48 / HorseandRider.com
Ride&TrainBY KELBY PHILLIPS, WITH CHELSEA SHAFFERSoft in the Snaffl e
PRIVATE LESSON
1
4
One
As soon as you’re on your
horse walking around, make
sure your body and your
hands are soft. If you’re stiff or
already tense on the bridle’s
reins, through your body, or
in your stirrups, your horse
will feel that and respond the
same way. Keep your hands
higher than your swells, but
the width of your horse’s
shoulders, out in front of the
saddle. You want your hips in
front of your shoulders, be-
cause you’re driving from your
hips and you want your horse
doing the same. Leaning up
over your horse will send your
feet behind you, which will
put you off balance and make
it harder to stay in time with
your horse. Two
I like to start by walking some
small circles to see how my
horse is listening to my cues.
Are his feet connected to the
bit? If he’s bowing his ribcage
out or leaning his shoulder in,
or if his hips are fl inging out,
he’s not listening properly.
If you feel that, spend more
time walking and trotting in
small circles. If he’s drifting
out with his ribs, use your
feet and hands to put him
back in the circle, keeping him
between your feet and hands.
If my horse is leaning on the
rein, I’ll use my leg to get him
off of it and push him straight.Three
You want to see what your
horse’s mind-set is during these
circles. You can tell right off by
walking him around if he’ll be
a little fast and in a hurry. You
want to keep him right there
until you feel him relax and
follow your cues. You want him
to stay at that nice, steady walk.
You don’t want him to trot and
let his mind go too fast. If he’s
speeding up, pick him up with
your hands back toward yourhips slightly, and hold your feet
close to your horse, holding
him between them.Four
Your body and your feet are
just as important as your
hands. Your feet are what gets
your horse soft. Your hands
release, but your feet drive
him up to his face and release.
Your horse is like an accordion.
You mash it together, it’s all
bunched up. You want to drive Snaffl e bits—whether
you’re riding for fun or
going down the fence in
the National Reined Cow
Horse Association—can be a
critical part of your program.
I ride our horses in a snaffl e
from the time they’re started
when they’re 2 until they’re
5, and the main focus is
keeping them soft, with the
bridle connected to their
feet. Snaffl e bits are meant to
be pulled on, but they’re hard
to keep a horse back off of
unless used correctly.
Here, I’ll break down
some critical snaffl e-bit
skills, and I’ll caution you
about some pitfalls riders
can face when using the
snaffl e incorrectly.
Kelby Phillips, Scotts-
dale, Arizona, is the
reigning World’s Greatest
Horseman, as crowned by
the National Reined Cow
Horse Association, riding
his employer DT Horses’
Hickory Holly Time. Phil-
lips also won the NRCHA’s
coveted Snaffl e Bit Futuri-
ty title in 2016 aboard Du-
als Lucky Charm. Find out
more about Phillips and
the DT Horses program
at dthorses.com.