Riding On The Bit - The True Meaning

Riding on the bit is a term thrown around quite a lot - but do we truly understand what it means?

Having our horse on the bit seems to be the gold standard we are rewarded for in the equestrian industry.

The biggest problem is that the term “on the bit” is so ambiguous. We see so many riders rewarded for having their horses head down without any of the self carriage pieces of the puzzle established - doing more harm than good to their horse.

There are a number of skills that both horse and rider need to learn to be able to work steadily and consistently on the bit. Let’s break it down”

What does riding on the bit even mean?

Firstly, your horse needs to accept the bit.

In dressage, acceptance of the bit means that the horse willing holds the bit in its mouth and follow and responds to cues from rein pressure. They can do this hollow, ie head high.

Not having acceptance of the bit is when you ask the horse to turn and they pull in the opposite direction, when you ask them to stop they keep running through the bit and if you ask them to back they pull through and walk through the bit.

Secondly, we start asking for flexion.

For true flexion, our horse is now being steered by our legs and body and our rein aids are light indications of which direction our horse should be looking in.

Flexion is the flexing of the neck muscles.

If we are using our reins to turn our horse will be counter balancing on that rein pressure and therefore flexing/tensing their neck against the rein and pulling/looking against the rein pressure. At this stage if flexion is asked of the horse and they aren’t steering from the legs they will suck behind the bit and fall out of the turn or circle easily.

Finally, your horse needs to be able to work in a true frame.

To truly have our horse on the bit, working over their back with elasticity, swing, impulsion, engagement and throughness, they need they’re postural, self carriage muscles well developed and the head comes down into a frame as an end result of self carriage.

Because movement is dynamic the “roundness” of the frame evolves and gets deeper and more elastic as you move into the harder dressage movements. 

Understanding what riding on the bit means can help you avoid hurting your horse as you work through correcting deficiencies in Self Carriage.