Over the Bit

Here's my column from the paper. It's pretty much over kill from a very simple question from HorsesandTurbos, but hopefully it answered her question too, especially since she was the motivator behind the column!



My Horse is Over the Bit
By Janet Huntington

I was recently asked about how to correct a horse coming over the bit, or travelling behind the vertical. This little habit is more than an annoyance.

It’s an evasion which can become dangerous quickly.

I have seen cow horses steam rolling down the fence with their forehead tipped over and their nose buried in their chest. The rider is pulled forward, the horse is dumped over on his front end and the resulting turn on the fence, if there is one at all, is a dangerous, out of control mess.
I have watched barrel horses come over the top of the bit at gymkhanas and shoot past the barrel and into the arena fence.

I have seen children’s horses drop their nose to their chest and take off for home.

These of course are extreme examples of this evasion, but the lack of body control and steering tends to be pretty consistent no matter what speed your horse is at.

Ducking behind the vertical usually comes from a horse being ridden with only the hands and not the legs and seat. Trying to create collection by pulling on the reins is another reason.

I avoid the head flexing and bending exercises many clinicians recommend because it rewards the horse for flopping his head around without bit contact.

If I pick up my reins and my horse immediately drops his nose I feel like I have taught him to duck before I take contact. This little maneuver will also dump my horse on his front end once he’s travelling.

This might be just me, but I don’t like to teach them to avoid contact, then have to go back in and teach the horse to accept contact later. I’d rather teach them to follow their nose from the get go.

When a horse is behind the vertical and we try to drive it forward the spine doesn’t have enough stability to bring the horse forward. Instead we have a shortened and floppy neck and dragging, scuffy action in the back. Riding a horse tipped over the bit is kind of like trying to play pool with a rope. You’re just not going to get any honest forward.

A horse needs to carry his rider with his weight shifted towards the hindquarters. Asking him to drive his hindquarters forward while he is behind the bit is pretty much impossible. If he does try he will travel along with a hollowed out back and his hind legs dragging behind him. This prevents him from balancing the weight of his rider with the power of his haunches.

The question asked was how to fix the problem, not how to avoid creating it. For me the answer to both problems is the same. It’s just that it’s much harder to fix a horse coming over the bit than prevent it in the first place.

When I have a horse with this problem I go back to a ring snaffle, back to riding two-handed and back to the basics. I’m going to pretend my horse knows nothing and build from there.

First I’m going to make sure I have plenty of forward. I want my horse to walk, trot and canter on a loose rein without me having to push him.

If you are afraid to let him tool around the arena on a loose rein then you might be closing in on your problem. If your horse can’t travel without you taking a hold of him then you hang on way too much.

Once I have plenty of forward I’m going to start asking my horse to engage his hindquarters. I want him to rock back and balance on his back legs, one leg at a time.

I’ll begin to serpentine on my horse. Big, loose, loopy esses, through cones or from pole to pole in the arena. I’m going to drive my horse forward into a lively trot with my calves and engage his face one rein at a time with my hands. This will encourage him to go to the bit briefly as he goes through his turn.

Notice I still haven’t set both hands against the bit.

I keep this up and make my turns deeper and sooner between straight-aways.
After I have a good handle on my serpentines I will start working on some transitions. I start as simple as walk to trot and back then make them harder. Stop, trot, stop, walk, trot, extend trot, walk, lope, you get my drift.

Again, I still won’t have taken a strong hold of his face yet, I'll just let him bump into my hands. I like my youngsters to get a feeling of security and stabilization from my hands.

It’s all about engaging the hindquarters and getting his motor back off his forehand.

Good lateral work is helpful next. I’ll get a leg yield at the walk and trot, and eventually go to the half-pass. This kind of work will set you up for lead changes too.

Once I’m happy with my horse’s balance and drive I’ll start to take contact on the long side of the arena. I keep the contact light but constant and push my horse forward with my legs. When I feel one or two lengthened strides I release. Then I round my corners and take the long side and ask for a few strides in frame again.

I stay at a trot and just take up enough rein to feel the corners of my horse’s mouth. Then I drive with my legs while keeping my hands steady and encourage him to step into the bit. I never pull him back, I only hold.

If a horse is still ducking me I’ll put him in a side pull for awhile. When he understands condensing himself into my hands I’ll go back to the bit.

My dressage buddy and contact Michelle showed me an easy way to encourage a horse to get himself back on the bit if he ducks on and off as I drive around the arena.

A light upward bump, kind of like the bump you see Western Pleasure riders do on their horses is the secret.

