Common Faults
A horse is not "on the bit" only because its head is held "at the vertical," or perpendicular to the ground, as a horse can maintain this headset while remaining stiff, heavy on the bit, and unresponsive to the rider's aids. The vertical headset is not a guarantee by any means that the animal is truly on the bit, and many novice riders achieve the vertical headset, while losing the impulsion from the horse, because they ride "front to back," or pull the horse's head down in an effort to make the horse appear to be accepting the aids. This is also sometimes seen when the horse is ridden in certain gadgets, such as draw reins, especially if the rider is not skilled enough to correctly use the piece of equipment.
A horse that is on its forehand or unbalanced will not be able to come correctly on the bit, and will usually either lean on the rider's hands, placing too much pressure on the bit, pull against the rider and "root" or else brace upward against rein pressure and come "above the bit". This makes the contact heavy, and the aids can not come "through."
Some horses will avoid contact with the bit, rather than correctly accepting it, and come "behind the bit". This may occur either due to evasion by the horse (so it does not have to listen to the rider) or because the rider is using the bit too strongly or physically trying to pull the horse on the bit. It is a very common fault if the rider "see-saws" on the reins. Sometimes the horse will have a very strong contact, most commonly if its head is purposefully pulled in by the rider. Additionally, the horse will bring its nose closer to his chest, or "behind the vertical."
The most important test is if the horse will follow the contact forward, and down, if the reins are softened by the rider. If the horse follows, it is so to speak the horse that chooses to touch the rider with its mouth. If this quality of contact is established, the horse is really working on the bit, even if its head is a little in front of or behind the vertical.
Read more about this topic: On The Bit
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