I can't get my horse on the bit

Question

I ride different horses all the time and i find it difficult to get some of them on the bit, especially when they can be lazy and require more leg. They don't seem to bend their necks to accept the contact of the bit.

Please help, any tips welcome :)

Answer 1

When you get on horses that are on riding school, they usually don't go on the bit because they are not used to it. There's not usually something you can do; they just haven't built up the muscles in their necks to hold themselves on the bit!

Answer 2

Getting a horse to work 'on the bit' isn't just about getting the horse to lower it head.  it is about asking the horse to work on an outline, to use his back end more.  usually most horses work from the front of their body and the back end just plods on behind.  to get a horse to work 'on the bit'  or 'in an outline'  the horse firstly has to be forward going and working well.  it takes a lot of work and practice, its not just about pulling the horses head down so that it looks good.

Answer 3

Whatever you do, do NOT use draw reins or side reins or anything of that nature. This will just give the horse something to fight against therefore giving the horse stronger muscles on top of their necks instead of below where they need to be. My advice would be to sit back and tap their hindquarters with a dressage whip (it's longer so you don't have to reach back with a crop). Use cavelliti or very small (like 6 inches) verticals to engaging the hindquarters which allows the back to round, which allows the head to drop. You can't ride the horse from the front, you need to ride from behind. Doing things to the horses head will never allow him to correctly carry a rider. You need to teach the horse to balance himself and carry weight correctly, on the haunches, NOT the forehand. I would suggest that you ask if you can ride one horse for an extended period of time so you can try to do this. Each horse rides differently and reacts differently so if you can only ride one, maybe you can get the hang of what needs to be done. A lot of circles, and getting your horse to yield to the leg will help. Check out the website below, it really helped me a lot with doing just this. The website gives out free monthly lessons that teach you steps to help your horse carry weight better. My horse still rides above the bit most of the time, but he's engaging his hind end and rounding his back more and more. It takes a long time, and a lot of patience, but it is so worth it.

Answer 4

You have answered your own question - "i ride riding school ponies"

Riding school horses are not very well bread because novics ruin them, they usaully have hard mouthes and yewe necks.

Bare in mind though, not all horses will do it, they have to have a good round topline and strong neck muscles. You would be better off buying a good quality dressage horse and to school that rather than putting all your effort into riding school horses.

Answer 5

When you say - bend their necks - you mean from the poll. Are you at a riding school? Lots of horses at schools just plod as they are there for people to learn riding from scatch. If you ride a better class of horse you will have learnt to push the horse forward with your seat and lower legs. When you apply leg pressure, gentle hold the reins a bit tighter so he doesn't run away. It can be most satisfying when he accepts the bit and "goes onto it" ........

Answer 6

You have to ride a horse with a good mouth for a start riding school ponies basically are a produce of very bad riding and have adapted to it ! the main thing is your seat and steady hands sort out a consistant seat and the rest will come, push from your legs and soften your hands its all about give and take. Its like ridnig a bike it happend to me,I tried and tried and couldnt get it  then I had a really good instructor and it all fell into place its just a feeling that you get.

Answer 7

The problem with the riding school ponies is that they are not consistently ridden in an outline and therefore they lack the necessary muscle. Going on the bit is going to be difficult for them and to sustain the position for any length of time is likely to be painful.

If you can get them moving forward freely and keep asking I think you will get there eventually but it is not something that can be rushed. The muscles have developed over time to carry their head in a certain way and that is how they will prefer to work because it is comfortable so you need to develop the other muscles over time as well.

There are some stretching exercises that you can practice with them before you start riding that can help with general front-end flexibility and they are quite simple.

http://www.equisearch.com/horses_care/he...

Answer 8

well really you need to ride a horse with better schooling...riding school ponies have kids yanking at their mouths day in day out and generally arent very responsive to the bit. if you can ride a friends horse or something so you can get the feel of keeping a horse in an outline and on the bit. one tip though you say you cant get them to accpet the bit without yanking on there mouths...you wont get a horse to go on th bit by see sawing on his mouth its awful when people do this!! if you are having lessons then ask your instructor to show you :)

Answer 9

A lot of those horses have probably never been trained to do it.  And it's not something you can train overnight.  There isn't a trick to it or any kind of shortcut, it's all just training training training.

Answer 10

i have the same problem with mare. she goes down on the bit out on a ride but in the school she wont. i have started to put side reins on her which helps get her to except the bit. after a while she soon got the idea. try a pair of side reins

Answer 11

Being on the bit does not that they have to bend their necks as you say.  It is a common misconception that horses should do this.  Being on the bit means being ready to take a steady contact with the reins, moving off or slowing down as required and generally attentive to the rider's commands.  No horse is going to do this happily if they are not stepping up from behind and there are several reasons for this, including back pain, muscle weakness - and someone sawing at their mouths trying to get them into an outline!  They are either likely to pull all the harder or back away from the discomfort.

A schooling whip or dummy spurs might be aids to get more forward movement.  Plenty of changes of direction, pole/cavaletti work so that they have to move forward and stretch.  The strides need to continue like that all the way round the school and eventually they should be able to get over several poles without changing stride.  As if they are not there.  Cavaletti should be at the lowest height, not enough to jump.

It will not come over night.  It is part of schooling.  But sawing at the mouth is not an option and is cruel.

Answer 12

i know someones gunna thumb me for this..

but maybe try using draw reins a coulpe times a week. my horse used to be the same way until i started using draw reins. i only used them twice a week for a few weeks until he got the hang of it.it taught him to keep on the bit and he lowered his head and had a nice frame. It takes time..just like with anything! remember to do lots of serpentines and circles so they learn to bend (but not the same pattern everytime because they will get bored)