“Up, up!” she would encourage while bumping his mouth with an upward tug. I’m not talking pain here, just an annoying bump. The horse will bear down on the bit as he moves from the pressure. When you feel contact then you relax.

For me the biggest factor in getting a horse happily back on the bit has been working hard to engage the hindquarters and lighten the forehand. The mouth tends to come along for the ride.

Brrrrrrrrrrr

We've had sub-zero temps around here the last few days. I have a secret to share. I'm kind of ashamed.

When my eyes crack open in the gray light of early dawn, I look out my bedroom window. I love to lay still and watch the creeping light turn the hillside red, inch by inch, as the sun comes up.

I come up through the layers of my sleep and let the approaching day run through my mind. I stick my foot out of the bottom of the sheets and test the air, trying to get a feel for how cold it is without getting my dogs wound up and jumping around.

My first groggy thought is automatically about chopping ice. How thick will the ice be and will the pumps need to be thawed?

Then I remember my life has changed.

I slowly pull my foot back under the covers, roll over, and fall back asleep with a smile on my face.

Full care is a wonderful thing.

Somebody asked me about the Morgan guys tail growing technique. I wrap my horses tails in the fall after the flies are gone. By spring it's dragging the ground on most of them. So I unwrap them and leave them free for fly season. I like a beautiful, flowing mane and tail as well as the next guy, but excessive hair is a pain in the butt. My horses tear out their tail hair when they back and mane hair gets tangled in my romels. So I let them be free for the summer and get shorter naturally. It works for me.
Here it is.

You need:
Conditioner
Shampoo
Strips of old bed sheet about three inches wide and the length of the sheet
Scissors
Vet wrap
Orange twine from a hay bale (if you wrap it in the summer)
brush

I always start with a clean, brushed tail. I don't brush out my horses tails unless we're doing photos or showing, so this in itself can be a project.

I finger pick the worst of the snarls out. I separate out the Rastafarian stuff and check for burrs, sticks, whatever.

Then I take a bottle of cheap hair conditioner and saturate the tail from the tail bone down. I don't load up the hair coming off the tail because sometimes the conditioner will irritate the tail bone.

I leave this gooey mess overnight.

The next day I wash the tail (cheap shampoo again).When I bathe my horses I use a bucket and a brush I got from an auto supply store. It works great.

Anyway, then I let the tail completely dry. Then, finally I comb it out. I start at the top and work my way down. I'm slow and careful.

Next, divide the hair into three chunks to make a braid.

Then I take three strips of the sheet and tie them together in the hair below the tail bone. Don't worry about the hair on the tail bone, it just hangs there (I didn't say it was pretty).

Make a relaxed braid with a strip of sheet wrapped around with each chunk of hair. Does this make sense so far?

Braid the hair down to the very end of the tail and tie it off.

Then take your vet wrap and, starting at the top of the braid, wrap all the way down to the tip.

Now you should have a long, stiff, stick thing. Double the tail to the base of the tail bone and vet wrap that....

Ta da!

It looks stupid. I'll see if I have a picture.

Then just leave it. I don't take it out until spring.

Oops, I almost forgot. If you want their tails wrapped during fly season then leave a little loop at the bottom when you double the tail and vet wrap it. Then run several strands of twine through the loop and tie them off. It makes a very effective fly swatter.

Tally

She floated past me, her trot lively and even.

When I raised a hand and stepped towards her nose she stopped and flipped directions with a tidy turn.

I kissed and waved at her hip and she picked up her lope. Her muscular back lifted as she picked up her lead and her head stayed level with her meaty little mutton withers.

When I backed a few steps she stopped, her hind end dropped in a natural slide and she waited, her fox ears turned to me and her eyes bright.

I stood, my hands on my hips, and let her air up.

"I can't believe how good she is," Crystal said. She slid down from her perch on the rail and started to come down to our end of the arena.

Tally snorted and raised her head. Her eyes ringed white and I sent her around me before she could skitter away from Crystal.

"Yeah, she's a goddamn circus pony, that's for sure,"I grumbled."She'll trot in any size circle I want, turn to me, away from me, stop, walk, trot, you name it, but I'm still not on her and she's got about two more trips around here before you scare her so bad she blows."

Just then Tally decided she couldn't cope with Crystal standing in the middle of our circle anymore and bolted to the human free end of the arena.

I immediately raised my longe whip and jogged a straight line towards her hip."Hey,hey,hey!" I snarled, low and guttural. She reluctantly headed back to my end of the arena, snorting as she veered around Crystal and sidling against the arena wall so hard the walls crackled. I let her settle in her safe spot. She stood, but kept a wary eye.

