Diary Post #156

Good Morning,

YES…I am very excited to have my CA visitors stop by and see me this weekend. Thank you for mentioning this in your responses. I am sure that JOHN will take many photos. I know he’ll be delighted to share them with you! As you may know, he loves photography!

Yesterday, when we talked about the REINS…(and yes…all of those terms you noted do fit Mike Smith’s basic concept)…John mentioned the REINS ARE THE PRIMARY WAY A RIDER COMMUNICATES WITH THE HORSE.

In conjunction with this, John wanted me to add that “HORSES HAVE A WAY TO COMMUNICATE BACK TO THE RIDER…AND THAT IS THROUGH THE BIT! It is ALL ABOUT A HORSE HAVING A HAPPY RESPONSIVE MOUTH.” In RACING, almost ALL of the communication by the rider is through the reins and the bit. The rider’s legs are not as important in giving the horse clues as it is when dealing with riding other breeds of horses. This is because the jockey spends so much time in a crouching position. The hands and touch on the reins holds great significance.

Thus, it is a very interesting dynamic…RIDERS/REINS and HORSES/BITS. The way a horse communicates back to rider through the BIT is how he/she holds the bit in the mouth: tightly, loosely, or on one side or the other. The rider must pay close attention to ‘how the horse is playing with the bit and responds to it”. This is very important.

There are many different types of bits. To name just a few, there are ring bits, snaffle (D-Bits) and leather prong bits. Perhaps if you have time, go to a tack shop one day and just look at the variety available. How a different BIT is selected for the horse depends on the horse, the horse’s response to the bit, and the type of message that needs to be developed through this communication. The trainer makes this decision while working with the horse.

Per John, the trick is for a trainer to find the bit that is most comfortable for the horse. It must be one the horse likes and responds to well when training and racing. The bottom-line is that the horse learns his/her lessons and responds to the equipment when asked by the rider…relax, change gears or pick-up speed.

A horse’s mouth is very sensitive and plays an important part in the ROLE of the BIT. Horses have dentists who check their teeth often…for general health reasons and also to be sure this equipment fits comfortably in their mouths. My dentist, Sonny Wilson, would check my teeth quite a bit. Horses’ teeth can develop sharp edges due to the fact that when they eat, they grind their teeth back and forth. Sonny would FLOAT (file) my teeth when needed. This was approximately every 3 months. He’d do this to be sure the sharp edges were taken care of properly and to be sure my mouth was comfortable.

As illustrated in the photo, I wore a K-K Snaffle Bit with a Roller. You can see the roller in the middle. It has 2 joints in it which added to my comfort. The K-K part simply notes that a special company made this bit and a metal alloy was used in the product that was really nice in my mouth.

It was also very important for ME to keep my tongue under the bit while racing for breathing purposes. (This is true for all horses.) Thus, per John, the roller in the middle of it also acted like a bit of a ‘pacifier’ for me. I would PLAY WITH IT while it was in my mouth and it would also kind of amuse me to do this. BUT, AT ALL TIMES, I also knew to respect the BIT and BE RESPONSIVE to it. I clearly understood all of the different messages Mike and Steve were giving me and what they were asking me to do…and I responded to them. They, in turn, did the same for me! We had GREAT COMMUNICATION!

Communication, as you know, is so important…on so many levels!

Off to play!

With Love,
Hugs to ALL~
Z