78 SIDELINES FEBRUARY 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
By Linda Parelli
Linda Parelli’s experience with Pat Parelli as co-founder of
Parelli Natural Horsemanship, coupled with her time studying
with classical dressage master Walter Zettl, has given her unique
insight into horse psychology and development. Linda’s gift for
identifying and interpreting horse behavior and teaching her
students to bring out the best in their unique horse makes her
one of the most sought-after natural horsemanship experts in the
world today. Sidelines is pleased that Linda will be answering
questions for our reader’s in her new Sidelines column called
“Horse Behavior Decoded.” Please send questions for Linda to
answer in this column to editor@sidelinesnews.com.
Question:
My
seven-year-old
OTTB has trouble with
the bit. Every time I pick
up the reins, he comes
way behind the vertical,
hollows his back, slows
down and chomps at the
bit. I’ve tried using different
bits, thick and thin, and
nothing seems to work.
When I try to take up the
slack he either throws his
head or stops and spins. I
don’t want him to rear, so
I just end up going around
on a loose rein and hoping
he doesn’t run off or spook.
What do I do?
Answer:
Horses will react negatively for one of three reasons: 1.
Confusion:
The horse does not understand or know what to do
about contact. 2.
Fear:
The horse is scared of restriction; he feels
trapped and may even have been hurt by the bit at some point.
This is mostly a trust issue. Horses are prey animals and very
claustrophobic so when they feel trapped and held back with the
reins, rearing, leaping in the air and fghting the bit are common
reactions. 3.
Dominance:
Some horses are not at all afraid of the
rider or the bit. They are tough, opinionated and will fght for their
way!
Judging by your explanation, it sounds like your horse is both
confused and fearful (#1 and #2). Teaching him the appropriate
response to the bit and to not feel blocked by it is the answer.
Appropriate response: Bit isolations
Teach your horse to understand what to do with the bit while
on the ground. I recommend using a double-jointed snaffe that is
thick so it will not feel sharp to the horse.
Teach your horse to understand
what to do with the bit while on the
ground.
Photo courtesy of Linda Parelli
Linda Parelli
Learn more about
Parelli Natural
Horsemanship at
www.parelli.com.
Linda also has
an educational
DVD called Game
of Contact that
teaches more
about bit contact.
e
Place your fngers in the rings and gently, slowly lift it upwards
into the corners of his lips. Continue gently increasing the pressure
until your horse tries to push down on the bit. The moment he
does, release the bit and rub him. Keep repeating this until he
reaches calmly downwards when he feels you start to lift the bit.
Note: Some horses will put their head high up, grind their
teeth, chomp the bit, put their tongue out, fip their head, come
behind the bit, open their mouth, etc. No matter what, keep the
same contact until he reaches down into it and your release. Do
not restrict him or suddenly take more contact, just wait until he
fgures out the appropriate response.
Teach your horse to take the bit forward
After the bit isolations, your horse should be a lot better; but
he can still revert to his old behavior because he’s done that for
longer. Keep a soft touch and follow his mouth wherever it goes
keeping a constant connection but without restriction. When he
comes behind the bit follow his mouth so he cannot escape it and
when he tries to come forward, release the connection by opening
your fngers and letting the reins loose. Timing is everything – if
your release is a moment late, the horse will think he’s wrong.
Soon you’ll be able to keep a consistent contact and ride forward
into it; but when solving a problem like this its best not to push him
forward or he’ll get emotional. Allow him to fgure out the puzzle at
the walk and as slowly as needed. You need to patiently wait for
the right response and then release the reins. Once he learns the
goal he’ll stop avoiding the contact and then it’s up to you to learn
how to hold the reins and keep a connection with his mouth that is
pleasant and elastic.
Horses learn through pressure and release – “pressure
motivates and release teaches.” This means the behaviors you
“release” on will be the ones a horse seeks to repeat.