"I've been at this for close to 120 days and I can barely touch her," I complained."Unless the planets are aligned just so and the spook gods are out to lunch,I'm lucky to get a hand on her, much less a halter."

"Do you want me to leave?" Crystal asked me.

"It kinda hurts your feelings, doesn't it?" I asked. "It's not like you haven't been around her, fed her, cleaned her stall, talked to her..."

"I don't feel so bad," Crystal told me,"she doesn't like the boss either and I only take care of her when he's out of town. Face it, she only likes you."

"She doesn't have that luxury," I said. "I need to sell her, she's going to have to widen her circle of friends sooner or later."

I got Crystal to stand next to me in the middle of our imaginary round pen until Tally cocked a hip and the little knot of resentment began to loosen in her chin.

When I thought she could tolerate it I walked to her shoulder and stood next to her for a slow count of ten. Then I began our daily ritual.

I reached out and scratched her withers.

"Heeey bud, heeeey bud, hey, hey, hey,"I crooned.

Tally relaxed into my hand. She kept looking around me at Crystal and her mouth stayed tight, but when I slid my hand over her ribs to scratch her belly I felt her heart beat going slow and steady.

I worked over her cinch area, scratching, rubbing and thumping, just a hair, and then worked back up to her back. I scratched the base of her tail and pulled at the long matted hair. She clamped her tail tight and leaned her weight away from me. I straightened up and rested my arm across her back. Tally sighed and I went back to messing with her tail.

When I ran my hand down her leg to pick up her hind foot she broke away again and trotted in a jittery circle. I raised the whip and drove her around me a few times.
Tally smoothed out and I backed away, asking for a whoa. She stopped and let me approach again. I slid my hand down her leg and asked for her foot she gave it willingly enough. I held the rim with just my fingertips and straightened my tired back a bit.

"Talk to me Crystal," I said, "let her listen and watch while I have her foot caught up."

"Why didn't you work her harder when she left you?" Crystal asked me.

"She wasn't being bad," I answered, "she can only take so much.This part always scares her and with you added to the mix I'm surprised she's being this quiet.

Tally swung her foot back and forth a few times and I let my arm stay relaxed and swinging with her. When she was still I released her foot, slid my arm across her rear and switched to the other side. Even though this left her side exposed to Crystal she stood and let me pick up her other hind foot. She held still for a few seconds and I moved up to the front.

I scratched her neck and under her mane,Tally relaxed under my hand and finally took her focus off of Crystal. I bent down and picked up her foot. She stuck her nose under my Carhart and pulled at my shirt. I felt her warm breath and whiskery nose on my back.

"Aw geez!" I dropped her foot and stood up when I felt a large, damp wad of something slide down the back of my jeans.

Crystal burst out laughing as I dug around in my pants, finally coming to the surface with a well chewed spitwad of hay.Tally stood next to me, her eyes serene. She flicked her ears at Crystals laughter but didn't shy away.

"How long has she been hanging on to that little gem," I grouched as I slid the rope halter and lead off my arm.

"I'm over you for the day," I told Tally,and I swung the rope over her neck. I stood kitty corner from her shoulder and slid the halter over her nose.Tally raised her head as I flipped the crown piece behind her ears. I ignored her and stepped up to tie my knot.

"Good night ladies...," the boss came down the alleyway into the arena, bellowing his good spirits in his loud tenor, accompanied by the bang and crash of the wheel barrow, manure fork and shovel.

Tally bolted into me.

Her shoulder hit me in the chest. The ground hit my back hard, then my head, as I fell under her. The wind was knocked out of me and I struggled to think as she came over the top of me. One of her hooves clipped my ribs as she fled.

Crystal shrieked and I heard the boss yell when the lead rope tightened around my arm and started to pull me across the arena floor.

Here goes, I thought. I rolled over on my belly and readied myself for a train wreck.
The untied halter slid off Tally's nose and my crash course stopped. I flipped over on my back and laid still, letting the air slowly wheeze into me.

"Are you all right?" Crystal flew over and covered me with dust when she flung herself next to me. I coughed and sneezed and sat up, resting my elbows on my knees.

"That damn mare," the boss said as he approached."When are you going to admit she's crazy?"

"I pushed her too hard," I said.

I sat in the dust and watched the pretty bay mare, her front feet dancing side to side as she watched me back. Sweat had begun to show on her neck and chest as she cowered in her safe spot.
I stood up and groaned a little. I leaned over and picked up my halter.

"Tally, I'm getting too old for this," I told her as I took my position in the middle of our circle.

"Crystal," I asked, "could you fill my water bottle for me?"

It was going to take at least another hour to calm the mare and bring her back to putting the halter on.