Bit Training

I watched Phillipe Karl's 1st DVD again last night, refreshed the section on teaching the horse to "give the mouth" from the ground - mobilizing and relaxing the jaw, encouraging light chewing & swallowing, bending through an upward action on the inside rein, and lowering/stretching by a steady support on the outside rein. Initially, he just ignored waht I was doing with the bit, but after a while he realized there was actually a point to it, and began to show more interest and cooperation. I ended up being able to walk with him on the bit in inside and outside bend on both reins, and shoulder-in on both reins.

I'm feeling really hopeful about being able to work through his problems with bit acceptance with the help of this bit, I just wish I had found it sooner! I had never imagined that there could be SUCH a big difference between snaffle bits. Sure maybe a horse might prefer one bit to another in a direct comparison, but in Barokko's case he said "NO!!" to both thick and thin, unjointed, single and double-jointed, loose ring, eggbutt, and Boucher snaffles - and "oh, OK then, lets give it a shot" to the Myler. I'm glad I kept trying :)