Does Your Horse Have a Hard Mouth or Hard Mind?

Most people who are involved with horses have at some point ridden a horse with a “hard mouth.” There is a lot of advice and equipment designed to deal with this problem but understanding how the mouth became hard would be more help than a stronger bit. Strong hands, improper equipment, neglected dental care, and possible injuries to the mouth could all play a role. I believe that there is no such thing as a hard mouthed horse; they are “hard minded” horses.

The first thing to consider is that the horse is only half of the equation. If we are hard with our hands the horse has no choice but to become used to too much pressure on his mouth. This will not only hurt his mouth but it will dull his mind. For example, if you always pull with all your might to make your horse stop you will teach him that anything less does not mean stop. You have established a minimum amount of necessary pressure. Over time your horse will get so dull that you cannot pull hard enough to stop him. It is because you have set the minimum so high that he gets harder. Eventually you will need a stronger piece of equipment to even get his attention. It is not pulling hard that is the real problem; it is pulling hard constantly that will teach him to get “hard minded.”

The equipment we use is designed to cause pain or discomfort to force the horse to respond to a pull. Too often the hands that are using that equipment are not well enough trained to use it properly. The horse can only show its discomfort in so many ways. He can open his mouth — so we tie it shut. He can throw his head up — so we tie it down. He can lean on the bit — so we lean back on the bit. Every form of evasion is met with a form of punishment; all we need to do is back up to find the cause of the resistance. If your horse does not fuss with his bit when you are not pulling then you are possibly the cause of his stress. If he constantly chews on the bit maybe he does not like your choice of equipment. Just because you like a snaffle bit does not mean that he likes it.

If his teeth are in need of work his jaw may not be moving properly. His jaw