I was told yesterday by a professional I respect that “On The Bit” refers to a horse who is coming through from behind, lifting his back and accepting contact while being bent at the poll.
Compared to “Flexion” which refers to lateral movement of the head/neck,
And "“Bending” which refers to a horse curving it entire body (specifically its barrel) in the direction it is going.
I agree with “on the bit” and “bending” but is that definition of “flexion” the commonly accepted one?
I think flexion can be lateral or longitudinal … flexing at the poll … longitudinally, and flexion of the neck all the way through the back, poll to withers … and / or body, laterally … usually is seems to be used for everything but the body, though … flexion of the hocks … bending is used for the body laterally bending … and bending through the body poll to tail is used for exactly what it describes … which includes lateral bending through the neck also.
So, often best to define a bit in discussion …
Drawing stick figures in the sand with a stick helps 
Agree with “on the bit” which often is called “on the aids” … bigger picture … includes the coming from behind aspect of it instead of just the bit …
You can have flexion without bend. You cannot have bend without flexion .
In this context, where the trainer is distinguishing between flexion, bend, and being on the aids, yes, this is the correct use of the terms.
Your professional is describing lateral flexion of the jaw (moving the head sideways without the body changing shape), which for some trainers is done as a discrete exercise, in hand and in the saddle, standing or moving.
However, yes, “flexion” does have a larger dictionary meaning that something is bent. So it would also be correct to use the term “vertical flexion” to refer to the horse giving at the poll, that is bringing the nose closer to the vertical. And of course you could refer to anything that’s bent as “flexion,” as when the vet does a PPE exam by bending the knee tight, releasing, and seeing if the horse is sore after: that is a flexion test.
It is also true that the expression “on the bit” is a mistranslation of the original phrase that meant “on the aids.”
On the aids means that the horse is collected, attentive to everything that is being asked, and has vertical flexion at the poll. Horse doesn’t need to be vertical with the nose, and certainly shouldn’t be behind the vertical, but does need to have “given” his poll to the rider. The phrase “on the bit” makes people think that the goal is primarily tight rein contact, when in fact a horse can be on the aids beautifully even with a slightly draped rein.
[QUOTE=Lord Helpus;8474553]
I was told yesterday by a professional I respect that “On The Bit” refers to a horse who is coming through from behind, lifting his back and accepting contact while being bent at the poll.
Compared to “Flexion” which refers to lateral movement of the head/neck,
And "“Bending” which refers to a horse curving it entire body (specifically its barrel) in the direction it is going.
I agree with “on the bit” and “bending” but is that definition of “flexion” the commonly accepted one?[/QUOTE]
I was taught the same definitions of “on the bit” and “flexion” that you describe. Flexion definitely was only lateral. I was taught that bend refers to vertical bend in the head and neck (hence “overbent”). But obviously it could also refer to whole-body bend (e.g. “bend him around your inside leg”).
Don’t think the terminology matters much as long as it’s clear what someone is talking about.
[QUOTE=Gumby80;8475321]
I was taught the same definitions of “on the bit” and “flexion” that you describe. Flexion definitely was only lateral. I was taught that bend refers to vertical bend in the head and neck (hence “overbent”). But obviously it could also refer to whole-body bend (e.g. “bend him around your inside leg”).
Don’t think the terminology matters much as long as it’s clear what someone is talking about.[/QUOTE]
I agree. I think of Flexion as any positive muscle engagement. Bend as the body curved in some way. I tend to use “on the aids” to remember that the whole horse is involved. When teaching the terms aren’t as important as the communication.
flexion of the poll (muscles around the poll actually):
I agree that “On the Aids” is a far better term for the reality of what should be happening
De-emphasizes the role of the bit in riding
Maybe a new term would help … instead of the biased slang “on the bit” … let’s bias it to “on the hindquarters”. Just a thought.
Bend: The whole body is curved and is following an arc.
When a horse is overbent, it should mean that the horse neck is brought too much inside of the curve it is following. In a shoulder-in refered as a neck in.
Flexion: of cervical joints.
Lateral flexion: involving the neck/jaw/poll only. (Like someone saying no with his head)
Longitudinal flexion: Flexion of the top line. If the horse is behind the vertical, it is overflexed. (Like someone saying yes with his head.)
On the bit: Horse is moving freely in front of the leg and has a steady and soft contact on the bit. It follows the bit easily without disruption of the contact.
[QUOTE=BaroquePony;8474573]
Agree with “on the bit” which often is called “on the aids” … bigger picture … includes the coming from behind aspect of it instead of just the bit …[/QUOTE]
I agree.
The phrase “on the bit” was erroneous to begin with-a translation error. The correct term to be translated was to be “on the aids”.
If the horse is softly and consistently listening to your seat, legs, hands, etc. and does so eagerly and immediate, and knows what the rider is asking, the horse is on the aids.
Terms that should be avoided, please feel free add to the list. “in a frame”, “on the bit”, “collected”, used in place of connected, as in accepting even contact with the rider’s hand.
I like to use the term, flexion, as in flexion L or flexion R, counter flexion, when it’s deliberately requested-all of the head and neck
Bend as when the hind foot is reaching forward and under, and the horse is bent around the rider’s inside leg.
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