Retraining the Horse who is Behind the Bit

If there was one area that I would like people to work on understanding it would be the connection of the idea of Being Forward + Back + Hindquarter Energy. This is just part of a series, so please see the Dressage Foundations: Being Foward category link for all entries.

I’ve had a lot of visitors lately reading my series on horses being forward and their evasions. To help you further, I thought I would go in detail about the evasion of Behind the Bit.

What does it Mean?

A Horse who is Behind the Bit is behind the vertical. This can be seen in this photo of Big Guy – up to his old tricks of evading the work. The red line marks where the front of his profile should be…

Being Behind the Bit can be clearly felt in the hands and I describe it in another post.

Your horse may be behind the bit all the time, but with my horse, Big Guy, he liked to drop Behind, then when that wasn’t working go Above, and when that wasn’t working, lean on me. LOL!

It took time, patience and consistency to re-train him away from this idea taught to him through years of being ridden by multiple riders, especially teenagers and riding students. When he is nervous and unsure, he always reverts to going Behind the Bit.

IMPORTANT NOTE: if your horse is ridden by multiple riders, especially if he is a schoolhorse, it is UNFAIR to ask him to be forward, soft and responsive to your aids. Unfortunately, as soon as he gets to be responsive, the next beginner rider will be yanking and punishing him for moving out. Please, only re-train your horse if you can guarantee he will be treated fairly by all his riders.

Equipment to Use

Through the advice of the book: The Less-Then-Perfect Horse by Jane Thelwall I went to a thick, loose ring snaffle with a large dogbone. Although, this bit (photo) is an Eggbutt the thickness of the middle piece is similar to what I chose with my Loose Ring.

What is the benefit of a loose ring snaffle? When your horse leans and you move your hand, changing the bit’s location in his mouth, he has to readjust and this momentarily stops the leaning.

The thinner the diameter of the metal, the more punishing the bit is. If you are using a “harsh” bit to keep control over your horse you have bigger problems then the horse not going foward – go back to teaching your horse a whoa and then a go. Obedience must be put into place first.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Do NOT confuse the above bit with the so-called French Snaffle . The middle section of that bit is flat and thus SEVERE in it’s action in the mouth. Twisted snaffles are also severe. Traditional snaffles with one joint in the middle are more severe then the one shown in the above photo.

Remember, if you are a rider who restrains with your hands, (and many of us are so don’t feel bad about admitting it), use your hands for balance in the saddle, or pull too much, you will be better to use an Eggbutt snaffle for this work.

You might also want to consider a Sidepull, such as Linda Tellington-Jones Lindell or Diane Thompsons sidepull. I also like to use the TTeam Balance Rein (seen on Big Guy’s neck in the above horse photo) as these horses have learned to lean on the bit or evade it; equipment such as a sidepull or Balance Rein (Cordeo), help re-teach these horses.

In addition to your Snaffle, you will need a whip. I prefer a whip over spurs. In my experience, the rider tends to nag more with spurs and the heel gets into a routine of being too high which compromises your seat position.

Only use a whip if you can control your frustration and temper. A whip punishment should be given sharply and only ONCE. If a whip punishment is just, your horse will accept it; if it is too harsh or done unfairly your horse will rebel.

If you whack-whack-whack, drop your whip, get off your horse, and go get some Anger Management Classes. And if I see you, I’ll take that whip to your head and then you’ll see that though I may be old, fat and short, I can take you in a throwdown any time. Meanwhile, your horse will run to me as his very best friend.

Videotaping your rides and having a knowledgable groundsperson can also help you.

You will also need your Brain!

The Exercises:

You are mounted and ask the horse to walk forward. He either: a.) does, b.) does not; or c.) does so, but immediately goes behind the bit.

A.) Great! Keep going.

B.) Ask again with leg pressure. If he still does not go foward. use the WHIP ONCE BEHIND YOUR LEG. If your horse has not gone forward at this point, he may be dead. Get off and check for signs of life.

C.) If your horse has immediately gone behind the bit, put your hands forward giving him a bit of freedom in the head, and use the WHIP ONCE BEHIND YOUR LEG. He will most likely be surprised, his head will come up and he will step out. If he trots out, go ahead and let him. Do not restrict ANY FORWARD MOVEMENT even it is rather surprised and quick.

If you have used a whip, probably your horse is a bit wide awake at this point. Encourage his forward movement with soft, following hands. Make sure you are not restricting any desire to go forward.

Next Step:

After he gets over his initial surprise of what you did, most likely he will eventually be up to his old way – get lazy – and go Behind the Bit. You will feel a slowing down of the hindquarters. As soon as you feel him going Behind the Bit, use the WHIP ONCE BEHIND YOUR LEG.

If he goes into trot, keep him there, and make sure that if you are posting you are not pulling down with your hands when you sit. Give him plenty of head, and keep him moving out. Use your voice to encourage him and let him know what a good boy he is. Give as much, if not more, praise when he is doing right then punishment when he is doing wrong.

Next time, when he goes Behind the Bit you will ask FIRST WITH YOUR LEG, because he should now be sensitized and know that when you ask for go, you mean it! If he doesn’t give you a surge forward, then you will use the WHIP ONCE BEHIND YOUR LEG.

The point of using the whip is to activate his hindquarters – this is where the real weakness lies. It’s not in his head – it’s in his butt. The hindquarters is the engine and must be revved – when it is activated, the head and neck will naturally lift.

Once you correct Behind the Bit Evasions you may find that your horse goes Above – in this beginner stage that is okay. Naturally, he is trying to figure out what you want with him and the most important thing in the beginning of the re-training the horse that goes Behind the Bit, is to encourage forward movement. Until this building block is put into place, you cannot begin to shape or hold the energy.

NOTE: BEFORE USING THE WHIP – PLEASE READ THIS POST!

This is the most basic correction. For more ideas, exercises and equipment you can use for the horse behind the bit, check out this later post and be sure to check the category at the right Dressage Foundation: Behind the Bit Horse.

NOTE: Be sure to check out the video explanation post on being behind the bit and corrections.