Finally Spring is blooming all over, and Shannon's ring FINALLY dried out, so I have been able to ride Cider again. I like Cider, she has plenty of get up and go, so much that I never have to carry a crop, which makes me happy because the more things I have to mess with in my hands the harder it is on me.

Last week when I rode Cider she did not seem completely pleased with her bridle any more. Nothing nasty, slightly less responsive, and I just got this little nagging feeling that she wanted something better. I've been using the Micklem Multibridle on her, and I wondered if she had gotten tired with the chin strap just like Mia did. So I tried Mia's Multibridle on her (the one I had taken the chin strap off of), tentatively adjusting the cheek pieces so it was mostly the same size. Cider still was not pleased. She started off fine, but then she started fussing with the bit, her mouth just got harder and harder, her cheerful responsiveness was gone, and it was hard to get her to stand still on a loose rein. Plus, all of a sudden she got SUPER responsive to my legs, trying to go into a fast trot every time my legs brushed her sides. Luckily her trot is real smooth so she is not hard to ride.

After around ten minutes I brought Cider in to Shannon and I asked her to check the position of the bit in Cider's mouth. There seemed to be plenty of room to lengthen the cheek pieces, so Shannon lengthened them a hole on each side. Cider relaxed immediately, she was trying to tell us that the bit was too high in her mouth (she had two wrinkles.) The speed of transformation was amazing, Cider went from an ironed mouth pony carrying her head higher to being a soft, responsive mouthed pony carrying her head lower. Her strides lengthened, she let me rate her going down hill, and she even consented to stand still on a loose rein after a brief discussion. I could use my leg aids again.

The amazing thing to me, is that all during the lesson both before and after changing the cheek pieces, Cider opened her mouth only once when I used a hand aid for the halt or slowing down. There was nothing to hold her mouth closed. I was so afraid that she was opening her mouth more often, because when her mouth went to solid iron I had to use a lot stronger contact than I normally do. I was also worried that Cider would open her mouth just because she could, there was no dropped noseband chin strap holding it closed. But Shannon, at the end of the lesson, said that it only opened once. Everytime I softened the contact at the halt Cider gently chewed on the bit. I think that I will have to get a narrower bit on her, I suspect that will help clear up the remaining problems with her responsiveness to the bit.

Cider is a good mare. Shannon was telling me about putting up a scared young rider on this mare (using a Nurtural cross-under) last week, and how Cider just moved really slow and took care of the little girl. Quite a difference from the pissed off and anxious mare I mounted this morning who just wanted to explode into space. Once I got her comfortable she relaxed and turned back into a sweet, responsive mare.

The moral of this little story? Some horses really do not like to have wrinkles in the corners of their mouths. Some horses really do not like having nosebands so tight that they cannot open their mouths. Horses prefer bits that fit them. Comfortable horses are much more willing to cooperate with their riders. If your horse is resistant to your hand try moving the bit down if there are wrinkles in the corners of its mouth. Loosen the noseband (or just take it off), so that the horse feels free to open its mouth when it needs to. When the horses I ride are not comfortable for these two reasons, their mouths tend to get super hard. Then, when I listen to them and fix what is bothering them, I am rewarded with very responsive mouths. The transformation can be truly amazing, and it can come through very quickly.

Oh, a warning, if you move the bit further down in the mouth, you may find that the bit that fit before is too wide. As you go up the horse's head it widens considerably, so a 5" bit that fit with two wrinkles in the lips will be too wide, and the horse may be more comfortable in a 4 3/4" bit when you lengthen the cheek pieces.

For horses comfort rules, and discomfort incites disobedience to the aids.

Have a great ride.