Mary Wanless argues that getting a horse on the bit isn't about forcing its head down or holding it back with your hands. Instead, develop the horse's seeking reflexes by using its back so the neck reaches forward naturally to find the bit.
We've posed this question before, but it's worth saying again. What have you been taught about getting a horse on the bit? Now, this is one of my unfavourite terms and it does in fact cover a multitude of sins. Have you been taught to get the horse's head down to keep the bit moving in his mouth? If you haven't been taught to get the horse's head down, it's highly likely that desperation have led to you fiddling or pulling. Because the truth is, the statement get the horse on the bit is never going to be a bite sized chunk for any rider. It needs breaking down into its component parts, which is what this course is all about. Of course, I much prefer the term the seeking reflexes, which talks about the horse coming up through his back, reaching his head and neck into the rain. And the rider is, who knows about that, is really intent on using her body to change the horse's back, rather than using her hands to keep the horse's head down. And when the horse is scrunched backwards with a hand kind of stopping his nose advancing, he ends up with his head back, his back hollow in a posture that cannot be beautiful. It doesn't have that wonderful flowing movement and that top line of reaching and arching with the neck to seek contact with the rein. So we're now into the nitty gritty of how to get on the bit to happen through these component parts that we're teaching you in this course.
