HOPE'S BIT BLOG - All about horse bits! Hope's Bit Blog - Issue 1 | Page 3

The transition to using a bit can be less complicated if you can
tap into the knowledge that they may already have. OTTB Of
the track thoroughbreds are great candidates to use anything
other than a traditional bit. Most race horses have been
trained to “run against the bit”. The have to be on their
forehand in order to obtain the speed to race. The switch to a
different riding career can be fraught with complications if an
inexperienced rider begins to pull back to stop and is promptly
taken off with. The action reaction a race horse has learned is
- the harder you pull the faster I run.

At the end of a race jockeys always drop their reins and stand
up. Signaling to their horse that the race is over. Another
action reaction learned connection.