Bit vs Bitless and moving plans

Practicing for Canada with our Arctic Riding Skirt!

In the midst of moving preparations I am trying to ride frequently.  We are moving to Ontario at the beginning of the year.  The horses will go up first and stay at a layover boarding facility in upstate NY near the border for about a week while we move and 'land' as Canadian permanent residents. Then we will pick them up and take them to their new home at Cayuse Creek Ranch (www.gannydistancerides.com).  The process of moving the horses isn't too bad. They have to have a negative coggins within 6 months and international health certificates within 30 days of import. The complicated part is that the health certificates have to be endorsed by a Federal Veterinarian then over-nighted back to me.  I am intending to start Gastrogard a few days prior to transport and during the layover to help prevent any ulcers developing during a stressful time.  They will have grass/alfalfa mix and hydration hay in front of them during travel. We are also planning to stop about 1/2-way to the layover facility in NY and hopefully unload the horses for about 30 min to rest/eat/drink/etc while we have picnic lunch.  The trip to NY should take 8-9 hrs depending on how many stops or how slow we go. This will be my first time hauling my horses for such a long distance (5-6 hrs is about the most I have taken them). Also as part of the move, my horse trailer is off being serviced to make sure everything is good-to-go for the trip (wheel bearings packed/grease, all lights working, emergency brake battery charged, etc) and it is getting washed (wow!!) and I will be going home with some color-matched touch-up spray paint to clean up all those dings the horses have left over the years. It will seem like new!

Since my horse trailer is in the shop I have been riding at home. Jamie and her blog (https://greento100.com) have re-inspired me to focus on my relationship a little more and it has been great.  Rogan trotted to me in the field yesterday and today Sonny left Rogan (who was flat out asleep) and came in to me as well (awesome!!!!). I have also been returning to some online ground play with Sonny such as stick-to-me and obstacles.  It is fun to have more 'time' with the horses than when focused on conditioning.  There is only some much 'time' in life and when doing endurance it is a balance between relationship, dressage, and conditioning (at least for me!).  During the 'off' season the balance definitely returns to relationship and dressage (though I try to maintain some balance year-round, going for trail rides in the winter and arena time in the summer).

Over the past few months I have been introducing the bit to Sonny. He has never worn a bit before. I introduced it slowly, teaching him to reach toward it initially. When he bumped it with his nose/mouth I gave him a treat. He progressed very quickly to reaching to the bit and taking it in his mouth (and receiving a treat). I would just take it on/off several times and be done.  As the days got darker I added in teaching him,  first "Cession de Machoire" (mobilising the tongue and lower jaw in response to slight lifting of the bit in the mouth). This quickly progressed to "Demi-arret" and "Descente de main" which involves the upwards action of the hand with the slightest backward action, causing the horse to rebalance by lifting his head/neck and lightening the contact, this is followed by a release stretching the head/neck forwards and down (see Philippe Karl's books).  We then added lateral flexion to this next (rebalance by lifting the head/neck, mobilize the jaw and bend to the left/right, followed by a release stretching forwards and down).  I will try to get a video of this so it is easier to understand, much harder to explain in words than in a video! I left it at that for a quite a while as I didn't really have any desire or need to ride with a bit.  Lately however I have noticed that there are times Sonny is just a little tense and I didn't have really good communication to help him release his jaw (ie he clenches his jaw when tense and when he mobilises his jaw it tends to cause relaxation).   The bitless bridle certainly allows him move his jaw, but I couldn't communicate when I specifically would like him to do so.  So I decided to try riding with the bit as it is the only tool I have found that can directly influence the mouth.  And just FYI, the bit I am using is a Myler D-ring comfort snaffle because that is the bit I already own :)
**EDIT** HERE IS A VIDEO:  (and to clarify, the eventual goal is to slightly touch a rein while riding and have Sonny rebalance and telescope his neck forward to the contact)

I spent the first ride going very slowly and only working on teaching what the bit means, no new stuff, nothing fast, only walking.  I asked for the "Descente de main" while mounted at a standstill.  Then at a walk. Just taking contact, asking for a lift of the head/neck and mobilisation of the jaw, then taking the bit and stretching forward and down.  When the horse understands softly taking the bit forward it helps prevent over-flexion and anxiety about mouth pressure -- I am trying to teach the horse what the bit means and how to respond to pressure -- no pointless pulling!  Sonny got this really well and I think he has never been so relaxed while ridden, every time he stretched forward and down he wanted to keep it and continue to walk completely relaxed and on the buckle.  When the cats rustled in the bushes and he tensed in alarm, I just lightly and persistently asked for a jaw mobilisation and stretch down.  Each time he responded and regained relaxation quicker.  I repeated this for the next ride and started to add in some gait and more lateral work that he knows well. Again we had excellent relaxation and softness. I was able to ask him release small amounts of tension in his jaw during lateral work that I had been unable to affect when bitless.  For some reason with Sonny and myself, I just couldn't get the same response with the Ultimate Bitless Bridle as I am getting with the bit. Today, I basically went back to our regular riding routine, frequently asking for him to mobilise his jaw, stretch, and relax. I love how happy and relaxed he is!  For me the bit is all about communication and relaxation. I would never want to use (abuse) it in a situation where I had to pull on his tender mouth for control, that would completely undo the relaxation and softness that Sonny thinks the bit means.  So I will reserve the bit for situations where I do not anticipate any anxiety or control issues, and continue using the Ultimate Bitless Bridle or S-Hack for trail rides where we are just moving along, not focused on refined movement, and where he may get anxious about following other horses, etc. I also like the bitless for the trail for ease of eating/drinking too! I would use bitless if I ever start jumping him too, as I don't trust my hands not to catch him in the mouth!  I also think that once he really has a pattern of relaxation and understanding of how to use his body with a rider well developed that he will transition to a neck rope exceptionally well (excited about this!)