Is Fighting the Bit Required for Tolt?

Is fighting the bit required to get an Icelandic Horse to tolt? For years we've seen the Icelandic Horses fighting the bit. Some people would say that the horses were tossing their heads because of the excitement in the competitions. But we see the same thing when a rider is alone with a horse.

Is the jointed snaffle causing the horse problems with his mouth? Is the heavy contact causing the problems? Or a combination of both?

Why does the horse have to be held so tightly with a bit that bothers him, to get him to tolt?

Academia Liberti

Academia Liberti official video. Academia Liberti specilises in educating equines at liberty in species appropriate living conditions without coersion or psychological manipulation. The academy relationship is based on friendship and equality between horse and human.

What Gait / Icelandic Horse

What gait is this Icelandic Horse doing?

How the Bit Affects the Mouth of the Icelandic Horse

OK, this is just a fooling around video by young people, but it does show how the mouth of the Icelandic Horse is affected by a bit.

Bridleless in Gait

This is a Rocky Mountain Horse stallion in gait, bridleless; no yanking or cranking; turning without pulling on the mouth.

New Bareback Pad

Icelandic Horses are not the easier horse to fit for a saddle. The treeless saddles and bareback pads work pretty well for them. It allows them to move more fluidly.

This is a new style of bareback pad that stirrups can also be used with.

Level 3 Parelli Freestyle

This is a Level 3 Parelli Natural Horsemanship video with a gaited horse, Paso Fino breed. It should be easy for the Icelandic Horses to attain this level of horsemanship.

Challenge to Icelandic Horse riders, owners, trainers, and Holar students and graduates, and any certified and / or professional Icelandic Horse trainer! Can you do this? Can you train and ride your Icelandic Horse without a bit? without a noseband? without weights? without whips?

Can you learn to train and ride a horse naturally?



A gal from Iceland sent this link, and follows is a response:

http://www.seisei.is/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=392&Itemid=10

Yes, those are nice pictues. I think the challenge is not to ride bridleless for a little time to get photos, but to change the whole style of riding to be more friendly to the horse. In a video of the same rider, her horse is fighting the bit and showing displeasure in every gait. Hopefully, this will change for the better. Here is the video: