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Personal essays, training advice, creative non-fiction, and poetry— a little bit of every genre as a space for sharing, musing, and feeling.

Annemieke Buis Annemieke Buis

Education to the Bit

I do not bridle my horses; my horses bridle themselves. This isn’t just some party trick I teach them for show– my process and practice of teaching horses to self-bridle is part of education to the bit, as well as a means of checking in to see how they’re feeling and asking permission to work off of the bridle in hand and/or under saddle. Part 1 of this Education to the Bit post is all about teaching horses to self-bridle. Part 2 goes through next steps of educating a horse to the bit so that nothing they feel under saddle is a surprise or a question to them!

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