Lyle and the Bit

Dear Reader,

In the picture to the left, I am asking Lyle to yield to the bit and keep his head straight. In the picture to the right, I am asking Lyle to yield to the bit by moving his head to the side, but still keep it fairly vertical.

When I brought Lyle home from Phil's he would try to bite when the bit was put in his mouth. He did bite Phil several times. So today it was time to re-start Lyle with the bit again.

If I expect Lyle to trust me, then I MUST trust Lyle. So here as I am asking him to yield to the bit, I am holding my hand so that if he wished to he could easily bite me. Lyle made a decision to NOT bite me. But he needed to be able to decide what he wanted to do. That is why I took the risk.

In the left hand picture I am asking him to yield to the bit and to keep his head straight in front of his body at the same time. This is a difficult exercise for a green horse. But he was pleased to do it. At no time did Lyle throw his head up nor did he try to evade the bit. In the right hand picture I am asking him to yield to the side. Please note the he is holding his head fairly vertical and not at a angle. This head set indicates that he is giving me the start of a true yield.

Before I use the bit for riding, Lyle must be able to stay in gait, he must be able to give his neck with a nice bend in it and he must trust enough to yield his hind quarters when I ask. So there is still a long way to go. But a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

Thank you,

Penny Johnson

Kootenai Curly Horses

Bonners Ferry, Idaho