Absolutely NO brakes

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Christmas Crumpet

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Just wondered if anyone could suggest anything...!!

I've been asked to hunt a little horse for the next four months to get her going and am taking her out for the first time tomorrow. The first time I rode her and jumped her she was strong but bloody hell - today I couldn't stop her for love nor money. She is fine when she is going somewhere for the first time but seems to be very clever and remembers when she is going home!!

I think she may also be slightly whip shy because I gave her a smack and she started broncing with me. She's a feisty little sod I'll give her that!!

She is ridden in a 3 ring Dutch gag with the reins on the 2nd ring and this is highly ineffectual. I did wonder about moving down to the 3rd ring and also having another set of reins on the snaffle ring. Hoping obviously to ride on snaffle rein but somehow am not sure this will have much effect.

Could I use 2 reins on bottom 2 rings?

Did wonder about trying her in a double but haven't got a cob sized one to hand.

Does anyone have any ideas about how I'm going to stop?!!!

Would be VERY grateful for any suggestions.
 
Reins need to be on snaffle ring and 1 other, not the bottom 2 together.

Does she pull? Lean? Set her jaw? Open her gob? Lift her head?

Does she quicken up or just not stop? Or both?
 
She cocks her jaw and goes. Turning in a circle doesn't work either because she can turn on a sixpence at gallop. I'm going to put her in a grakle to stop her cocking her jaw which might help a teeny bit.

She isn't hugely fast but just bloody strong - it feels as though nothing I do is going to have any effect whatsoever. She is a pretty powerful little cob - I don't mind being slightly out of control but I think she might end up being dangerous.
 
Grackle should go some way to helping the jaw
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Does she dislike a curb action? I've invariably found horses of that type just curl themselves up in anything with a curb action and are even more unbearable.
 
I haven't had a chance to try her in anything but the bit she came in. She does belong to a well known event rider (Mark Todd era) and she took her hunting last Sat and said that she is very strong but that she has had working pupils riding her at a yard and socking her in the jaw every time she jumped. I wonder if its a reflex action to being socked in the jaw that after each jump she just charges because she thinks its going to hurt. Or the fact that she is just bloody strong and there is nothing I can do about it!!
 
Poor thing, sounds like she has completely lost faith in her rider. Personally I would rather take her back to basics and restore some of her confidence than moving further down the road of stronger and stronger bits.......
 
My little cob used to be like this and I rode in a dutch Gag, I think it made him worse as he was trying to run away from the pressure. I've had a fantastic instructure over the past year and he's a different horse. She explained to me that he was running on his forehand which was making him pull so much. I now ride him in a french link snaffle and he's so much happier.
 
My TB bolted when i first got him and he was in a Dutch Gag - I think he resented the poll pressure. Put him in a snaffle and took him to a safe field, provoked a bolt and ran him up and down until he accepted I was the boss. took 30mins of going up and down a fence line asking for trot and canter and back again. He didn't do it again - he'd realised I was boss no matter what the pace.

Admittedly I wouldn't want to hunt a horse like that in a snaffle! My friend uses a Pelham on her v strong horse - he used to be in a Dutch Gag and is much more manageable now.
 
I'm not really a big fan of Dutch gags TBH. My mare is very strong and feisty and she completely threw her toys out of the pram in one of these, yet goes very well in a cheltenham gag.
If you want an alternative to the gag I would try a double bridle, or failing that a pelham with two reins.
 
I would stick her in a loose ring snaffle or waterford and a mexican grackle - if she has no brakes in the gag why use it and create poll pressure when it is ineffectual. Could be by going softer she gets better.
 
I use a waterford pelham with grakle for my mare who is very very strong out hunting (head between legs and gone etc etc) and this works fab but I have to use a curb. I have had it on the bottom ring once , had no steering but had brakes!!!!!! LOL

Waterford pelham has been the answer to all my problems cant rate them enough, use a waterford snaffle for SJ too.

good luck been there and done that had arms 6" longer from it!!
 
Thankyou so much everyone for your advice. I'm going to try with the Cheltenham gag and grakle first time out tomorrow and see what happens.

Will keep you all updated about what happens, my She-ra arm muscles and extendable Inspector Gadget arms!!

Have a good weekend.
 
It takes two to fight!!!!!!!!!!!!!
With the right balance and use of body weight, you can stop the strongest of runaways without even touching their mouth!!!
Start by shortening your leathers several holes!!
 
Well... I'm still here. My arms are slightly longer than they were on Friday but we had a brilliant day. She was incredibly strong so I just kept her at the front and she gave me a hell of a day. Only slight brakes problems were when we were in the woods nipping round trees. Got slightly nervous then!! She jumped like a star.

Am taking her to the vale tomorrow so lots of jumping and galloping which she'll enjoy. I think the grakle helped quite a bit too.
 
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