Many riders mistakenly think they’re riding their horses on the bit when they flex them at the jaw. When a horse flexes “in”, he flexes at the jaw and closes the angle at his throatlatch. If this is all you’re doing, you’re riding your horse from front to back.
Don’t get me wrong. We do often flex the horse’s jaw. In fact, his jaw must be flexed for him to be completely on the bit. BUT, the danger lies in flexing the jaw BEFORE you connect him over his back. If you flex his jaw first, he’s not really connected. His face is just “in”. The danger here is that you can fake yourself out.
A horse flexes “in” when a rider moves the bit in his mouth. When you do this be sure you only use ONE rein to move the bit. If you alternately saw on his mouth with your left and right hands, he’ll just bring his face closer to his chest.
You might think he’s correctly on the bit because he feels soft in your hand when his jaw is flexed. But if you go to do something like a transition, you’ll find out that he’s really not on the bit at all.
He wasn’t honestly on the bit to begin with during the transition, he’ll raise his head and neck and look hollow. That’s because all you have control over is a flexed jaw. You need to ride your horse from back to front. Close your legs and send your horse forward through your outside hand to get his back round. And ONLY after you’ve sent him forward through your outside hand should you flex his jaw as the final ingredient of putting him on the bit.
