All about horses

Riding a horse with a light connection is the way to go .

Horses will not do well if they are getting their mouths pulled on .

This creates a horse that ends up with “ upside down “ muscles.

Horse that are ridden correctly from the rider’s leg,seat and back can stretch down into the bridle and power along from the hind legs.

This horse will have a good top line meaning that his neck has a round shape from the top , his back is not hollow and his hindquarters are also round at the top .

He should not have a big underside neck muscle .

This is called an ewe neck .

To ride the horse well you must train him to stop and slow from the seat and a low voice aid .

The horse must also go when you tell him to .

He must move forward and straight ( look for my other blogs on this subject).

Then you can start to use the rein aids and soften his jaw .

You must give the horse time to stop himself .

In order to be able to stop himself he must have time to bring his hind legs underneath himself.

This should take about 1.5 seconds.

That doesn’t seem like a lot of time but if you say “one Mississippi two” that’s about right .

Only then should you use the reins to remind him to listen and stop .

If you have to use the reins you should use a hard quick pull and then drop the reins .

This is actually unpleasant for him and will remind him to listen to your seat and back stopping aids .

So the reins are a punishing aid therefore you must not use a severe bit in the horses’ mouth.

The Horse will become “dead in the mouth “in other words insensitive to the bit .

Any simple jointed snaffle should be sufficient.

Teaching your horse to flex at the poll will also help him to go the way you want him to go with a light connection.

Once your horse stretches his nose down level with the point of his shoulder and keeps his head in the middle of his neck you can then start to work on softening the jaw .

To “soften the jaw” of a horse that has been resisting the bridle for a long time you may sometimes use two quick tugs on the outside rein but be careful not to drop the connection on the inside rein because that will pull the bit unevenly in his mouth.

You may also do this with the inside rein but it is better to use the outside rein.

You must never move your hands left right pulling left right causes your horse to wag his head. Another way to get him to unlock his job is to turn your inside palm up so that your thumb turns towards the inside of the circle. But these 3 things must be done carefully and with good hands. Your hands should be in the correct position and good hands means that you have an “ independent seat”and you absorb the movement of the horse from the waist down so that your hands do not move involuntarily.

Work on the lunge line will help develop your coordination to be able to keep your hand quiet.

If you look further you will find a video on poll flexion here in my blog site .