riding on the bit?? from behind? bit confused!!?

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maisie1988

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Hey again!

Sorry im learning lol!! So i dont understand riding on the bit, and getting them to work from behind?

Ive been told to have contact and feel his mouth, which i do... but not massivley as dont want to be hurtin him... but i can feel his mouth lol. then to be balanced and sitting correctly... which i think i am!!? im told i have a good seat! and twiddle the rains one at a time, just little twitches.. and this will bring him onto the bit and push him forward with my leg... is this right? will i then be riding him from behind and correctly?

i tried it today on our hack and was twidling and he didnt seem to even notive i was doing it... but after a while he did bring his head in and went all soft feeling and he felt really different, but only for a min then he would stick his head out again and i did it again... but after a little while he just started shaking his head a little and bit annoyed with me lol. so i decided i wont do it incase im doing it wrong and confusing him?

can anyone help explain this to me and how to do it? and is it okt do it on a hack? how can i tell if he is riding from behind? and why is this important?

sorry... all the help i can get is great thank you! ive been asking lots of random questions recently lol, just want to do things right and best i can! i still have him in the french link hanging cheek and he didnt feel strong today and felt less silly lol. i think he was fresh on thursday as he hadnt been ridden in over a week!! so we are getting there! going to ride tomo and monday hopefully!!

:)
 
Well best advice is to have lessons but what you need is a horse going forward with the feeling that it is pushing you from behind, then think about the head carriage. It is not about having his head in, that is the 'look' that people go for but it is about a horse going forward, weight on It's hocks in a round outline. That is far too simplified but I would definitely look into some lessons if you want to get it right doing pole work and transitions to engage the back end :)
 
thank you, hope to have a lesson monday, so the head thing is nothing to think about... just moving forward from behind... hum... i probably need someone watching me and telling me when he does it so i know what to feel for lolol. thanks :)
 
Agree with Batgirl - you need to get a good instructor to help you. It is not a question of just fiddling with your hands to get your horse on the bit. This will only come when your horse is correctly generating his energy from his hindlegs which you then contain with the reins.
 
what i found brilliant was to have lessons on a schoolmaster who worked properly. Once you get the feeling you will know if you are doing it right.
 
I agree with good advice given above, and would add that teaching a horse to work properly from behind and be "on the bit" does not happen all at once, if your horse has not been schooled to work this way it will take time to develop his muscles - think of it as "work in progress" for you both, a school master will help you to get the feel of what you are aiming for, and a good instructor will help you find it in your own horse.
 
It is also hugely influenced by how you sit.

If you aren't moving forward with your new instructor then it might be worth investing in a couple of lessons with an instructor who specialises in biomechanic.

IME many instructors who can teach many good things struggle with understanding how the finer points of how the body works, and occasional specialist lessons really help, once your position is good - then everything else is so much easier.

For example, for years I struggled with getting my lower leg correct, and my instructor used to go on and on about getting my lower leg back - to no avail however hard I tried. A lesson with a biomechanics specialist explained if I got my upper legs correct, my lower legs would be fine and only then could my horse start working properly.
 
You need to be a much more accomplished rider before you should be doing any kind of 'twiddling' with the reins. In fact, really accomplished riders do not mindlessly 'twiddle' with the reins, but instead respond to how the horse is working, making tiny split second adjustments which are hardly visible to the eye. A novice tweaking the reins may make a horse tuck its head in in order to escape the discomfort, but it will not be working on the bit. Concentrate on having a light contact on the reins, and following the movement with your hands, trying to keep the bit still and constant light pressure on the mouth, whilst at the same time, aim to have the horse going off your leg and forward with impulsion. Concentrate on keeping a good position. Getting a horse to work correctly on the bit will come later.
 
have lessons but two thigns to always remember 1) leg, leg and more leg, horse will not work in an outline on the bit unless it is going forwards form behind. 2) only when you have this can you then use half halt to encourage the horse to work in an outline. I massively learnt this this year. i can now work my mare in an outline and keep her there and also put her on the bit and stretch her right down too.
 
I have an issue with leg, leg and more leg, as too much leg will make a horse dead to the aid. A horse should move forward instantly from a small squeeze and maintain this impulsion until asked not to. In reality, this is very difficult to achieve, but we should all be aiming to use as little leg as possible, say only once or twice per circle.
 
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