THE MOUTHY HORSE
THE MOUTHY HORSE
"I would love to hear more about strategies you use to help a horse with a busy mouth?
This was a great question asked in my own group “Calm, Willing and Confident Horses” (https://www.facebook.com/groups/190240814737552 ).
A strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve a long-term or overall aim. To be honest there is only one strategy I use to help a horse with a busy mouth or any other contact issue. Here it is:
My strategy is to get the horse perceiving it has control of the bit and the pressure it applies in their mouth.
This is my strategy because it is the opposite the horse is experiencing when it has a busy mouth, or is sticking its tongue out, or leaning, or teeth grinding, or bracing, or evading, or head tossing…or the other multitude of things that horses do when they are trying to protect their mouths or body or both from a bit of metal in their mouth that hurts them.
Yes…it hurts them.
That is hard to read isn’t it?
But that is the truth.
All the behaviour we see like the busy mouth, grinding teeth, bracing, sticking tongues out etc..has all been inspired by the horse trying to stop discomfort. In the case of a busy mouth the horse forms the belief that if it can just keep its mouth moving it can protect its mouth by not letting the bit sit in one spot for too long. In their mind if they keep opening and chewing and moving that bit around eventually the person gets off and takes the bit out of their mouth. So, the busy mouth becomes a habit.
My greatest “tool” to exercise my plan is my ability to observe how the horse is feeling and to remain patient and empathetic to them
In a nutshell I can say– I “re-mouth” the horse. I make sure they are good following the bit laterally left and right. Then relaxing their poll vertically. They understand halt and backup. Finally, their understanding to seek into the connection and developing contact. I start each at halt and then into each gait. I have small expectations to start and grow those expectations as the horse shows me that they understand and are getting stronger and more confident. If the horse shows any concern or worry or inconsistent improvement I know I have gone too far, asked for too much or haven't done a good job at allowing them to learn what I expect them to do.
For the horse with the busy mouth I make sure that at all times I only release the rein when the horse is quiet in its mouth. I do this to overcome that habit or superstition they have that being mouthy eventually leads to pressure being removed from the bit and it removed from their mouth.
Some horses are helped just by showing them how to follow and respond to the bit. Others have developed serious negative associations with being ridden or biomechanical issues due to the tension triggered by their worry for the bit and need rebuilding of their entire foundations from groundwork up into the saddle.
I could write a textbook on this subject and really each horse needs to be approach as an individual and allowed to show me what they need to feel comfortable and confident being ridden and responding to a bit.
If you are keen to read more about my experience with solving contact issues I wrote a detailed blog about reconstructing a dressage horse that had developed serious contact issues. I documented the timeline and all the tools and techniques used here: https://www.facebook.com/.../a.102515325.../1444846062241760
