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I have an aged QH who is trained wonderfully with a shanked bit/curb chain, stops with very little pressure, direct or neck reins and is usually soft and goes round in it. It is just a plain, low port curb. I have tried riding him in a snaffle but he does not seem to understand what it is all about and the pressure it has on his mouth. He does not chew at all in the western bit and I can't get him to chew the snaffle because if I try to play with the bit at all, he stops because its pressure, or he resists because he's confused. Not sure, if the bit was too fat (regular eggbutt) because he is used to thinner curbs or what. The reason I want to work in a snaffle is to work on bending when I am in the arena (I mostly trail ride). He's very stiff and I think it would help his lateral flexion more than a direct rein on the curb (which he does respond to), but I've never come across this before so any suggestions would be helpful.

To get your horse to direct rein in the snaffle bit you could start by treating him like a green horse that does not know what a bit is for. Keep your hands wide when you ask him to lead into a turn. Give him time to respond to the feel of the bit and reins and do not try to pull his head around. You can also use your inside leg to gently bump his rib, which will help arc his body into the turn. As he starts to follow the feel of the direct rein, you can move your hands closer together. Keep in mind that as an older horse he will be less willing to learn. Older horses, like humans, get set in their ways and may resist change. You can teach an old horse a new trick it will just take more time to teach less. To quote Ray Hunt "horses learn what they live and live what they learn".

If you are working on lateral flexion while he does not understand direct reining you are trying to teach two things at once. This may be too much for him to think about. Concentrate on getting him comfortable in the snaffle bit, then you can move on to bending.

Some horses do not like snaffle bits. The snaffle works by pinching the tongue, and collapsing on the bars of the horse's mouth. If you are riding with constant contact the horse's bars and tongue are being pinched and could cause your horse to resist. Most horses will work in a snaffle bit so he may just need some time to adjust.

Will Clinging 2004 (c)

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