A lack of knowledge often leads riders to believe that a bigger bit is what is needed to control their horse, when what is really needed is a bit of knowledge.
Becoming involved with horses invariably brings one face to face with an approach to horsemanship I like to call The Bigger Bit Theory.
The bigger bit theory is symptomatic of the way our culture tends to approach life. We’ve been taught that every problem has a mechanical, mathematical, or logical solution. But, life is not so easily contained in our conceptual frames.
Riders who merely dabble in horsemanship will treat a horse something like a car – step on the gas to go and stomp on the brakes to stop. If the car doesn’t go or stop, logically, something is mechanically wrong. That’s true for cars but not for horses.
Unfortunately, the extent of a rider’s education is often nothing more than “kick to go and pull to stop”. When the “brakes” wear out, in other words the horse no longer responds to the bit, the rider is off to the tack store to buy a bigger and more severe bit.
That usually works for awhile, shocking the horse into painful submission until the rider dulls the horse to that bit as well, wears out the brakes again, and returns to the tack store for an even more intimidating and painful device to stop the horse.
Any mental box we put ourselves in traps our thinking in myriads of ways. We go to clinics and take lessons from riding instructors so we can learn the correct buttons to push to make our horse do things. We ask honest questions like “how do I cue my horse to go forward?” There is nothing wrong with the question as long as you realize there is no real forward button on your horse!
The focus needs to change from learning cues to learning communication. It’s not about which buttons will make my horse do what I want him to, but how do I communicate with my horse in a way he understands? There is a subtle but important difference.
When communicating you position your body in ways that help your horse do what you need him to do. When “cueing” your horse you are inevitably reduced to poking, prodding, and pulling in efforts to shove his body around.
Remember:
- It’s about communication and feel, not which button does what, so
- Don’t get caught up in The Bigger Bit or Button Pushing theories, because
- Horses are thinking, feeling, decision making animals deserving of our respect.
