"First the mouth..." Part 2

Thank you for the e-mails and responses! Keep them coming, I absolutely LOVE hearing from you. =)

So, now that we have the theory behind mobilizing the jaw, how do we actually do this gently and so that our horse understands what we want??

This first set of three flexion is done at halt from the ground. You can then proceed to flexions 2 and 3 at the walk on the ground and then proceed to under-saddle work (more on this under-saddle stuff later).

Flexion 1: Yielding the Jaw

Stand directly in front of your horse. place your thumbs in the rings of the bit. Gently put pressure on the bit towards his ears until he lifts his head quite high up in the air and you do not feel any weight on your hands. Your horse should be softly mouthing the bit and slobering all over (don't wear nice clothes :P). Keep your fingers in the rings with very light pressure in the high neck position until your horse starts to settle and soften. Take your fingers out, walk away, take a deep breath, and flexion 1 is done. Sometimes horses will simply throw their head up in the air and completely avoid the bit. If this happens, don't frett, just do a mini version of the lift and only lift your horse's head a few inches at a time until they settle.

This 2nd flexion is taught at halt, and will eventually be translated to under-saddle work where it becomes an incredibly useful tool for bringing horses necks level with their bodies (instead of 14 feet in the air). It's also an excellent softening tool as it creates a position for the horse that is comfortable.

Flexion 2: Action-Reaction (this one's probably especially important for your horse)

Stand beside your horse (for the purposes of this description let's do it from the left side of the horse). Put your left index finger in the bit ring and put the right rein over the horse's neck and on top of the headstall so the your right hand and left hand can be one on top of the other and you're holding both sides of the bit (one directly, and one indirectly). Gently pull the bit up with your left hand and down with your right hand (a light squeeze if you will) until the horse yields his jaw as in exercise one and offers to lower his head (whereby you release the pressure but still have a very light connection with his mouth). The horse's neck should end up in a horizontal position with the jaw relaxed and the horse softly mouthing the bit. Your horse doesn't need poll flexion at this point and if his nose pokes out a bit it's ok. This is the key to stretching and releasing the back under saddle...

Flexion 3: The Neck Bend in stretch position

So stand next to your horse in the same position as flexion 2. But instead of having one rein on top of the poll, move the rein  to about 3/4 of the way down his neck. Lift the bit with your finger (remember to always move it towards his ear and never back) until  he yields his jaw and then ask him to bend away from you by pushing his head over with your hand (and walking that way) and keeping a contact with the rein on his neck by gently holding downwards. This should be a very gentle movement and at first your horse may not be able to bend very far without moving his feet. That's ok - go as far as you think is comfortable for him wait for his jaw to yield and his mouth to soften in the neck bend position and allow him to stretch downward if he so wishes and then let go and step back. Eventually you can do this exercise so that your horse is bent at almost 90 degrees with a relaxed jaw and neck, softly mouthing the bit and lowering his head to the horizontal position in both directions.

Practice these before you ride for the next few days, and I'll post the action-reaction and neck-bend exercises for under-saddle work to promote stretching. Next 'training' post will be about how to perform the french version of a half-halt to lighten your horse's mouth and get off of the forehand =)

Happy riding everyone! Hope you're enjoying the rain as much as I am (ugh).

K