You've got it Judy! If you need to pull so hard on a snaffle bit that you pull it through the horse's mouth, he has not been taught to respond to the bit.
I'm thinking you could have the same result with a bosal, a rope halter or any other device you chose to use to direct a horse's forward motion. You really are not going to be able to muscle a horse into submission. He has to have become a willing partner in this exercise. I rode our friend's Icelandic not long ago - a rare treat because at that time, I had not even been on an Icelandic. She mentioned that her mother could not get the pony to turn to the right. They use a low port curb bit, which I'm not sure is meant to be used with a direct rein, but what I noticed about Lina is mostly true of the horses I have ridden and that is that she would turn when she was being actively ridden forward, but not when she was stopped. And that is a foundation of how I was taught to ride. The impulsion from the hindquarters is what drives everything a horse does. With a few exceptions (I like to teach a horse to move away from my hand on the ground), everything is easier to teach if the horse is moving. Nancy
