The horse's mouth: Cession de mâchoire

In my experience there are a few concepts that are central to classical riding which I have so far to encounter in other contexts. These are:
*) the made mouth of the horse
*) resistance of weight and resistance of force
*) the rider's hand as the primary aid
*) the counted walk
*) using the whip to calm and direct the horse's focus
*) the difference between the rider's leg when it allows movement and when it moves the horse sideways

What we choose to talk about is very important for our perception of the outside world. How we interpret what we see and feel is largely controlled by the language we use. The world around us is so complex that we literally do not see everything that surrounds us. Our brains are filters that sort and select the impressions for us. This filter is affected by the language and concepts that we use. The language gives us a mental readiness to interpret what we see, or in other words to see something as something.

For instance Maria, with her training as an Alexander Technique teacher, will not just see that the rider is on the horse, but will instantly “see” the rider's posture and use of self. I, on the other hand, with my training as an instructor will at a first glance ”see” how the rider is communicating with the horse. My father, who is not used to horses, might ”see” that the horse looks nice in general, or completely miss the horse and see the tractor instead.

Therefore the language and concepts we use direct our perception of the world around us.

In this post I want to write about a French expression, ”cession de mâchoire”, which in English literally translates to "yielding of the jaw". The French expression has a very specific meaning, namely that the horse gently moves his tongue, for example by lifting the bit, tasting the bit as if it were a piece of sugar, and then also gently moves the lower jaw.

When the horse is allowed to use her tongue and her lower jaw in this way it means she relaxes not only the tongue and the muscles in the lower jaw, but also the muscles of the lower part of the neck and chest. Herein lies the key for the rider to position the horse's neck easily: raising, lowering, right and left. So no more tightened noseband! At least two fingers between the noseband and nose, if you are at all in need of a noseband that is.

A horse that is light in hand in this way can be said to have ”a made mouth” which also includes how the horse is relating to the bit and the riders hand with the rest of her body.

Does your horse have a made mouth? Is she playing with the bit using her tongue?

Thanks to Mark Stanton of Natural Horsemanship Magazine for proof reading!