As you can imagine, most horses are less than thrilled about the idea of taking the bit. Would you be excited about the prospect of lodging a piece of metal in your mouth so another person could easily direct the motion of your head?

Therefore, when applying a horse training bit, it’s a good idea to use a commonly known molasses trick. Start by placing some sweet molasses on the horse’s lips and letting him/her get into the moment; most horses will love this.

Next, add some molasses to the horse training bit and work it slowly into the horses mouth. Do this for a while and finally leave the bit in loosely so it doesn’t cause any pain.

This exercise creates a pleasurable experience and causes the horse to associate the bit with molasses. Therefore, he/she will actually look forward to accepting the bit.

Over time, your animal will come to accept the bit without any trouble, and you’ll be able to easily move past this initially awkward phase in your relationship.

Originally posted 2008-05-22 01:19:19. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Most horses hate shanks and other metal curved bits because of the discomfort and pain such tools cause. And to be honest, there is little need for such barbaric practices in the modern world where we no longer ride horses into battle.

Most knowledgeable horse trainers prefer to use snaffle style horse training bits. A snaffle is essentially a chord style bit fitted with rings on either side to allow for an easy, painless fit into your horse’s mouth.

This is perhaps on of the most crucial steps in developing a proper relationship with your horse. Choosing a horse training bit that respects your animal and minimizes the discomfort will generally create a better, more successful training experience and can prevent injuries to both horse and rider.

Horse training bits that do not fit properly, or that are simply poor in design, can be attributed to the vast majority of issues with an animal’s conduct during training. If your horse is refusing to collect, shaking his/her head, or generally acting up with you in saddle, you may need to revisit your choice of bit.

Originally posted 2008-05-22 07:20:19. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Technorati Tags: bits, horse training, horse training bits, training, training bits