Q. My Paint gelding has an extremely hard mouth, and recently he’s been getting trained in dressage. Is there any way I can make his mouth softer at all?
A. Who, exactly, is training him for dressage? If it’s a reputable and knowledgeable dressage trainer, that person should have no problem softening your horse’s mouth through proper training techniques. A trainer will also be able to teach you how to apply the proper aids to keep his mouth responsive.
If, however, you are trying to do the training yourself, things may be somewhat more challenging, depending on your skill level as a trainer. Generally speaking, the fastest and most effective route to a softer and more responsive mouth is to use the mildest bit possible and do as little with it as possible. If your horse has already developed a steel mouth, I must assume he’s learned to stiffen his jaw against an overly-aggressive hand and ignore the discomfort in his mouth. A harsher bit or some of the head-setting training devices may cause him to become more responsive temporarily, but as soon as he develops a higher tolerance for the increased irritation in his mouth (which he WILL inevitably do), he’ll just be even more hard-mouthed than before.
The trick here is to take your horse’s focus off his mouth (and your hands) and onto your seat and leg cues instead. First, you will need to learn to use your seat and leg cues much more effectively and to replace many of your rein cues with them. Your horse can not harden against what is not there, so stop using your reins so much. Your seat and legs are far more efficient aids for requesting turns, halts, forward or lateral movements, etc. If you are unsure how to apply your seat and leg cues properly, I suggest you work with a riding instructor or trainer who can teach you the necessary techniques.
As soon as you are using your legs and seat properly, you can start softening your hands on the reins and putting your horse’s mind to work. Right now, he is clearly focused on resistance to your hands. It’s your job to give him something more productive on which to focus. The most effective exercises I’ve used are rapid transitions and lateral movements. These activities require both horse and rider to concentrate their mental and physical efforts on the task at hand. You will be amazed at how soft your horse will become in your hands when he takes his mind off fighting you and puts it on trying to figure out what your next request will be. To get some understanding of basic lateral exercises (leg yield, turn on the forehand, etc.) and rapid transition work,
I’ll refer you to the following URLs:
I hope these will help you get started reclaiming your horse’s mouth.