​It’s Not The Bit

​It’s Not The Bit
By Gaye DeRusso
 
So many people will ask what bit I am using. I use many different bits. It usually  depends on what the horse likes, and what frame I need to ride the horse in, to help it to gait. There is no magic gaited bit. Bits can help but it is teaching the horse how to respond to a bit that helps the most. 
 
But what I don't do, is just put bits in the horse’s mouth without the horse understanding what the bit is. So many gaited horses are not trained slowly. Everything is rushed, from their growing to their training to the speed we ride them at. So many short cuts, oh so many. 
 
The reason they don't kill more people is  because of how they are bred. Calm, tolerant and forgiving and yet we expect more from them. One of the biggest problems I see with the gaited horse is they have no concept of how they should react to a bit, because they were never taught. 
 
I restart gaited horses all the time because I know they  have no education about the bit. The bit is to give communication between you and  your horse, so they understand what you want. Without you being able to communicate to them on speed, slowing down and steering, you really have no control, no matter what you put in their mouth. 
 
So, they all go into a snaffle bit when they arrive and learn about pressure and release and giving to the bit. They learn that  pressure on the  bit means to pay attention,  slow down and to give to the bit, which is the opposite of pulling on the bit. 
 
I do lots of patterns to teach them to steer well with the bit, I do lots of one rein stops and then two rein stops with lots of backing up. So, in time they understand when they feel pressure on the bit they need to give to the bit and if no leg is applied, then they should  stop and back off of it. 
 
This takes many, many repetitions. But without this knowledge the horse will never truly understand the bit and will just pull on it or avoid the pressure by throwing their head or hanging their tongue out or possibly just running away from the pressure. But with understanding, they will calmly react to the pressure and then perform the right movement to have the pressure going away. 
 
That’s why you do not see trained horses acting a fool when someone puts pressure on the bit. But since so many gaited horses are not trained well and many people just drive them forward and pull on the bit to get the gait, the horse doesn't understand that the bit should mean slow down and back off. Instead, the horse is thinking it should just pull on the bit, because that is what it has been taught. 
 
So, if you are having issues with your horse running away, throwing its head, hanging its tongue out, or no bit works. Go back and restart the horse with a loose ring snaffle, or a full cheek snaffle if it does not steer very well as the bars on the side help to steer the horse. 
 
Teach them to just walk, do one rein stops, make patterns, lots of walking and stopping and transitions up and down in speed. Then when you can do all of that in an arena or round pen well, you can change to a shank bit if you want. 
 
I think a mild shank bit is easier for most riders and gives more control  for the trail but practice it all again in the shank with lighter contact and once your horse can respond calmly and is controlled then try it out on the trail. 
 
I usually use a form of a myler bit if the horse is pacey and wonder bits if trotty, as the myler helps bring the head down and the wonder helps to frame them up. In time if they respond well, you can ride them in most anything, but the shank does give you more control for the trails. Trail riding is extremely dangerous and unpredictable at times, you will be able to stop the horse faster in a shank vs a snaffle especially if you are an older woman with not much strength. 
 
In the end it’s up to you what you ride the gaited horse in. There is no special gaited bit, some are just fine bitless or in a hackamore, but whatever you are going to use, you still need to educate your horse on what the bit is and how to react to pressure. Because if the horse does not understand and know how to respond to a bit, you will never have the communication you desire and you will never feel truly safe.