How much foam is the right amount of foam?
Let's think about the tongue, throat, and jaw. What happens when the horse's jaw is relaxed and the tongue is free to move about the mouth? What happens when the throat is open and able to swallow? What happens if the jaw is tense but the tongue still is moving in a sucked-back way? What happens if the throat is blocked or tense?
Take a moment to clench your jaw... now, move your tongue around. Try lifting your chin and then tucking your chin. What happens? Swallow. Now, take a moment to relax your jaw and repeat the same things.
Was there any difference? Compare the 2 differences. You might even try to power walk while doing this comparison.
Horses DO NOT breathe through their mouths. Therefore they can suck their tongues back and block their ability to swallow without blocking their breathing. There is a longer and more complex way of explaining this but for now, this is the basics of it.
If they are blocking their ability to swallow then where does all the saliva go? What happens to saliva when it is churned up and mulled over - it turns to foam, much like sweat between their back legs.
What I look for is "White Lipstick". It is the amount that tells me their mouths were mobile, that their tongues were relaxed and moving. It's the amount that tells me they were able to swallow any excess amounts of saliva, which in turn tells me that they were able to have a supple jaw, throat, and throat. It tells me they were able to breathe. When we start seeing swaths of foam falling out of mouths and sticking to the horses body - what does that tell us? Here is a picture of the amount I look for during a ride. This is a picture of Pele. She used to foam a lot more than this. Enough that it would fall to the ground when riding. OR she would be dry-mouthed and tense. We have finally gotten her to be relaxed and supple in the mouth.
If a horse cannot be supple in the jaw, throat, and tongue - do we think it will be supple anywhere else?
- Sarah Orloff, Still Waters Equitation