Second, wonderful to hear from another God-fearing believer! The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Now, your horse. Your instinct is correct, the horse that has trouble getting the hindquarters underneath can have more than one problem. Horses can have physical issues and mental issues, and obviously the two can intertwine. It’s difficult for me to offer too much specific advice, without seeing the horse and rider in person. However, I will try. I’m going to ask a few questions, in an effort to be helpful.

Has this horse been in traditional dressage training?
Is this horse well balanced in conformation?
Is he well balanced moving at liberty in all three gaits?
At liberty, does this horse rush forward? When?
Can this horse be ridden on a loose rein? In all three gaits? If not, what happens?
At the walk, can the horse move from walking forward to backing, without stopping?

That’s probably enough for us to start a conversation.

In general, with horses that are having trouble, it works best for me if I simplify and break it down for the horse, going back to something basic. For example: walking forward, on a loose rein, then with contact, and again, releasing the horse to walk again on a loose rein. I try to hone in on the horse’s response to each transition. Going from a loose rein and contact is also a transistion, underestimated by many riders. That may sound terribly basic, but there’s no sense practicing something faster that isn’t working. If contact is understood by the horse at the walk, I will add in backing (at the walk). I will increase the difficulty, moving on (for instance, up to walk/trot transistions) until I find the spot where the trouble creeps in. It’s usually much earlier (at a simpler level), than I think.

If you are willing to try that, let me know how it goes. We can discuss it. I’m honored you trusted me enough to ask.

Thank you for writing,
Betty

Once a horse starts grinding their teeth, it takes patience to solve. Some horses will even grind their teeth when standing still. These may be the easiest horses to help. There is a method, where the rider (sitting in the saddle) runs their fingers up the horse’s windpipe (against the grain of the hair, on both sides). Use enough pressure to get the horse’s attention, but not so much pressure to be painful. When the horse focuses on the rider’s fingers (on the windpipe), the horse’s mouth will become quiet. Release. This can reach the point that simply laying the rider’s fingers on the horse’s neck signals the horse to be quiet. It truly works.

The other issue may be that the horse doesn’t understand that the bit means to move her feet (not her teeth). Check this out. Reach for one side of the bit, hold with enough pressure to encourage the horse to move (uncomfortable to stand there and ignore the rider). When the horse moves a foot, any foot, release. The horse will get the idea that moving the feet, not the teeth brings a release from pressure.

You may also have to take the caveson off, entirely. Some horses expect trouble, as long as they feel the caveson around their face.

Those are a couple of my first ideas. Let me know how it goes, Cassie.
-Betty

I have gone from riding with a very tight cavesson and drop noseband to no drop and a loose cavesson. She is still opening her mouth and grinding her teeth when I pick up on the bit (even just to take a soft feel) Do you have any suggestions?

My cue for piaffe is more feel, than cue. With my mind and my body, I feel through the horse all the way to their feet (which are “my feet” according to Ray Hunt). I ask for trot through my body posture and by taking up the trot rhythm. This is subtle. Almost simultaneously, I ask the horse to trot and “wait.” The greener the horse, the more forward and/or sideways, I allow the horse to move. This gives the horse a place to go and prevents the horse from feeling trapped. It’s useful for me to think about using my own body and the horse’s body as one unit. On your own feet, think about the difference between jogging forward, jogging backward, and jogging in place. The horse has the same ability. They can trot (jog) forward. That’s obvious. Backing is also a trot (synchronized, diagonal leg movement backward). Traditionally, piaffe is considered a forward move. That’s where half steps come in. However, the goal is trotting on the spot. Have fun!
-Betty

Simplified, piaffe is a trot in place. When the horse understands that the rein is attached to the feet, to move forward or back at the rider’s direction, the rider can ask the horse to put out more effort, to trot, while waiting on the rider (staying in place). There is a short demo of a young horse learning to piaffe on the previous video (Emulating Ray, part one). At the end of that video, Jemima is taking half steps, a precursor to piaffe. Like so many movements, piaffe is taught in a progressive fashion. However, horses can learn the concept, very early in their education. In fact, as opposed to today’s dressage show definition which makes piaffe a climax of training, piaffe is a training tool.

My explanation may be elusive. I’m happy to talk about it more.
-Betty