Above the bit/behind the bit?

[Snowy Celandine]

Why do some horses go above and some behind the bit? My mare likes to go above and my new gelding likes to go behind the bit. I am not strong with my hands with either pony and they will both work well on a contact and do a nice dressage test if required but they both have their own different ways of evading the contact if you let them. I just wondered if any reason had been found for why a horse might choose a particular form of evasion? Could it be to do with their conformation or the conformation of their mouths? Just guessing wildly here

 

[Kenzo]

Conformation, how they were broken in, discomfort, lazyness, not understanding what correct contact is, not riding them properly, how they have been ridden in the past, what they have done previously for example race horses, all sorts of reasons.

 

[Snowy Celandine]

Hmm, thought so. No easy one size fits all answer then What sort of conformation do you think might cause a horse to go above or below the bit?

 

[ester]

depends on neck shape quite a lot I think. frank (see sig) is quite built up on the top of his neck.... meaning he finds it much easier to go behind than above!

 

[Snowy Celandine]

Yes, I can see that this might be the case but the odd thing is that my mare (above the bit for preference) has a much bigger neck on top than my gelding. Maybe my ponies are just weird?

 

[Kenzo]

Above the bit, tends to be horses with that will have a weak neck, they may have over developed muscles underneith the neck or in the hind quarters, purely because many (TB's for example) are built for speed, or horses that tend to work on the forehand, which does not allow them to build the muscles up through the back and up into the neck.