bitting system, bitting pressure, julie goodnight, julie goodnight bitting system, julie goodnight bitting, julie goodnight training advice
Many training “issues” are
in some way connected to the
horse’s mouth. When your
horse resists your hands (as evidenced
by his hollowed framed
and seeming inability to round
and collect) or evades the bit,
he may be uncomfortable and/
or may never have been trained
to respond properly to bit pressure.
Your skill level as a rider
might also be a factor. Here, I’ll
give you the steps to help you
teach your horse to correctly
respond to bit pressure.
Step 1: Find the right bit. If you’re struggling
with bit/control issues, first evaluate
your horse’s bit. I recommend Myler bits. To
determine which Myler bit is right for your
horse, click here to visit the Myler website.
Any sage horseman knows that a bit will
never fix a training problem — only training
Top Training�
By Julie Goodnight Photos by Heidi Nyland
Give to the Bit
Teach your horse to give to bit pressure and maintain a correct frame
with this innovative system from top trainer/clinician Julie Goodnight.
Click here for
details on how
to apply and
use the Goodnight
Bitting
System
FREE Online Subscription 12 Click Here Now!
Does your horse fight the
bit? Here, top trainer/
clinician Julie Goodnight
helps you teach your
horse to correctly respond
to bit pressure.
will. But the wrong bit can
certainly create a training
problem, and the bit may either
make the training highly
productive or a sad failure.
Step 2: Clear up cue confusion. Many
horses are simply confused regarding how
to respond to bit pressure (i.e., your rein
cues) and what will bring the release of
pressure. If your horse has spent years being
ridden in a resistant, hollowed frame,
he’s wrongly developed the muscles in his
neck, back, and abdomen. He’s developed
incorrect muscle memory and has engrained
inappropriate responses to cues.
Your horse may’ve learned that the wrong
thing brings bit-pressure relief: When he
tosses his head, there’s a momentary release
of pressure as his head comes back down;
when he stargazes, the bit rests on the
corners of his lips, not his tongue; when he
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