Functional Horsemanship

Cathy wrote with me with the following questions: ”My Palomino gelding Jimbo just graduated from the snaffle to a correction bit. His head (or it could be his neck) seems to be stiffer. Should I expect him to perform immediately like he did in the snaffle or is there usually some type of delay in a horse getting use to the new bit.”

I am not going to have much of an answer for you Cathy, but my question would be – if your horse did well in a snaffle why would you want to go to a different bit? To me there is no mandatory path of bit progression where your horse must transition to a correction bit, then possibly into something else. And I have to ask   “what are you trying to correct?”

I am assuming that the correction bit you are trying is a shanked bit with a broken mouthpiece. The mouthpiece probably has a rounded or square port. You are probably using a curb chain on this bit as opposed to the probable curb strap you used on your snaffle. The correction bit, with its sharp corner of the ported mouthpiece, the shanks and the curb chain all will allow much greater leverage than a snaffle bit. Meaning the force (and pain) on the horse’s mouth, given the same amount of pull on the reins by the rider, is much greater. Add in the shanks (being pulled rearwards) tightening up the curb chain under the jaw could all combine to give you a different horse than the one you rode in a snaffle.

I don’t know what you mean by your horse having a stiff neck or head, with the correction bit. He may be bracing against the bit, or maybe his head coming up trying to find a relief from the pressure in his mouth or under his jaw. If your reason for going to a correction bit is to be able to ride one handed with more control better, you may want to try a less severe bit such as a solid bit with a low to medium port, sometimes called a grazing bit.

How you handle the reins, your quickness and force has a lot to do with the horse’s reaction. My wife thinks that before a person rides a horse with a bit in their mouth, they need to carry one in theirs for awhile. Sorry for not being much help. I’m probably the wrong person to ask about the correction bit. I’m pretty happy with a snaffle bit and a hackamore and don’t think I’ll be using anything more severe than that. Good luck and safe journey.