Principles to Keep Your Older Show Horses
Showing Strong and Honest

Including Common Cheats and How to Fix Them - Part 3

By Dana Hokana  

Last month we went over some common show ring cheats. This month I will help you to overcome a couple of problems that might not be as commonly recognized as cheats, but they are because they can affect the quality of your ride and really hurt your placing. 

Cheat #1

Your horse mouths the bit, gnashes his teeth, or opens his mouth. When a horse mouths the bit or opens his mouth, he is displaying his unhappiness loud and clear. This is often a sign of discomfort, stress, or resistance to the bit. I recommend you start by having your veterinarian or equine dentist check your horse’s teeth and make sure they don’t have any dental problems that could affect their comfort while carrying the bridle. Also check the bit and make sure there aren’t any sharp edges that could be hurting your horse. If you have ruled out the need for dental work and checked your bit and can’t find any reason for his mouth problems then we can go on to other possible causes for your horse’s unhappy mouth. I teach a lot on acceptance and willingness and a quiet happy mouth and head and neck position can show expression positively or negatively, so it is something worth working on and exploring in order to have the best ride and placing that you can have. I always try to keep my horses as happy and willing as I can but of course all horses have their own personality and expression and we need to be aware of that and keep them as happy as we can! Some horses will be more prone to open their mouths because they have an extremely shallow mouth and when the bit is in their mouth it does not give them a lot of “tongue release”. If your horse’s mouth seems shallow, use a bit that has a mouth piece that allows some room for his tongue without crowding or cramping it. Play with different bits and see if your horse is happier with one over the other. Bits with a straight mouthpiece or bits with high ports may aggravate this type of horse. I have found a low port light bit often keeps this type of horse happier. If you have experimented with different bits and still have a problem, I would look at the fact that he is lacking acceptance in the face and is showing it in the show ring. There are a lot of different opinions as to whether a person should ride with a caveson or noseband or not. I know many great horseman use them and I think they are great especially for reining and working horses when you need to really pull on a horse’s mouth. I personally don’t use them on my pleasure horse because I feel they may cover up resistance that I want to uncover and overcome. Early in my career I worked for a trainer who trained horses for the big west coast open shows. We rode and trained all our horses in a noseband until right before the class and many of our horses opened or gaped their mouth in the class. It was a big problem. There just didn’t seem to be any way to stop them. After I went out on my own I decided to try training without a noseband. It made my work a little harder because without that noseband they could brace or resist their jaw on me a little easier. But that is when I really learned the art of getting a horse to give in the poll, jaw and neck and get them really light in the face. I also found that a lot of these horses that had a problem opening their mouth were really showing their lack of acceptance to flexion and pressure and as I taught them to give and accept the pressure, especially with lateral flexion, the problem with opening their mouth just went away. For detailed help with these exercises refer back to my articles “How to Get a Horse Soft and Light in the Face.” But as a basic rule try this: every time you touch your horse’s face stay in contact until they give, not only in the face and neck, but also until you feel them get soft and light in the face. If your horse pulls or gets sticky in the face, it will often help to push him forward until he rounds up and gets soft and gives.

                The other common problem that could cause this is if someone has been too sharp or rough with their hands on your horse. Opening the mouth can be a learned behavior coming from being snatched or jerked many times with no warning. If every time your hands connect with your horse’s mouth it is a horrible experience for your horse, he can learn to show his stress or resistance by opening his mouth. I practice my pick up often, I go in and connect or pick up on my horse and I stay in until my horse feels soft and accepting of the cue and then I will release. I teach my riders that it is ok to bump or jerk your horse if you are already in contact with your horse’s mouth. That is fair play because he already knows you are there, but to snatch your horse out of mid-air is not fair play. Keeping a good mouth on your horse is sacred ground to me and he will hate or dread your hands if you hurt or snatch him with no warning. Draw up on your reins, connect with his mouth and then make your correction. Stay in until he gets soft and light and then release him. This way you are doing your part in making a good, quiet mouthed horse. 

Cheat #2

                Your horse either speeds up to get close to other horses in the show ring or he gets angry and afraid of the other horses and wants to rush away from them.

                Keep in mind that horses are herd animals and when horses are in a herd they have their own pecking or herd order. Some horses are pushy and bossy while other horses are naturally low on the pecking order. How a horse relates to other horses in the class can vary depending upon their own individual personalities and experiences that they have had in the pasture with other horses. The programming they received from their mother can have an impact on how they show around other horses. I have found that on the West Coast we often show in large outdoor arenas in classes that are not always real big. Our horses can get accustomed to traveling along the rail by themselves and when I take them back East to smaller arenas that are crowded they become uncomfortable in the traffic. I feel horses have to become conditioned to travel in traffic and this takes practice. Another problem that can be a cheat in the show ring is when your horse is going nicely on the rail and someone flies by you having problems and your horse may want to speed up or track with that horse. This can turn a winning ride into a losing ride in a big hurry! All of these problems can be fixed or improved with behavior conditioning with your horse. Get some people to ride with you and practice putting your horse in all of these situations. Try riding in a crowd with horses on either side of you and make your horse behave and maintain themselves exactly like they are in the show ring. Another tip to remember is when your horse acts up don’t over correct or terrorize your horse. Remember you are practicing behavior modification and you want a positive result. If your horse feels like he’s always in trouble he may react to the expected punishment even worse than the horses that are around him. Give him confidence around the horses while letting him know that he still has to behave and maintain his composure.

                Another problem that I have had is a horse that is afraid or angry at other horses because at some time he was run into by another horse and he is forced to feel protective or afraid. One of the most difficult instances I had to overcome was with a mare that had been run into right before a big show. After that when she got in a crowd she could hardly stand it. It took about six months and a lot of work to get her to forget about bad experience. I couldn’t punish her badly for reacting to the other horses or the punishment became so big in her mind that she was just a nervous wreck. I had to rebuild her confidence. My advice is to try your best to protect your horse from bad situations with other horses. Often it is out of your control, but ride mindfully at the shows and protect your horse as best you can. If I have a horse that wants to speed up or get hot when a horse passes him, I will sometimes just stop my horse and let him stand while people lope on by. I try to change up his routine and put him in different situations and I make sure I control the outcome. Be patient and hang in there as reprogramming something as strong as their herd instinct can take time, but stay with it until you get a breakthrough.

                 Good luck and stay with it. Keeping your long term show horse going or remaking a horse that cheats gives you a gratifying, satisfied feeling. It is worth the effort.