Using Your Hands Before Your Legs Is The Biggest Mistake You Can Make When Putting Your Horse On the Bit

If you only use your hands when putting your horse on the bit, you’re making one of the biggest mistakes you can make. By focusing on the head and “getting the head down”, you’ll just be creating an artificial “head-set”.

Putting your horse on the bit has nothing to do with “head sets”. Physically, it’s a round silhouette that occurs when you ride your horse from behind, over his back, through his neck, and into your hands. (And at that point the energy can be recycled back to the hind legs) Mentally, a horse that is on the bit is “on the aids” and anything is possible within the next step.

When you’re working on putting your horse on the bit, remember to always FIRST use your driving aids before you use your reins. You want to create a surge from behind as if you’re starting a lengthening.

Then just as you feel your horse begin to lengthen, close your outside hand in a fist to capture, contain, and recycle that power back to the hind legs. (You’ll only need to use your inside hand if your horse bends his neck to the outside during the combination of the driving aids and rein of opposition (outside rein).

Always remember that using your hands BEFORE your driving aids (or instead of your driving aids—YIKES!) is the same as picking up the telephone before it rings. Why would you pick up the phone? No one is there!

By the same token why would you use your hands to put your horse on the bit before you’ve first driven him forward? You haven’t created any power to capture and recycle back to the hind legs!

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What’s the Difference Between Jaw and Poll Flexion?

A lot of riders aren’t clear on the difference between flexion at the jaw and flexion at the poll, and how to ask for each of these positions.

Keep in mind that a horse can flex three ways–to the left, to the right, and “in”.

When a horse flexes to the left or right, he’s flexing at the poll. When he does this, you’ll just see his inside or outside eye or nostril.  I call this position +1 or -1 because you’re bringing his head 1 inch to the inside or the outside of where his head would be positioned if his chin was directly in front of the crease in the middle of his chest.

You’ll ask for flexion at the poll to the left or right with an indirect rein aid. To give an indirect rein aid, give a quick turn of the wrist so your thumb points to the center of the circle, your fingernails point up toward your face, and your baby finger points up toward your opposite shoulder. As you turn your wrist this way, bring your hand very close to the withers, but don’t cross over them. As soon as you’ve turned your wrist, return to the “starting position”where your thumb is the highest point of the hand. Be sure you support with your outside rein as you do this so you “catch” his poll rather than bend his entire neck.

When a horse flexes “in”, he flexes at the jaw, and he closes the angle at his throatlatch. You’ll use a completely different rein action to ask your horse to flex “in” than the action you used to ask for flexion to the left or right.

Ask your horse to flex “in” by moving the bit in his mouth. Be sure you only use ONE rein to move the bit. If you alternately saw on his mouth with your left and right hands, he’ll just bring his face closer to his chest.

We often flex the horse’s jaw. In fact, his jaw must be flexed for him to be completely on the bit. BUT, the danger lies in flexing the jaw BEFORE you connect him over his back. If you flex his jaw first, he’s not really connected. His face is just “in”. The danger here is that you can fake yourself out.

You might think he’s correctly on the bit because he feels soft in your hand when his jaw is flexed. But if you go to do something like a transition, you’ll find out that he’s really not connected at all.

During the transition, he’ll raise his head and neck and look hollow because all you have control over is a flexed jaw. He wasn’t honestly on the bit to begin with! You need to ride your horse from back to front. Close your legs and send your horse forward through your outside hand to get his back round. And ONLY after you’ve sent him forward through your outside hand should you flex his jaw as the final ingredient of putting him on the bit.

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WHAT DOES IT LOOK AND FEEL LIKE WHEN MY DRESSAGE HORSE IS ON THE BIT?

Lots of people have asked me what it looks and feels like when a dressage horse is on the bit. They want to know not only what to look for, but also tips that will help them recognize success when they achieve it?

When your horse is on the bit, here’s what he’ll look and feel like:

• He feels like he’s one unit rather than a jumble of “disconnected parts”.
• He’s more comfortable to sit on because his back is relaxed.
• In trot and canter, he feels like a beach ball bouncing along.
  His back (behind the saddle) is up and swinging rather than dropped and tense.
• From the saddle his neck is widest at the base (just in front of the withers) and becomes progressively narrower as you get closer to his ears.
• From the side, his neck looks longish and relatively low rather than up in the air and short.

And, just as importantly, when he’s on the bit, your dressage horse will feel like he can do anything within the next step. For example, he can immediately go from trot to canter. Or he can immediately go from working canter into a canter lengthening.

Click here for more tips on putting a dressage horse on the bit.

Put Your Horse On The Bit To Help You Sit the Trot

Many riders don’t realize that the reason they have trouble sitting the trot, is because they haven’t put their horses on the bit. No matter how good a rider you are, it’s nearly impossible to sit on a back that is stiff and hollow.

The key to making both you and your horse more comfortable in sitting trot, is to connect him so his back is round. You do that with what I call “the “connecting aids”.

Before you try to give connecting aids, check that your horse “thinks forward”. That is, When you close both calves, does he surge forward? If he doesn’t, give him a couple of taps with the whip or a couple of bumps with your legs to chase him forward. Then, ask him to surge forward again when you close your calves lightly. If he gives you a good answer this time, praise him.

Next, ask him to surge forward again, and after his first two strides, close your outside hand in a fist, and vibrate the inside rein. Keep all of these aids on for about 3 seconds. You’re asking for the surge FIRST so you can be sure you’re riding from back to front.

Later on, you’ll give the connecting aids almost simultanoeusly, but you’ll still think of them in this order: Close both legs, close your outside hand in a fist, squeeze and release on the inside rein. Maintain for 3 seconds and then soften.

When you marry those three sets of aids correctly, your horse will come on the bit, and, as a result, it’ll be easier for you to sit the trot.

Click here for more help with sitting a horse’s trot.

Are You Making This Deadly Mistake To Get Your Dressage Horse On the Bit?

Do you saw left and right on your dressage horse’s mouth to get him “on the bit”?

If you “saw” on your horse’s mouth by alternating squeezing and releasing
with your hands, you’re riding your horse from front to back. He might look
like he’s “on the bit” because his head is down and his nose is on the
vertical, but you don’t have an honest connection from back to front.

The only part of your horse’s body that you can affect is his jaw. Moving the
bit in his mouth encourages him to chew. When he chews, he flexes in the
jaw.

So, if all you do is saw on the bit, all you have control over is a flexed
jaw. You can’t control the rest of your horse’s body.

Also, if you just flex his jaw, your horse will “come off the bit” when you
ask him to do something like a transition.

The reality is that he was never on the bit to begin with. All you had was a
flexed jaw.

To put your dressage horse honestly on the bit, close both legs to add power from
behind as if you’re doing a lengthening. When your horse “arrives” at your
outside hand, close that hand in a fist to capture, contain, and recycle the
power back to the hind legs. Do this for 3 full seconds.

THEN, lastly you can vibrate or squeeze on the inside rein for two reasons:
1. To keep his neck straight (so it doesn’t bend to the outside).
2. To move the bit, and ask him to flex in the jaw.

So to get your dressage horse on the bit, never do with two hands what you can do with one hand (move the bit).
And you have the other hand left over for the more important job of
recycling power back to the hind legs.

Click here for more help on putting a horse on the bit.

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