too far; in most horses his poll will be the highest point. This will help him to use his back; it is loose and nicely situated. If he is arching his neck away from his back (pulling on the bit), or leaning on your hands, etc, then his back is too stiff for him to use it effectively, and he will be unable to shift his weight to his hind legs.

[cvb]

"leg into hand". For the horse to work in an outline and on the bit, it needs to be in self-carriage, balanced, loose, supple.

You help that by encouraging the horse to engage his hocks (use of legs) and by asking him to soften his jaw and neck and accept the bit and your contact (what you called "fiddling" !). To be honest - it should not be fiddling. You should be 'asking' the horse to accept. If he accepts you stop asking (but keep riding) - therefore no fiddling. If they don't accept, you have to find a way to help them accept - which may include asking again or asking in a different way. But be careful it does not turn into fiddling or nagging.

Imagine you are standing next to someone. They want you to do something but are not allowed to talk to you, so they have to do it by nudging you with a finger. If they just continually poked you with their finger, with no feedback and whether you were getting it right or not, you would get annoyed, demotivated, confused.

But if they use clear signals and reward when you do the right thing, then you are keen to what they ask !