Q. I tried an eggbutt with a copper roller on my school pony the other day. He did SO good! He was salivating, but he did not play with the roller. He chewed it a little when I first put it in, but now he doesn’t. That’s what I’m worried about. Even with the roller, he doesn’t mouth it or anything. Is this a problem? Should he chew at it? I think I’m going to ask my trainer if I can use it all the time. But, it’s sort of cheating in a way – using the copper to get him to accept the bit. I consider the copper roller cheating because instead of making the horse “on the bit” to salivate, you’re using copper.
How do I get him to accept the bit and lower his head? Do I lighten contact on the reins and turn and stuff without reins? I ride in a BIG field with no holes. Anyway, if I loosen the reins, he’ll try eating! Tomorrow, my friend will be up, and we’re going to lunge him with double reins.
A. I don’t know why you consider the copper roller to be cheating. Trainers frequently change bits to find the one that works best on a particular animal. Some horses work well in the same bit forever, while others respond better to having their bits varied from time to time. The object here is to create a soft, responsive mouth, and such mouths are usually associated with moistness which the copper will help promote. You don’t necessarily want this pony to get mouthy with the bit; you just want him to accept it responsively and not harden against it. If he chews the bit a little, it’s nothing to worry about unless he starts doing it excessively and constantly. If his mouth was dry and unresponsive before, it’s definitely encouraging that he’s becoming more actively responsive to that thing in his mouth.
You’re on the right track with your idea of using your legs to inspire this pony to become softer through the reins. That’s exactly how I would approach it. But I wouldn’t lengthen the reins to the point where I lose contact. I’d just soften the rein contact a bit and drive him into my hands with my legs and seat. I’m particularly big on lateral exercises. Use lots of leg yields, turns on the forehand, and shoulder-ins. Check out the following link for specific ideas.
When you said you were going to lunge the pony with double reins, I assume you meant you were going to long rein/ground drive him. Make sure you know exactly what you’re doing before you attempt this. The extra length of long lines attached directly to the bit puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the horse’s mouth – MUCH more than riding-length reins. You could severely damage this pony’s mouth if you aren’t extremely careful in how you apply long reins.