What training level should a horse be when they move to a solid mouth piece? Are there certain things that they should be able to do, other than neck rein and leg pressure, before they move in to a solid curb?
You should be able to do what you want with a snaffle before moving on. Basically ride off your seat and minimal rein cues. Complete control over shoulders, barrel, hind quarters, stop and go.
The bigger issue isn’t the solid mouth, since there are solid snaffles that use direct reining. The harder transition is to leverage, since the mouthpiece does funny things when direct reined.
