Glenshee Equestrian Centre

“ON THE BIT”—FIRST PHASE: LONG AND LOW KEY POINTS: ·       Flexing ·       Loosening ·       Lengthening FIRST STEPS: LOOSENING In this fist phase, the main priority will be to release any tension in the jaw, neck and poll, and thereby relax the topline, which will encourage the horse to naturally adopt a long and low frame on his own as opposed to an inverted and braced one. WHAT DOES THIS ACCOMPLISH? To accomplish this, one uses a single, simple rein aid: the “ Direct (Leading) Rein. ” The basic theory behind using the leading rein to get the horse stretching and relaxed in his topline is based on a technique advocated by Boucher.   He understood that, in order to raise the head and invert the topline, the horse has to brace the muscles on both sides of the neck as a pair.   Bringing the head to one side with a gentle leading rein (he employed a lifting hand for th...

--> I’ve been thinking about the role and responsibility of the seat and leg aids in “on the bit” and whether “on the bit” is dependent on those aids from the rider or simply influenced and/or refined by them at a later stage of training.  I got to wondering about all of this because all of the horses I start are given considerable training from the ground long before they are ever backed, and that ground work continues in addition to ridden work as a part of their training for the rest of their careers.  An important part of that ground work for me is introducing the horse to contact with the bit and the rein effects before riding in hopes of developing the best possible relationship between horse and hand, while also developing the correct form and balance needed for their later ridden work. Contrary to popular belief, longeing is not just a way to give horses a little exercise when you’re too busy to ride (though that’s not a bad thing) and it shouldn’t be the way ...