Working on the Bit

[PromiseMe]

OK...so I need some helpful hints/tips on how to get a horse working on the bit and into a frame...

I basically know and try to do the following:
-contact with reins
-going at a good pace (i know, theres suppose to be impulsion...im still trying to figure out how that works?)
-equal rein lenght
-sorta play/flex with your ring (fourth) finger on the inside rein

but yet the horse doenst go into a frame...im probably doing something wrong somewhere there...but i need some hints ;)

Thanks in advance :D

[galadriel]

Okay, you need more than "going at a good pace." You need to be actively asking for more energy. Working on the bit, travelling at the same speed you were, takes MORE energy than you were using.

Use your legs to ask for more energy from behind, but don't let that energy just run out the front. You don't want to ask for more speed; use your contact to keep the horse from going faster. Keep your focus on the hind end; feel how it's working. If you start getting a lot of action behind you, you're getting there.

You will be pushing the horse forward, but blocking him from going more forward; you're driving the horse into your hands. The hands themselves are the least important aid you're using. Fiddling with the rein is really not something that you need to focus on. Just keep your light contact and don't let him charge forwards and waste all that nice energy you're building.