The challenge this month is a continuation of last month's which was about the Porcupine Game, or "follow a feel." The focus was on "pushing" our horses sideways as lightly and smoothly as it would be to push a toy boat in water. I also included the idea of asking your horse to glide backwards, in the proper position, in response to your energy and finger on the halter.

Emotionally braced and head too high

Ahhh... that's better

Now, can you expand on this and "glide" your horse backwards, in the proper position, with your fingers on her nose? On her chest? If you use the snaffle or Cradle bridle, do you get an equally lovely response with your fingers in the bit rings?  

The How To hints which correspond to this week's Can You? are basically identical to the information about the Porcupine Game provided in last month's newsletter. So, re-read the March issue and you'll have a good idea about how to improve your conversation with your horse about backing up in the proper position. Just keep in mind as you play with this that it's not just about the feet moving backwards; we're after a true intention to back up which is reflected in your horse assuming the shape or position which facilitates backing up. Any horse can back up with his feet while still thinking forward! Does your horse back up in a way and position which telegraphs that she is thinking backwards? Getting this softness and shape on the ground will work wonders on your back up under saddle. 

The better developed your communication and leadership, the better your horse's response. Being light doesn't mean he escapes your feel; it means you go together. If that toy boat goes floats away from your finger you've lost contact. And that brings us to PJ's question about riding with a bit - or not. Here's what she said:

Hi Nita Jo,

I am still unsure about the necessity/wisdom of putting a bit in a horse's mouth.  No matter how you slice it, it seems to me we are intruding in a very sensitive place. Why does "contact" have to be in the mouth?  I'd love to hear your experience and thoughts on this in your next newsletter.

Aloha,

PJ

This is such a rich question!

Yes, indeed, contact is not only about the bit in the mouth! Pat talks about "rhythm, relaxation, and contact" in all four savvies. (Rhythm, Relaxation, and Contact are the first 3 "building blocks" in the dressage training pyramid which Walter Zettl and others use.)  

Rhythm, Relaxation & Contact

Clearly, then, contact is neither achieved solely with the bit in the mouth nor does it even have to involve physical contact. "Contact" when playing at Liberty, for example, means mental and emotional contact - are you and your horse connected and engaged with each other? Are you having a conversation? Do you have a strong bond and is your horse responsive, obedient, focused, and calm? Is he full of "yes"?  

Contact in Motion

Liberty clarifies more than any other savvy the mental and emotional contact which needs to be present to have a conversation between partners. And Freestyle clarifies more than Finesse the mental and emotional contact necessary to have a good seat connection with your horse. Can you "talk" to her with you focus, energy, seat and legs? This means, can you canter, trot, walk, halt, back-up, and turn without relying on the reins?

Jet's inside ear indicates his mental contact is with me in the center of the round pen

In addition, there's nothing in Parelli which says we must ride with a bit. Often, once students learn to ride with the natural hackamore and develop a good partnership with their horses from the saddle, or learn to ride with one or two Carrot Sticks, not even using reins, they have so much fun and are able to do so many things that there is no particular need or desire to ride with the snaffle bridle. You can study and become competent in the first 3 savvies (Online, Liberty, and Freestyle Riding) all the way through Level 4 without ever using a bit!  Riding bareback and bridleless, for example, has its own finesse and is a thrilling thing to do and witness! (Conversely, it's also okay to use the snaffle bit for your Freestyle riding.)

It depends on your horsemanship goals. It's precisely because the horse's mouth is sensitive that we can have an intimate "conversation" with him about shape, about precision, about the most athletic, balletic movements, about dance, about the specific kind of dance, you want to do. This isn't just about dressage; cowboys dance with their horses when running a beautiful reining pattern full of amazing athletic feats, when riding a talented cutting horse whose athleticism is as astounding and beautiful as that of any Grand Prix dressage horse. The final savvy in Level 4 - Finesse - is about our beginning to learn to ride with contact and precision, maintaining rhythm and relaxation, in order to round out our foundational education as horsemen and to round out our horses' education as horses with a solid foundation. It's a precursor (for those who wish) to specializing in a sport, discipline, or competition specialty. As Pat has often said (about the former Level 3, now replaced by Level 4), it's when we've got a good foundation that we're finally ready to learn.  

What happens to us and our horses when we are learning how to ride with rhythm, relaxation, contact, and to begin to develop elements of collection, is that we make mistakes which cause imbalance and tension for our horses. Or, we're not yet able to be aware of and help them with their own lack of balance - which allows tension to continue or build. In addition, riding with contact tends to trigger a horse's innate claustrophobia if he feels at all blocked. This is one reason teaching your horse to respond in the proper position to a soft feel when you ask for a back up from the ground, much less from the saddle, is so helpful. All varieties of Porcupine Game (which is a game of contact) are vital. And, the critical importance of mental and emotional contact gained through the first three savvies is immediately apparent.  

The sensitivity of the horse's mouth magnifies our problems and mistakes - which is why putting the bit in that mouth should indeed give us pause.  As Linda Parelli has said, it's actually more difficult to ride well with a saddle and bit (with contact) than bareback and bridleless. Fortunately, through Parelli we learn to solve control issues, learn to be partners and leaders from the saddle, and develop our and our horses' responsibilities before we do much riding with contact with a bit. This saves us from making even more mistakes! And, just as fortunately, most horses are incredibly forgiving.  

So, it turns out that riding with a bit - or not - is a choice. It's a fairly personal choice at that. Once you have developed rhythm, relaxation, and contact in the Online, Freestyle, and Liberty savvies, and have developed partnership and leadership in the saddle, then you're ready to choose. It's a choice I've made because I'm fascinated by the subject and have seen the benefits for my horse. I'm feel like I'm finally beginning to get the hang of it and the learning challenges will last a lifetime.