Jen has been riding with me occasionally for a couple of years when she can sneak away from home for a whole afternoon because she lives quite a ways away. She and her adorable Welsh pony, Connor, have been working hard on improving his acceptance of the contact but seemingly, out of nowhere, he began gaping his mouth wide open, crossing his jaw, twisting his tongue and flipping it over the bit, no matter what bit she tried. This is a very disconcerting feeling for both rider and horse (and pony) when their tongue is no longer under the bit in a comfortable position.

Jen brought him to me for training this fall; helping him work through this mouth issue was our first order of business. I rode him in his normal Micklem bridle and Turtle Tactio Boucher bit the first day to establish his baseline. Based on my observations from the first day, I decided to switch him to a drop noseband the second day, because some horses are just more comfortable in a traditional drop, rather than the higher up caveson (even the Micklem style). I was pleasantly surprised that the drop noseband greatly reduced his jaw crossing and gaping and he carried the bit comfortably with softly closed lips for more than half the ride. The third day, I switched to a Dr. Cook's bitless bridle to see how much of the mouth/tongue movement was due to anxiety versus the presence of a bit. I was not surprised to see him still moving his jaw and tongue, just dramatically less than the day before, because I'd become fairly certain the mouth issue was anxiety-driven. The fourth day, Jen rode him in a lesson in the drop noseband and his Boucher bit.

We were both stunned at how very quiet he was in his mouth through the entire ride. He kept his lips softly closed around the bit, his neck was correctly "falling down from the withers" instead of being held up in a short, braced position, and his back and hips were finally truly swinging! Wow, I can't imagine a more dramatic change than what he did over those four rides. I often grab my bitless bridle when I get a horse in with complicated contact because it simplifies everything.

I am always amazed by how specific horses are about their equipment preferences. Thankfully, as a trainer, I have many options to try. The comfort of a horse's tack is as important as the comfort of your shoes and clothing. Jen did the right thing by trying everything she had, then sending him to someone who has even more tools was the perfect next step.