advice on which bit to use

[llewyn]

I recently bought a friesian mare which is wide as she is high & can be quite strong. I tried to ride her in a snaffle like her old owners had done & just cant hold her very well in it. She goes overbent & leans on me then trots off like a steam train & is sometimes quite hard to get her back. They also had her in a balancing rein but i dont see much need for that. Any adivce would be good! Dont know which bits to try first would like to the dressage on her.

 

[Paint it Lucky]

Does she respond much to seat aids? She's big and strong so it may work better to ride very subtely, use your seat to slow her and think slow, and relax, some horses just go faster when they feel you tense and shorten the reins. Definately have some lessons on her with a good instructor if you're not already.

As for bits you could try a waterford mouthpeice as these are very hard to lean on. You could try a dutch gag as this is strong and tends to give a high outline, prehaps try it with two reins, one on the snaffle and one on a lower rings, work primarily off the snaffle but use the lower rein if she tries to run off. Do loads of transisionsto get her really listening to you, especially halt transisions aregood for this sort of problem, ensure she stands still for at least a few seconds, lossen the rein once she is standing, if she tries to walk off ask her to halt again and don't let her move until you say so. Practise this lots round the school and she should soon get the message. She sounds like sheneeds more schooling to me.

 

[llewyn]

she does need more schooling, going to take the local riding school for some lessons