As much as I hate to ask...possibly time for a bit change?

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Ahrena

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Ack well I'm a fond believe of less is more but I think I might just have to change bits..

I have a rising 7 welsh cob (pos cross Hackney?), I've had her for about 15 months and she is sooo strong. We've been schooling her for over a year, endlessly working on brakes and erm, if anything she's only gotten stronger as she's developed more muscles!

I ride her in a loose ring snaffle, running martingale and flash [def needs the martingale and flash though again have tried to ride without with no success!). On the flat we just about have brakes, jumping well we don't, and hacking again we don't!

Havn't cantered and hardly trotted out on hacks for months now because of it, and jumping involves loads of gridwork and circling before fences to stop her rushing, but even when she's not rushing she's still pulling my arms out!

We've tried different snaffles, D ring, hanging snaffle, copper roller, french link, cheek pieces and then always used a 3 ring gag to fall back on for cross country, but I recently got told it actually encourages a higher head carriage which we definatly don't want/need!

I'm getting concerned she's just going to end up with a mouth with no nerves because I'm constantly having to fight about it with her, and I'd rather have a stronger bit in with a light touch than hauling in a snaffle!

So yeah..any ideas for what may work bearing in mind she can rear if she gets upset/over excited.

Any schooling ideas are also a lovely idea as I would prefer to keep her in a snaffle, or maybe a stronger bit for a month or 2 then go back to a snaffle? I tried her out in an american gag when I bought her and bearing in mind she was 5 I put her straight in a snaffle when I got her home!

I was wondering maybe a waterford as a remedial bit because she feels like she just runs straight through my hands?
 
I have a strong cob and the best bit for me is a 3 ring waterford its worked great for me but you will have to try one for yourself good luck.
 
i find cobby types go well in a kimblewickor a pelham, less pulling for you, and a happier horse.
 
I would try a mullen mouth rubber pelham, her breeding is a typical fizz mix so you are never going to change that brain, just control it!
The other thing I had success with was a Myler with the high port, it's still a snaffle but the high port makes them light and respectful of the bit. I bought a huge cobby type who had no mouth and had been broken in by the gypsies, he loved to try and lean on you, but the Myler cured him completely.
Lots of horses don't really like snaffles, so try the straighter types and see.
 
My fave bit of choice for the tank is a mullen pelham, echo HH I had a rubber one for the Welshie and I have the happy mouth one for the hunter type as he was a sensitive sod. They were both fine with roundings or two reins , and both still kept their flash nosebands (or in the big uns case, a grackle)
No point trying to stick to a snaffle if it just wont do, your safety and your horses safety is worth more than trying to make her a snaffle mouth.
 
we've ad the same problem with on of my loan horses, he went from a happymouth snaffle to loose ring french link snaffle to french link 3 ring gag and then a kimblewick.

he is still using the kimblewick now with a running martingale and flash and he's going great
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no more pulling!

so i would suggest perhaps a 3 ring gag or kimblewick.
 
Thanks very much, echoing my own thoughts!

I jumped her today in her 3 ring gag because I had to jump today if I wanted to jump this week, and didn't want to put in a brand new bit but I used to hunt and do xc in her gag, but today she decided she absolutly despises it! I think because we had a bit of teeth problems about a month ago, or maybe she was in a bouncy mood anyway, but everytime I asked her to slow down she just started bouncing/bucking/rearing so we did about 2 jumps in total xD

Tomorrow I'm borrowing a pelham from my friend, and will see what she thinks of that.

Thanks
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Please don't take this the wrong way but what are you feeding her?
As HH has already said with that type of breeding you will never get rid of the fizz, but it is important to be able to control it. Are you feeding any hard food at all? If you are I would cut it out completely & just feed good hay ad lib for a while. A friend of mine had a welsh X & if it so much as sniffed hard food it became an absolute heathen, & I just wonder if part of the solution to your problem may lie in an adjustment to the feed regime.
 
TAZ - she gets calm & condition feed as she looses weight easily (surprisingly!) but maybe because she's so fizzed and slow release energy cubes because otherwise she gets very nappy & reary because she doesn't have enough energy!

I get 100% what you're saying, and we only used to feed her a bit of chaff and nice hay but she dropped a lot of weight, and over the summer started playing up something dreadful and we had everything checked, and not until we spoke to Spillers and they said that, it clicked, and she hasn't been nappy since!

If it wasn't for that, and her being just as strong as she was with no feed, I'd completly agree to what you're saying. Thanks though, its odd, even when she wasn't "getting enough energy" from her feed, she was sitll fizzy and strong on the surface, but ended up sooo nappy and wouldn't jump except out on hacks, but as soon as we started feeding her more, she was back to normal!

Thanks though, I do 100% understand what you mean, but I'm very worried about cutting back her feed incase it goes back the other way.
 
My Welsh D is the same - he just doesn't even notice a snaffle some days (which makes dressage fun...)! I ride him in a kimblewick which is much better. I wouldn't use a gag because my boy has a naturally high head carriage already which I assume yours might have if he's a pure D or cross Hackney. PS. I've tried changing feeds, at one point he was on nothing but fibre (ie. Hi-Fi chaff and speedi beet!) but did nothing for this issue.
 
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