A 'snaffle mouthed' rant.

No it wasn't friendly advice, you can't help yourself can you!! You follow me round this board making sarcastic comments, it's pathetic.

And for what it's worth, ive now had P over a year, doing it all by myself and I ask for advice to check I'm doing the right thing. Is that a crime?! I've now had horses for coming up 4 years, but you make me sound like some novice!! Everyone starts somewhere and I started with help from on here but dragging up posts from years ago is a joke! Should I be insulted because 3 years ago I wasn't an adult so that makes my opinions and thoughts invalid now?!?! NO!!

It must be wonderful to be you-to never have started from the beginning, to never have needed advice or made any mistakes. But I'm afraid I'm not perfect, so shoot me.

Oh, and so long as she passes the vet, the new mare will be coming home-for my oh to ride and me to groom. Yes, that big strong horse I must be incapable of controlling! Ring the RSPCA, quick.

For gods sake...
 
Also, don't forget, some riders can actually ride quite well in a snaffle that others would be unable to ride one half of the same horse in the same bit.
It's not black and white..nor black or white
 
sorry cedars, stalking mrsd123 got boring .. she does on occasion know what she is talking about..

i think you will also find ive only ever commented on a few of your posts.. well as cedars anyway.

now, if you want to get personal you carry on, but may i suggest you stop posting such novicey questions, and when your BF takes the horse around a decent event I shall publically post an apology , until such time, may i suggest that you go to a riding school? :rolleyes:
 
No, you may not suggest, get out of my post and put me on UI please

You're extremely rude. You've never seen me ride, how dare you tell me to go to a riding school?!?! I ride (v successfully i might add) our two at home no problems.

And as for our mare, she won't be out this season as we'll be bonding so won't add to her (impressive) BE record, but I will be calling you for your apology next season.

Or is a BE100/novice event not acceptable? do I need to send the horse round a **** before it pleases you?!
 
Cedars said:
Could you just clarify if a be novice event will be suitable or do I need to up our preparations?
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You are just probing arguments, act like an adult and grow up.
You really did ask for criticism with this post thinking you are in some position to decide how other people should bit their horses.
You say you have been around horses for 4 years, so pipe down and deal with your own horse.
 
unbalanced said:
I don't think of a myler combination bit as severe - if anything, I think it's less severe as it spreads the pressure away from the mouth to the nose, jaw and poll as well so the mouth only takes a quarter of the pressure.
When my mare was very anxious about any pressure in her mouth I rode in a rope hackamore for a while then a myler combination to help her to relax as the pressure wasn't all on her mouth. I found that she opened her mouth and tensed her mouth much less in this bit than she would in a conventional snaffle so it was a really great transition for us.
So, in the opinion of my horse, who has worn it, a myler combination is not really a severe bit. It is really quite comforting.
If I wanted better brakes I would go back to the rope hackamore.
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Okay sorry I guess by other peoples opinions it maybe isn't that bad! I actually had never seen one before and I was just going by the opinion of my instructor who said it was really harsh. Maybe I need a new trainer :)
 
:p
Cedars said:
Could you just clarify if a be novice event will be suitable or do I need to up our preparations?
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well id suggest bonding with a horse for a year may hamper its BE record and whenl the beast needs to be sold people will ask why,
hasnt competed in 2011/2012 due to bonding...:p
 
Cedars said:
Its just such a shame that, for a line in an advert, people underbit their horses, when I'm sure actually people would be much happier to see them in the right bit for them, regardless of the 'strength' of it!
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Personally, I want to see a horse going lightly in the hand, looking comfortable in its mouth. I don't care what's actually IN the mouth as long as it works. HOWEVER, there are a LOT of people who maintain that any horse can and should go well in a bog standard snaffle and that if it doesn't it's a purely down to poor schooling.
 
Lolita said:
Okay sorry I guess by other peoples opinions it maybe isn't that bad! I actually had never seen one before and I was just going by the opinion of my instructor who said it was really harsh. Maybe I need a new trainer :)
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It CAN be very very effective; Antifaz was strong but very fussy in his mouth and the myler combination worked very well with him as it took some of the pressure away from his mouth onto his nose and jaw. He took the contact much better as a result and so was much easier to stop. PF, who is very still in her mouth didn't even notice it and it felt horrible. Very 'dead'.
 
Well firstly, she's not going anywhere, secondly, she's still v young, thirdly, she's been out this season more than enough, fourthly, I want us to trust her and her to trust us before we start flinging ourselves round courses.

