Bits

Question
Hi, I ride my 6 year old pinto pony in a normal D-ring snaffle bit and I don't think that I'm getting the results that I would like with it. I school her a lot myself and lately I've been trying to get her face lowered and collected. We ride English by the way. I can get her to give a quick bob of her head but then she jerks it right back to where she was. I know someone who swears by Myler bits and I was wondering if that would be a good choice, and what type of bit specifically. Thank you.

Answer
Hi Maddison,
There are worlds of bits out there for sale. All are telling you that they have the perfect bit and will solve all your problems. I train about 20 horses per year here at Yazoo Equine Training. The most common bit I use for teaching a horse to give at the poll and to flex laterally is either a full-cheek snaffle, an O-ring snaffle, an egg-but snaffle or a D-ring snaffle. These work for me. But, they are all simple snaffle bits. I may later move on to a short-shanked bit...but, I will always start with a simple snaffle bit. Remember this...if nothing else....KEEP IT SIMPLE..if you want your horse to learn. The more complicated the gear is...the harder it is for them to learn. Thus...I keep a simple snaffle bit. I'm not sure what kind of foundation work you have done with your horse, so I'm going to assume (possibly wrong) that you have skipped over lateral flexing. This must be down solid before you will ever get any give at the poll or collection. I suggest you not worry about the poll at this time and get the lateral flexing down pat. Then you can transition from lateral to vertical. From there, you can move to collection. The reason I am assuming that your lateral flexing is not almost perfect, is the remark about your horse not wanting to stay vertical. So, in short, I would not go and worry about buying expensive equipment to try to fix your horse. It is not the equipment. Equipment does not solve problems. It is in the training. Good luck and please stay safe. I hope I have been of some help to you.