Thoroughbred Logic, Presented by Kentucky Performance Products: Ditch the Bigger Bit; Target the Hind End

“A strong-in-the-bridle horse who seems to lean down and aim to go fast without being asked to do so may be one who cannot balance and sit well/comfortably.”

Welcome to the next installment of Thoroughbred Logic. In this weekly series, Anthropologist and trainer Aubrey Graham, of Kivu Sport Horses, offers insight and training experience when it comes to working with Thoroughbreds (although much will apply to all breeds). This week ride along as Aubrey shares her logic on trust when it comes to which bits she uses and why.

I joke that I am a three bit trainer. If I have to explain the mutation of the idiom there, please know that you’re definitely not old. The joke is of course that I don’t think our services are low quality, but that, in general, I train with three different bits. That’s about it.

For the most part, those are also the same bits that I run horses cross country in. Yep — easy going snaffles. I have talked about bits before in various places. My three go-tos are, in order of decreasing gentleness (though all are gentle): Herm Sprenger Duo Eggbutt, Fager Michael Fixed Ring, Herm Sprenger KK Loose ring.

Datesfreedom featured here with the Fager Michael Fixed Ring. Photo by Kristen Drew.

Each bit does something a little different:

• the duo flexes with their mouth and many love the soft rubber
• the Fager is a narrower mouth piece with equally small lozenge that does not flex past a correct anatomical shape
• the KK provides enough movement on the rings that when a horse leans, the bit moves with them and encourages correct carriage over getting heavy and low

Every trainer is going to have their bit preference — something that they can stand on their soapbox and say that their Thoroughbreds love. And that’s cool. So long as the horse and rider are happy, that’s really all that matters.

Magic (Mr. Magico) prefers the Herm Sprenger KK. Photo by Lily Drew.

But, I hear a lot of discussion about “bitting up” as folks get outside of the arena or move from doing basic flat work during the first handful of rides to jumping. Certainly, there are a ton of folks who simply educate their horses well, have sound, happy mounts and never feel the need for more hardware. And sure, sometimes there are horses who are simply A LOT when they get on XC and as they run up the levels need more brakes – that’s totally fine.

But for some there may be a relationship between a horse being “strong” (in the bridle) and a horse being weak or sore (in their hind end) that needs to be considered. I see this a lot with green Thoroughbreds who have let down from the track, got going under saddle, but have not yet gotten to peak Sporthorses fitness.  Being that the weather is finally perfect and we’re riding all the green beans outside, I’m getting a good sense of which of my herd is capable and balanced, who is weak, and who might need some maintenance to feel better.

Scooter (Star of the Beast) has been lovely and almost surprisingly sound and balanced out in the not-perfectly-level grass arena. Photo by Lily Drew.

The theoretical equation is simple:

• To go slow but in front of the leg, a horse must have their balance
• To balance they must be able to sit through their hind end and place their feet and joints under them comfortably
• The more terrain they are asked to manage while staying rhythmic and slow, the more flexible “sit” ability they need. And that ‘sit,’ that demands core and hind end strength and comfort in their joints.

A strong-in-the-bridle horse who seems to lean down and aim to go fast without being asked to do so may be one who cannot balance and sit well/comfortably. They may not be physically muscled up enough to do so, or it may hurt to try.

Magic demonstrating that needed “sit” on xc. Photo by Lily Drew.

This type of horse might be great in an arena — even footing, flat surface, balanced turns. But if you bring them outside in the fields and hills and uneven ground, they get fractious, strong, and fast. Sometimes folks will write off the behavior to “just being a Thoroughbred.” But such assumptions may cause riders to miss that the horse may be communicating something about how hard it is for them to do the job asked.

Dates being lovely and balanced in the arena at Asbury Equestrian for the Keeping it Casual Show. Photo by Kristen Drew.

Speed and leaning forward on their forehand allows them to kick their hind end out behind them and take the pressure off of it. Being fractious and spooky does similarly. Those head tosses, acrobatics and jumps are often about avoidance — and that avoidance is often of using the hind end. It’s the same if they go fast; then they can use speed for balance instead of having to sit and use their back end and core to balance up and slow down.*

Conveniently Dates is also balanced and willing up and down hills letting me know that his hind end is pretty happy. Photo by Kristen Drew.

*I’m not saying that any horse who wants to literally kick up their heels and have a little fun in a field is facing weakness or a a need for maintenance. Of course not. But horses who regularly struggle with this with riders who feel they need to add a bigger bit … now they are a different story.

So coming full circle there, if one is to “bit up” a horse who is fast or fractious when they are trying to hack outside, or fast to the jumps, a rider ends up trying to control the front half of the horse when the “problem” is likely coming from the hind end. The additional hardware usually just creates a more stressed situation where a horse runs hollow or jumps around more, as opposed to learning to use their hind end.

Hennessy (Johnny Bootleggs) is a ridiculously lovely horse who does need his hind end assessed. The need for maintenance makes him a bit more fractious in the field and requires a rider to be extremely quiet while staying effective. Photo by Lily Drew.