We do however have 2 'events' a week pencilled in for training and bonding etc. Depends how she settles, we might be out the end of this season, but took our current mare 6months to settle comfortably.

She's still a baby loads of time to go.
 
Ditto papaFrita above.
I dont believe that a horse not being able to be steered or going around like a giraffe is due to the bit being used.
Kx
 
PF, your 1st comment about schooling is interesting.

For ex, our gelding, will go and stop in the most basic of rubber bars. However, for an outline, he needs something to play with-a copper lozenge was v successful, but he is currently enjoying the NS so he's in that. He is also more easily controlled in it. I do wonder whether that is a 'crap schooling' thing or whether it's a horsey preference thing?
 
'S'teamed said:
Also, don't forget, some riders can actually ride quite well in a snaffle that others would be unable to ride one half of the same horse in the same bit.
It's not black and white..nor black or white
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Yes, this is also true. It does work both ways. Much easier to fiddle a horse into an outline with a double bit or pelham. Takes a bit more skill to do it in a snaffle.
It's a bit like spurs; some people have an effective leg, others don't. Or they have the monster bit in and can't get their horse going, whereas others use the spurs to refine their aids.... That's a whole different thread though.
 
Cedars said:
PF, your 1st comment about schooling is interesting.

For ex, our gelding, will go and stop in the most basic of rubber bars. However, for an outline, he needs something to play with-a copper lozenge was v successful, but he is currently enjoying the NS so he's in that. He is also more easily controlled in it. I do wonder whether that is a 'crap schooling' thing or whether it's a horsey preference thing?
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It's a very interesting subject! :) Generally I find that horses given a bit with a bit of 'play', such as a french link loose ring (I never use single-jointed bits) will work better and are easier to get into a correct, soft outline. Happy mouths or plain rubber bits are a bit 'dead' in this respect as horses tend not to mouth them as much and so tend not be so 'soft' in the mouth... if that makes sense. Then there's the whole issue of cheekpieces, poll pressure, curb straps etc. A lot of horses have VERY clear preferences and whilst I think most horses CAN be ridden in a snaffle, they don't always work their best in them and I don't see the point in persisting where you can get better results with a different bit. It can also be down to the rider and his/her preferences. I like to ride with a very light contact, my YO liked to 'feel' a more horse....
Nowadays though, there are so many variations even in french link mouthpieces (angles, materials, etc, etc) that there might actually BE a snaffle to suit every horse....
 
Will be interesting to see what the new one goes in as she's v different to the two at home. Would like her in a NS if poss. And fingers crossed she can stick to her 'one bit for all phases' thing as the money is disappearing rather too rapidly for her ladyship to require multiple bits!!!
 
Mmmmm......

I think there are sellers out there that believe a horse that has a snaffle bit will be looked at by more people, maybe be considered safer, therefore potentially more sellable.
But of course if a horse genuinely needs a dutch gag and has a french link snaffle popped in because advert stated that, things can potentially go very wrong!

I don't think there are many sellers daft enough to do this and pray that on the day the horse behaves, but there are plenty of chancers selling and certainly plenty who are stupid enough :D

But OP, most owners have usually spent a lot of time figuring out what's best for their horse x
 
Cedars said:
Will be interesting to see what the new one goes in as she's v different to the two at home. Would like her in a NS if poss. And fingers crossed she can stick to her 'one bit for all phases' thing as the money is disappearing rather too rapidly for her ladyship to require multiple bits!!!
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Ooh, are you gettingher then? Finding out what bit your horse likes best can be an expensive business, unfortunately. I bought my myler combo and another myler that PF didn't go particularly well in before settling for a cheap tom thumb bit... *sigh*
 
Oh yesyes, offer made and accepted, vetting booked. So long as all goes well she'll be home the first week in August-and then I'll post all about her, until then, not jinxing it!!
 
6 bits so far with my cob in the past 6 months, and came to conclusion the first works best :( so yes gets expensive.
I just hope my 2 year old will be the same size lol x
 
Bits, even expensive bits, don't cost that much. If you are worried about such a nugatory sum do you think you are able to afford to keep three horses :confused: Just curious because the cost of buying and keeping a young, fit eventer will be a lot higher than the cost of purchasing two or three bits until you find the one(s) she goes best in.
 
Oh SC read it as tongue in cheek! Do you really think that we're spending a v large amount on a horse, and insuring it, and having a full 5 stage with X-rays, and I'm REALLY worried about bits? Oh. And two new saddles.....

Blinking nora ;)
 
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