Thomas Ritter: Accepting the Bit

©Thomas Ritter 2009

The term “accepting the bit” is frequently encountered these days. It usually refers to a quiet mouth and steady head and neck carriage. The Old Masters didn’t really mention the “acceptance of the bit” very often – probably because these qualities have very little to do with the bit or the horse’s attitude towards the bit. Instead, they have everything to do with suppleness, balance, and straightness. The rein contact in general is a reflection of the posture of the horse’s entire body. That means that if there is a blocked muscle group in his body, it will usually show up in the rein contact in some way, in the form of resistance or bracing against the rein. This resistance can originate in the poll, the neck, the shoulder, the back, or the hip, for instance. If the horse is balanced and straight, the rein contact will be light, steady, and even.

If the horse is crooked, he will take a stronger contact on the stiffer side. If the horse is on the forehand, he will lean heavily onto the rider’s hands. Crookedness and imbalance can also make the horse invert.

In other words, if the horse is not “accepting the bit”, it can generally not be corrected simply by using the rein and acting on the horse’s mouth, because it confuses the symptom with its root cause. In order to eradicate the problem, the rider has to analyze first where the resistance against the bit originates, i.e. which joint in the horse’s body is not moving with the full range of motion, which muscle group is stiff. Once the source of the problem has been identified, the rider can supple these muscles systematically with specific exercises. When the horse is balanced and the muscles have all become supple, the horse will also accept the bit.

French General Alexis François L’Hotte, écuyer en chef of the Cadre Noir at Saumur during the 19th century, explains this very well: “How often do resistances of the forehand depend upon a lack of submission of the haunches. The reason for this is that there is a solidarity that manifests itself between all muscular contractions, thus causing the resistances to support each other. Due to the mode of rapport between rider and horse, any resistance of the forehand is immediately felt by the rider; his hand indicates this to him as soon as the resistance manifests itself. But he does not always have in his seat the necessary feeling to tell him that there is a resistance emanating from the haunches.

“The impression the rider gets from his hand often fools him and makes him mistake effect for cause, thus making him concentrate his efforts on the jaw and the neck. He should, rather, question the horse’s haunches, ask them to become active, to deviate to the right or to the left, separating themselves with lightness. He will then see how often resistances perceived by the hand, had their source in the inertia of the haunches.”

So, you see that the horse will accept the bit, when his whole body has become supple. If one or more muscle groups stiffen up again for any reason, the “acceptance of the bit” may be lost again, as well.

Unfortunately, a quiet mouth and steady head position don’t necessarily indicate that everything is going well. A horse can superficially appear to be “accepting the bit” without really letting the driving and restraining aids go through his body. That is the case when there is a false bend at the base of the neck or behind C 3, which disconnects the hindquarters from the bit by interrupting the energy flow, so that the poll and the hips can remain blocked, without the rider being able to feel it. This means that in addition to being balanced and supple the horse also has to be steadily connected within his body. Areas of excessive mobility that disrupt the energy transmission have to be eliminated through framing, stabilizing aids. Otherwise, the rider would not be able to feel every part of the horse’s body with his seat and aids.

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Comment by Thomas Ritter on November 10, 2009 at 1:51pm: He needs the flexing exercise more on the stiffer side, whether it is harder for him. The important thing is that he stretches the muscles on the outside of the bend. It takes several repetitions before he can do it easily, and you may have to stick with the exercise for several days. The goal is to get the horse to the point where you can do the flexions with two fingers, precisely at the part of the neck that you are aiming for (not just where it happens to be easiest for the horse), and equally easily in both directions. This type of work is a kind of grey area between training and physical therapy. Sometimes you can hear the neck adjust itself with a pop, as a result of the muscles stretching and releasing the vertebrae that had been held in a subluxated position by the stiff, contracted muscles.

Comment by Kinni P on November 10, 2009 at 1:23pm: Thanks Thomas. It's a popular technique with clicker trainers. I've never seen it done, just read about it. I tried it once rather half heartedly. It worked on his flexible side, but not the stiff side. A couple of days later he got stuck in a fence and is only now coming back to work. I may try it again. I think I need to shift more weight. This horse came to me in such bad condition I have a bad tendency to treat him as though he were made of glass.

Comment by Janet B on November 9, 2009 at 2:59pm: Great article and comments following! Thanks so much! Janet

Comment by Thomas Ritter on November 9, 2009 at 11:26am: The "3 flip 3" exercise can work. Where did you learn it? You can unlock the poll with repeated flexions in the same direction. When the poll releases, you can then flex the haunches by using the weight and leverage of the horse's head and neck in addition to the rider's own weight.

Comment by Thomas Ritter on November 9, 2009 at 11:22am: If the blockage is in the lumbar spine, then you will feel it as a lack of bend through the rib cage. Riding voltes, figure 8s, enlarging the circle, and turns on the forehand in motion can help to loosen this area.

Comment by jackie collins on November 5, 2009 at 10:38am: He should, rather, question the horse’s haunches, ask them to become active, to deviate to the right or to the left, separating themselves with lightness. He will then see how often resistances perceived by the hand, had their source in the inertia of the haunches.”
Could you elaborate on this? I know my mare has some blocking going on behind the saddle and would love to get your input on how you would go about pinpointing the likely area. Thank you

Comment by Kinni P on November 5, 2009 at 8:50am: I'm curious what you think of the 3-flip-3 exercise (I'm sure there's a better name somewhere). At the halt, one gradually increases contact on a single rein until the horse gives the jaw, then you release. This is done three times. The fourth time the rein isn't released after the horse gives the jaw. Instead pressure is gradually increased until the horse yields his hip, then it's released. Repeat on the other side. I'm not convinced it's the panacea some believe it to be, but it is intriguing.

Comment by Highdale on November 4, 2009 at 1:04pm: Absolutely ! :D
Especially the last paragraph.
I think it's time we eliminated the phrase 'on the bit' it does more harm than good.
Thank you, Highdale