If you’ve studied dressage in the past, you may have learned the training scale, a six-level pyramid of increasingly advanced concepts. The first three levels are the building blocks to connection, or getting your horse on the bit.RHYTHM: The...
Before you can get a true connection and ride your horse on the bit, he needs to be supple. The following exercises can be used to loosen or "unlock” your horse:POLL: Alternate flexing your horse’s poll 1 inch...
Getting your horse on the bit is considered the Holy Grail of dressage. It may seem mysterious and hard to grasp, but the good news is anyone can learn what to do, and then do it!You have probably...
Rubber Snaffle: The effect of a snaffle bit’s action is made milder when the mouthpiece is encased in rubber. The thick rubber material can be either pliable or hard. Some rubber snaffles include a faint taste that’s pleasant to...
D-ring: This bit gets its name from the shape of the bit ring, which is shaped like the capital letter “D.” The design fixes the bit in the horse’s mouth, preventing it from rotating and also from being pulled...
Dr. Bristol: A double-jointed mouthpiece, similar to the French link, yet more severe. That’s because the centerpiece of the Dr. Bristol design is rectangular, thinner, and includes angular edges.The centerpiece is slightly offset from the other sections of...
French link: Like the Dr. Bristol snaffle, the French link features a three-piece mouthpiece. But the French link is the milder of the two bits. That’s because the centerpiece of the French link is shaped, smooth, and oval or...
Mullen mouth: Despite the non-jointed mouthpiece, a Mullen mouth snaffle is just that: a snaffle. When designed with a pair of simple bit rings, it utilizes direct rein pressure and not leverage, so in this configuration it is not...
Eggbutt Snaffle: This oddly named snaffle does indeed resemble the oval shape of an egg. Unlike a loose ring snaffle, the eggbutt will not rotate in a horse’s mouth; it’s fixed. Though mouthpieces may vary, the eggbutt is generally...
