“My Horse Stretches in to The Buckle, But Then Locks His Jaw and Gets Heavy on The Forehand” - What Should I do?
Whether you are educating a young horse or re-schooling the poorly ridden horse, at some point or another you will likely come across this challenge.
Let's start from the beginning:
Many horses develop bracing or resistance patterns as soon as a saddle is placed upon their back. Knowledgeable trainers quickly teach the horse there is nothing to fear and educate the horse how to soften the jaw, lift the back under the saddle, and balance the rider above them. They work hard to maintain this education throughout the horse's formative years, because they have seen just how debilitated a poorly ridden horse can become.
Then there are others who mean well, but lack education. They may have great horsemanship skills or a good repoire around horses, but they do not know the importance of teaching the horse to work over their back. The horses with great conformation may be able to self-preserve over a lifetime, but the horses who lack natural ability will tolerate less than adequate posture for a number of years and then lameness or unsoundness issues will begin to present themselves. At this point, the horse is likely unsound in a certain gait going one direction, locks the jaw and pulls through everything except a really strong bit, refuses to respond to the rider's aids and instead resorts to rearing/bucking/ducking/spooking/rooting, and/or is said to need injections in order to stay sound.
Taking it back a step, when beginning this work with horses, we should ask ourselves, "What are the essentials this horse needs to know in order to have the best chance possible of carrying himself well wherever he goes?"
Here is the foundation of teaching a horse to stay soft in the mouth while stretching in to the bridle:
Teach the horse to understand that when the bit is gently slid across the tongue and lifted in to the corners of the mouth, it initiates relaxation. Mechanically speaking, we want to see the movement of the bit across the tongue encourage the horse to lick and chew, which creates mobility in the jaw.
In most cases, as soon as the horse licks and chews, you will see them exhibit some sort of release/relaxation behavior (licking and chewing, deep breath, head shaking, snorting, blow out through the nose, rubbing the face, etc) and then the horse should soften the muscles in their neck and seek the bit.
But what happens if the horse does not seek the bit? To teach him to do this, as soon as you notice the release/relaxation phase occurring, you soften the feel on the reins and give the horse room to release and relax further. I visualize this step as "opening the front door" so the horse can stretch even deeper longitudinally and really open the spine by creating space between each vertebrae. Liken it to the "down dog" pose in yoga.
Then, I tune in to the natural rhythm of the horse as I am walking beside them. As the barrel swings away from me, I gently touch the side of the horse with my wand, where my leg would naturally fall, to cue the horse to continue stepping forward actively in to the bridle, and to not be hesitant or afraid of the bridle. It is very important to cue correctly at this time, for this is the moment when the inside hind leg is getting ready to push off and can either take the same stride or can be encouraged to take a larger, more active stride.
When the horse is truly stepping up and under their center of gravity more actively, they will usually deepen the stretch in their neck and continue to exhibit their release/relaxation cues. Then I begin this whole process all over again, and each time, if the horse is legitimately opening more longitudinally, the posture will become longer and deeper until their nose is almost touching the ground, and the horse's body looks buoyant in movement.
In my mind, I continuously say, "Slide, give, tap, reconnect. Slide, give, tap, reconnect." This sequence encourages me to continuously seek further release and relaxation, which of course, is the bottom most tier of the training scale in dressage and should be the most important part of training, above all else.
Once the jaw is mobile and dynamic, we should start to see release in additional junctions of the body - the sternum, pelvis, stifles and hocks. We will see the horse step under further with the hindquarters, engage the abdominals, lift through the withers, and lastly come up and over the back. The ribs will lift and expand as the back becomes fuller.
And finally, when you observe the horse's walk after doing this work, they should be actively seeking the bit, breathing deeply and openly without stress, and the walk should appear to have spring to it.
It is wise to really observe the walk on the ground and become quite familiar with what you see. Learn how your horse processes your cues and what their typical release/relaxation responses are. Memorize the difference between a stiff walk and the walk where your horse is actively working through their body and completely relaxed and comfortable.
Then, the key is to recreate this walk under saddle.
Once you reach this point, your role needs to be not only one of the trainer but also one of the observer. Ask yourself if your horse appears to be moving the same under saddle as he did without the saddle on his back. If you notice any changes, chances are the saddle is ill-fitting and prohibiting your horse from properly moving and working over his back. Even if you think the saddle is fitting correctly, some horses need more room than you would think under the saddle for the ribs to lift and expand with every stride.
When horses begin to move and be ridden in relaxation, muscles will quickly change and develop in positive ways. The horse will become stronger physically and mentally. The withers will usually grow taller as the back also fills in and lifts. For these reasons, it is important to stay on top of saddle fit, and if you notice a shift in behavior or movement, have the saddle re-evaluated and potentially refitted as soon as possible. If you fear the saddle is causing issues and you cannot get a fitter to you quickly, focus on doing groundwork only until the problem is resolved. You will build more muscle with proper groundwork than you will by forcing your horse to work in a saddle that does not fit properly.
Happy Riding!
