Behind the Bit
This is also called “over-bending,” “over-flexing,” or “over-collecting.” All of these terms mean the same thing. A horse is behind the bit whenever his face comes past the vertical. That is, rather than pointing his nose straight down to the ground, the horse begins to point it back towards his chest.
To the rider, the horse seems to disappear every time she tries to use the reins. He is quite literally backing off from any hint of contact by bowing his neck, dropping his nose, and pulling closer and closer to his chest. He successfully avoids all rein pressure by rolling himself up into a ball and burying his nose somewhere between his chest and his knees.
As a result, the horse that is behind the bit loses forward drive. It’s all but impossible to get him to move out in this position and he tends to get slower and slower. Very often he gets “stuck” and can hardly be made to move at all. He usually backs up very easily, however, and in some cases will begin rearing.
The worst problem with a horse being behind the bit is that so often the rider does not recognize it as a fault. The very low head carriage, the big arch in the neck, and the extremely light feel on the reins can fool her into thinking that her horse is now properly collected.
Nothing could be further from the truth. He is heavily on his front end and can feel no signals from the reins.
Devices intended to produce a low or “flexed” head carriage almost always produce an over-bent horse instead. Draw reins are particularly hazardous in this regard, since they have enough leverage to allow any rider to force a horse’s head just as low as she thinks she wants it. Long-shanked curbs with tight straps or chains can have the same effect, especially when used with a short running martingale.
Remember that getting behind the bit is an evasion. The horse has learned to avoid the rider’s hands or the device’s severity by ducking down low enough to escape their effects. He has learned nothing about collection or proper flexion, only evasion.
Small, compact horses with relatively short necks and backs are prime candidates for learning to get behind the bit, especially if there is any lack of forward drive. With such a horse, the problem is almost certain to appear if any heavy-handed training methods or devices are used.
To cure the over-bent horse, the rider must first educate herself on what a properly collected horse looks like from the ground and feels like from the saddle.
If her own behind-the-bit horse is the only one she normally rides, she should arrange for a lesson on a horse that does take proper contact. Such a comparison can open the door to understanding her own horse’s faults and learning how he should actually feel.
The first thing to do with an over-bent horse is get him to stretch his neck and move out. All draw reins, running martingales and leverage bits must be removed.
A large heavy snaffle is the ideal bit to use for this correction, because its big smooth surface is comfortable for the horse (he won’t be afraid to move into it) and it has no leverage to pull his nose down.
The rider will encourage her horse to go forward with a long, steady stride and will work him on a long rein. This means that the reins are taken up only enough to remove the slack and give the rider just the lightest feel of the horse’s mouth.
If the horse gets a little too high or too fast, the rider will not worry about it at this stage. Once the horse is moving forward with a good long stride and is no longer over-bent, he can be carefully slowed and his nose tipped back down with a mild, short-shanked curb.
Riders who show their horses in a double bridle can keep in mind that the snaffle should raise not just the head, but also the neck. The snaffle, thus, prevents the horse from getting too low while the curb does the work of tucking the nose.