Biting your horse and getting them used to a bridle!!
Now as stated in the last blogs, whilst doing lunging work, long reining and getting them used to ground work they will have been bitted and will often do this work wearing their bridle with a head collar over the top/underneath. They will still be being worked from the head collar at this stage though. So today I'm going to talk about how I introduce a young horse to contact and get them used to the bit.
First off bitting!
I don't generally use mouthing bits, I never have, not for any particular reason but I prefer to get them settled in what they will be using for the foreseeable future. I rarely use anything that is jointed or with a link. My first port of call is either a hanging cheek mullen mouth, or my Bombers happy tongue. I will use lots of treats and repetition at this stage. Of course they struggle to eat treats with a bit to start with but that will come. I often tend to put their bridle on, slowly and quietly, rewarding all the time, and then I may give them a small bucket of damp easy to eat food and let them have a chomp on that with their new bit in for 5 minutes, then remove and let them finish! Bridling then becomes a nice thing with a good reward!
Once they are progressing with their ground work and I am coming to the stage where I would like to start working them off the bridle, I don't immediately swap from halter to bit to long rein for example. The first thing I do is some in-hand work. Now I don't mean the running round and round type of showing in-hand work. I mean classical in-hand schooling. Asking the horse to bend and straighten, to collect and extend, and in time teach them their lateral work. I will already have done a little in a cavesson so again they understand the basic principles and how to walk with me leading from both sides.
I will start at halt, and just take up a little bit of contact in both hands and ask them to keep their jaw relaxed with some gentle squeezes, I will then ask the horse to flex slightly to the left and slightly to the right as well as ask them to take the rein forward and down. They usually pick all this up quickly and don't get restrictive in the hand. If they do, don't fight with them, take it back a step and restart. It's all about relaxation !
Once I'm happy with this we'll go for a short walk, and I will ask them the same, always keeping the jaw soft and remembering not to pull back with the hand. I introduce the halt with a tiny bit of upwards pressure in the mouth not backwards. So you are lifting the bit in the mouth not pulling it down onto the bars. This helps to keep them happier in the mouth.
I will do this for a few sessions until I'm happy they understand enough that I can safely put them in the long reins.
Again they should be very well educated in the long reins by this point, the only difference is the connection between you is now to the bit not the halter. I like mine to slow, and stop from mostly voice commands and a slight bit of pressure (as they would have learnt in-hand) This generally stops you falling into a horrible pulling match with them and getting them unsettled in their mouth as well as making the horse go hollow in their frame and potentially resulting in them running off with you! If they do start to avoid the bit and hollow/run away then you have moved too fast too soon and need to go back a step. Fighting with them for them to "do as they're told" will potentially only created a tense strong unhappy horse, who won't be happy when you pick up the reins when you're in the saddle! So be mindful of your hands and what they're doing !
A bit of a shorted post, but that the initial steps I would go through, as always some take longer than others and you must read your horse correctly and not worry about what others are doing and how quickly they are doing it! Do what is right for your horse and you will seldom go wrong!