Instead of a bigger bit, I tend to find the solutions in two different places: Intentional strength building and veterinary intervention.

The first is easy — walk and trot hills, do tons of walk-to-trot trot-to-walk transitions, walk and trot ground poles and raised poles, and spend time riding in front of the leg, round, and quiet. Building strength is critical to all of this. The stronger they are, the more capable they are of the ask, and therefore the happier they are to try to get the answer right instead of speeding away in any given direction. Sometimes simply getting them stronger is enough.

Taxi (Price of Peace) has been building his strength back up after minor surgery. Turns out he’s pretty darn fancy. Photo by Lily Drew.

The second option — veterinary intervention — is never mutually exclusive to strength building. Sometimes, the hind hoof angles desperately need to be brought up towards neutral/positive (whole article on that here: The Critical Art of Hoof Angles). For some horses, even often young horses off the track, there might be a need for better living through chemistry.

I’m not opposed to flexing the horse, grabbing rads if you can, and starting with the easy steroid injections (though the world of biologics and hydrogels opens up options in any number of directions). Always work with your vet to determine which is the best option for the joints in question and your budget, of course. Injections take a little time to kick in, and as they do, increasing strength building exercises simply leads to a stronger (aka more capable, not stronger in the bridle), happier horse. No bigger bit needed.

Enzo (Midnight Trouble) is one of my RRP Makeover horses for this year and while he’s happy and sound in a field now, I’m not ruling out that he might need hind end maintenance in the future. Photo by Lily Drew.

I could pull any numbers of examples from the barn, but Magic (Mr. Magico) makes an easy one. Magic is a 12-year-old warhorse who ran 56 times and brought in just over $100K for his connections. In short, his story is this: This talented little horse (OK, he’s 16-hands, but still smaller than most of mine) retired from racing in 2023 after running for eight years. He sold to a rehomer, then to a dressage rider. He spent some time learning to collect in the sand box and then came to me on consignment last year. I trained him over fences for a few months and sold to a fox hunter. While I thought he’d love the job, he had other ideas. A little over a month ago, he came back — this time, he’s mine (though still for sale) and my goal is to get him out eventing.

Magic schooling Novice at GVRDC this past weekend. Photo by Lily Drew.

I was happy to have him back in the barn; I quite like that overgrown pony. Magic has always been on the “stronger” side. He has a speedy walk and if you ask him to sit by using not enough leg and seat and a little too much hand, he will lean into you and pull down while accelerating. It’s not so bad at the walk, but I feel for folks at the canter if they aren’t used to half halts that don’t originate in the hand. Pull and he’ll feel like he has no brakes. They are there, they’re just not in your hand (leg to seat half halts bring him back every time).

Apparently I get along with all the weirdos. Good kid, Magic. Photo by Lily Drew.

Part of the challenge is simply that Magic isn’t for everyone. He is opinionated and, like a lot of Thoroughbreds, he chooses who he will work with and who he’d rather not bother to try. The other part of the challenge is his hind end. That speed and no-brake feeling isn’t a question of if we have enough bit in his mouth or if he needs an elevator or not. Rather, it is a question of “can he get his hind end where he needs to comfortably to be able to sit to slow?”

Magic is currently pinging over everything in front of him (including this Novice ditch) with aplomb. I’ll take it. Photo by Lily Drew.

Magic is really quite straight through his hind end, which puts a lot of ware and tear on his hocks. And so when he came back, and I jumped him and felt like he needed the long spot to be happy (aka not put his hocks under him and flex) and when he started to rush a little to the fences and was stronger at the trot outside over varied terrain, I didn’t get the bigger bit. I planned a conditioning schedule and called the vet.

Magic when he came back to us in early May. Photo by Lily Drew.

The vet flexed him, and as expected he was moderately sore to his upper limb flexions. An easy set of hock injections and a little bit of time for them to kick in while we condition and get him fit, and I feel like I have a new horse. I took him out XC schooling at the Genessee Valley Riding and Driving Club course last week and the kid was balanced and waited to every fence. He bravely hopped over everything (ditches, banks, water, Novice fences) from an easy trot or canter in the KK. No rushing, no racing, no pulling down and through me, and no inability to listen to half halts. Hell yeah. Good boy.

And now as we head towards his first full horse trial in Vermont next week, we’ll keep up the strength training to make sure he’s as ready and comfortable as he can be to bee bop around Beginner Novice. Now that his hind end feels great, the world is this horse’s oyster.

Fence up a hill out of the water? Easy-peasy. Photo by Lily Drew.

So to close a long article: If you feel yourself leaning towards needing a bigger bit for pretty routine things, avoid the “must just be a Thoroughbred/race horse thing” and check in with a trainer and maybe a vet. Often by sorting out their hind end, the difference from where they start to where they end up is literally night and day; and frankly, it brings a measurable difference in the desired MPH they need to go to feel comfortable.

Go ride folks and enjoy the good weather while it lasts!

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