A Bit On Bits

Carriage driving clients are always asking me if they should change their bit to help their horse's performance. If they are not using a mullen mouth Liverpool, I generally say yes. If they are using a Liverpool, I tell them to change the way they use the bit to improve performance.

Too few people understand how bits work and too many people resort to them as a method of control. I have seen too many horses pulling the vehicle with the bit and too many riders stopping their horses with it. "I need a more severe bit, my horse doesn't respect this one," makes me want to sob for the horse and throttle the owner.

Any bit is severe when it is operated by uneducated hands. That is why I always suggest a mullen mouth: it takes work to be severe. A snaffle can be so easily misused. It works like a mutcracker with the jointed end poking into the roof of the horse's mouth. A double jointed snaffle has two places to poke. The bar of the mullen places equal pressure all through the mouth, which reduces discomfort by uneducated hands.

Think about this. What do you use that bit for and why? Is it a valuable tool to communicate with the horse? Are you using it to help your horse or control your horse? Does your horse willingly open his mouth to take the bit or do you stick your fingers in his mouth and pry it open? If the latter is the case, I will suggest that the horse has no problem with respecting the bit. He has a problem trusting you.

Case in point: Don Pecos stopped willing taking the bit when he was bridled. I thought that was strange. I made him take it. We drove. We worked on correcting his counter bending problem with the whip. Over and over and over. All spring and summer. The last few days I have been focused on this bit idea. I concentrated on driving the bit instead of the horse. I used my shoulders to mirror the bit through turns. I felt Don Pecos, but I focused on the bit. We had lovely drives. Yesterday, Don Pecos opened his mouth and took the bit when I offered it to him. And he bent to the right. And he forgave me.

I hope this bit [you know me] of accidental sagacity will help you to understand and inspire you to listen to your horse. That is the key to improving performance. Always.

If you would like to schedule a Serendipity riding or carriage driving lesson on bits, contact me. Your horse will thank you.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Accidental Sagacity: Adult Riders

"No hour in the saddle is wasted." Winston Churchill

The days of summer, although longer in the sun's perspective are always too short from mine. The warm weather has brought several new clients to the Serendipity riding lesson curriculum and I've seen accidental sagacity at work. These women all have the horse love gene and have been riding for years. They found Serendipity through a desire to be better riders for their horses. What they discover about themselves out of the saddle is an added bonus.

Self awareness is the foundation of a good rider. Balance in the saddle, mental focus and an understanding of form and function are so important and seldom taught in riding lessons. How often have you heard an instructor say, "Heels down!" with no explanation? The most common result of this instruction is to push the foot forward to drop the heel, compromising the leg position under the rider's seat. "Shoulders back!" seldom opens up the solar plexus to improve coordination and balance between the rider and the horse.

So often I see riders struggling with their own bodies while riding. Their ankles are over extended, lower legs in front of the girth, pelvis tipped backwards, spine at a forty five degree angle in front of their hips, shoulders collapsing on the rib cage, with the whole shebang compromising the function of the spine. Yet, they labor on because of the horse love gene. They say to me with legitimate concern, "My horse is really stiff on this side/direction." "My horse won't step out at the walk/trot." "My horse has trouble bending."

When they begin to understand how to use their body to accommodate the physics of movement and participate effectively, the horse 'magically' supples, steps out and bends. At the end of the lesson the horse looks at me and lets out a big sigh. The rider is ecstatic. Whenever I am confronted with this, my heart goes all a flutter and I fall in love with my own life's work all over again.

This week, I got the equivalent of a dozen roses and a box of chocolates from my work. One of these gals sent me an email saying she was practicing good posture all day long and she had grown an inch since her lesson. [I'll bet anything her friends will secretly surmise that she's had cosmetic surgery.] Another wanted to cancel a lesson because she had a really bad day at work, but didn't. She left the barn after her lesson smiling, relaxed and said, "Wow. I was having a bad day. Now it is a good day."

That is accidental sagacity on its finest form.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.