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Different syles, different bits

From: Missy

Dear Jessica; I have enjoyed your site for many months now and have learned a lot of information. I bought my first (and only) horse 1 1/2 years ago. He's a 13 yr. old gelding, Morgan mix, trained Western. He has wonderful ground manners and smooth gaits. However, I have been trying to train him to Dressage and he's doing pretty well. (My instructor is helping). My problem: The Bit. In western, I use a low port snaffle with 3 inch shaft. He drops the poll, rounds the back and uses hindquarters. I hold the reins Dressage, giving on the outside around corners and circles. When I switch to Dressage bridle, using a plain low port snaffle, he refuses to drop poll,etc. I have tried five various bits, including the Fr. The Dressage saddle fits because a visiting therapist checked his back and with saddle on.

Jessica - what is wrong. I don't know what to do now. It's beginning to become a tug of war. Thanks Pat Lenhart


Hi Pat! There are two components to the problem, I suspect. One is that your horse doesn't understand what you want when you ride him in a snaffle. He's been trained to work in a curb, with jaw pressure and poll pressure. You're riding him in a very severe curb when you work him Western. There's no such thing as a snaffle with shanks -- what you're using is a broken-mouthed curb, and it is one of the most severe bits available.

Why not change to a gentler bit for your Western riding -- a colt bit with short, swept-back shanks (or teardrop shanks) and a sweetwater mouth would probably suit your horse quite well.

At the same time, you might want to use the gentlest possible snaffle for your dressage -- that would be a French-link bit with a mouthpiece that isn't too thick. And be sure that you aren't using a tight noseband! Western horses are accustomed to being able to move their mouths and jaws; all horses should be allowed freedom of their jaws when they are being ridden. A tight noseband makes it impossible for a horse to relax and slide his lower jaw. By over-tightening a noseband (if it's too tight for you to slide two or three fingers EASILY between the noseband and the horse's muzzle, then it's too tight!), you'll make it impossible for your horse to relax its jaw -- and impossible for it to flex at the poll. Your noseband may not be too tight -- but this is something I see all the time at clinics, so I thought I would mention it. ;-)

Here's the difference between YOUR perception and your HORSE's perception of what's going on:

You: I'm riding in my Western bit, and my horse is very light and responsive. Your horse: I know enough to stay well behind this bit -- it HURTS! When I feel the pressure on my jaw and poll, I tuck my head toward my chest; that helps a little. If I tuck it really far in, my tongue doesn't hurt as much, and then my rider stops pulling the reins and putting pressure on me.

You: I'm riding in a dressage bridle, I want my horse to be just as light and responsive as he is in the Western bridle, but I'm having to use a lot more pressure and I'm not getting the response I want. Your horse: There's a lot of pulling going on, and I don't know what it means, but at least there's not as much pressure as there was in the other bridle!

The biggest difference is that when you use a snaffle, if you put X amount of pressure on the reins, your horse feels X amount of pressure in his mouth. Half a pound of pressure in your hand (which would be far too much, by the way!) would equal half a pound of pressure in the horse's mouth. When you use a curb, if you put X amount of pressure on the reins, the horse feels X times three or four or five or ten. Half a pound of pressure in your hand would equal two or three or five or ten pounds of pressure (depending on the bit design and the length of the shank and the purchase) in your horse's mouth.

You: I'm using the curb, and my horse is so much lighter! Your horse: Ouch, there's SO much more pressure now!

My suggestion is that you use a plain French-link snaffle -- leave the noseband OFF the bridle for now -- and ride in your Western saddle at first. Even if your dressage saddle fits, it's best to change one thing at a time, so that you'll know what's having an effect and what isn't. If you use a different saddle and a different bridle with a different bit and a noseband, you'll never be quite sure whether a problem or an improvement is caused by the saddle, the bridle, the bit, the noseband, or your position. ;-)

When you're getting the same response in your Western saddle (with the dressage bridle and French-link snaffle), it will be time to change saddles too -- and this time, since the bridle won't be an issue, you'll know that if the horse suddenly becomes high-headed and stiff, you'll know that the saddle is a factor.

And the saddle may BE a factor...

Saddle fit is an art, not a science, and only the horse can tell you whether the saddle really fits or not. If your horse is perfectly happy and comfortable in his Western saddle, ride him in that, and just change bridles and aids when you want to work on your dressage. If he's working well off your leg and weight shifts, like a good Western horse, the change won't be a very significant one anyway: he'll be on very light contact in a snaffle instead of no contact with a curb. If he can work nicely, using his back and stretching and relaxing his neck, then you'll know he's comfortable in the saddle. If you then switch saddles, and EVERYTHING changes, you'll need to look at saddle fit and saddle positioning. Horses change shape; often saddles change shape too (horses can change more quickly). A saddle that fits well but is positioned too far forward on the horse's back will make the horse very uncomfortable in the short term, and cause damage to its back in the long term. A saddle that fits well, is positioned correctly, and is too small for the rider, will make the horse very uncomfortable in the short term, and cause damage to its back in the long term. Saddle fit has to be evaluated with the saddle on the horse, the rider in the saddle, and the horse in motion -- otherwise all anyone can tell is that the saddle is not an obvious MISfit. I can't even count the number of times I've seen a saddle that looked as though it should fit beautifully, but proved NOT to fit as soon as the rider sat on the horse -- or that seemed to fit well until the horse was asked to walk, or trot, or canter.

The bottom line is this: a horse that knows how to do something will usually do it when the rider asks. If the horse DOESN'T do what the rider asks, you can assume that something is wrong. It's not horse nature to say "I know what you want, and I can do it easily, but I'm just not going to do it!" When a horse says "No", you need to find out whether it's saying "It hurts", "I'm scared", or "Huh? I don't understand what you want." I work with hundreds of horses -- sometimes thousands -- each year, and I have yet to find ONE problem that doesn't have, at its source, pain, fear, or confusion. Eliminate the pain, fear, or confusion, and hey presto! You've solved the problem.

In your horse's case, I don't think that there is any fear involved, but there is some confusion, and there may be some pain. Since he's happy and goes well in his Western saddle, keep it on him for a week or so when you do your dressage, and once he's responding just as well in his dressage bit, change to the dressage saddle and pay close attention to the way he responds. He can't use words to tell you that (for example) his back hurts and he isn't able to lift it -- but he'll tell you in his own way, if you'll listen.

Morgans are very clever horses, and if your horse is a Morgan x QH, you're a lucky rider! All the Morgan x QH crosses I've met have been outstanding horses, responsive and smooth-gaited just like yours. If you'll make your changes one step at a time, observe carefully, and listen to your horse, you should come out of this with a horse that can -- and will be glad to -- do just about anything for you.

Jessica

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