Bit Training Part 1

Today was a kind of rainy, muddy day so I couldn't do much riding in the arena. I figured since it has been a week since he had his wolf-teeth pulled, I could bit Calvin for the first time!

I chose a very soft rubber bit as his first bit. It's called a "mullen mouth" because it's straight across and doesn't break in the middle. Here is what a different bit, a broken snaffle, looks like in a horses mouth: picture. You can see that when a rider pulls, it puts pressure on the tongue, gums of the mouth called "bars," and the soft pallet. However, the rubber bit I have is straight across so it can't affect the soft pallet and only very lightly on the bars. The rubber is very flexible and able to conform better to the structure of his mouth. Many horse people confuse a snaffle as being a very soft bit, but in reality it's actually somewhat harsh because of the break in the middle. Here's the bit I used:

Soft rubber mullen mouth, no reins attached. These pictures were taken after being in his mouth, hence the grass and slobber :P

Very flexible as you can see, it will bend and can be chewed on without injuring the horse. 

I adjusted the bridle first to make sure that it would fit him. Then I took it off, attached the bit, and put it back in his mouth! He did not like the bit at first, most horses don't, as it's a foreign object in their mouth. I walked him around to get him used to the feel and learn to relax with it. 

"This thing tastes like tire!"

I did a small amount of lunging at the walk and very little trotting. The arena was muddy and a bit slippery, so we stayed slow. You can see now though that he is much more relaxed and not fidgeting as much. We practiced this mainly so he could learn what it's like to have this in his mouth and how to hold it. 

Since the arena was so muddy, I got on for a trail ride. I rode in just the halter over the bridle so he was familiar with steering, but at the same time be used to having a bit and a rider. However, the weather was that before-rain windy and blustery which meant I got on a wild horse! He was so hyper and naughty, just wanting to buck and go back home. We had to do a lot of schooling and training, so it wasn't as relaxing as it could have been. Having the bit in his mouth didn't really affect him, by the time I got on him he had accepted that this thing wasn't going to hurt him and even tried to eat grass...but that didn't work so well (hard to chew with a bit). 

This weekend I'll put him with some rubber reins so he can learn to give to pressure on the bit before I jump on. This is hopefully a bit I can use on him forever, I'm trying to stay with a soft bit so he'll always have a "soft mouth." "Soft mouth" meaning that he can be controlled using a very mild bit forever...compared to something like this:

Ouchy bit! Whoever created this should use it on himself. 

This last bit hurts just to look at! It has the nutcracker effect of a snaffle but with copper-twisted wire! Copper isn't terrible, it's meant to promote salivation, but the twisted wire is very harsh. This is a bit meant to cause significant pain on the bars, tongue, and soft pallet. Not only that, but the long shank makes the bit put pressure on the horses head and mouth. AND, as if that's not enough, they have a curb chain to dig into the horse's chin! In my opinion, if you need to use a bit like this...you need to relearn how to ride a horse. Many horse people say that "soft hands make a soft bit," but even if this person had very quiet hands, all it takes is the horse to spook or trip and you accidentally pull on this contraption and cause unnecessary pain. Sadly, I took this picture in the tack room where I board my horse, but it's not uncommon to see these types of bits.