Badly fitting bit, or trying it on?

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alcraw

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I changed my horses bit recently, from a dutch gag with rubber cheek guards to a standard snaffle. When I initially changed it, I kept everything else the same and the bit was far to high (couldn't even get the bridle on!), so I dropped a few holes to something that seemed to fit. We've hacked out 3 times since and have had no problems.

Tonight I tried a mini schooling session in an empty field - only the 2nd time I've done any schooling with Tara. She was really chewing against the bit, and was.. not exactly foaming or drooling, but bits of chewed grass were coming out of the sides of her mouth. I normally hack her on a loose rein, so had more contact for schooling than she's maybe been used to which may be the problem...

Anyway, I tried dropping the bit by another hole in case it was too tight, but than it was clearly too loose, and the bridle was gaping! She's not exactly a huge fan of going round in circles, and finds it boring, which it why I'm wondering if she was over-exaggerating a little...

However, I'm very new to trying to fit tack, and want to make sure I haven't done anything to make her uncomfortable.
 
Sounds fine to me? Is it the same kind of mouthpiece? If not she might just be chewing more as it feels different (: If anything maybe check it isn't still a little low? It could be that she's trying to lift it in her mouth maybe. Is there anyone who you could ask to just take a look for you & give an opinion??
 
Why did you switch bits? If she was happy in the old bit, I would be tempted to just switch back to be honest. If the rein is on the snaffle ring and the mouthpiece is the same, then there isn't a whole heck of a lot of difference between the dutch gag and a snaffle with one place to attach the rein to. Some horses are just fussy, or it could be a fit / comfort issue, without seeing the horse it is hard to tell, but the old adage 'it it ain't broke, don't fix it' often works well in these scenarios.
 
Thanks both.

I switched bits mainly because I'm a meddler! lol. I read that dutch gags were quite a harsh bit, so thought I'd change to something a little more gentle. Have subsequently been told that when used as it was being used, there's not really any difference between that and a snaffle. But it was a heck of a job to change (I didn't know leather could get that stiff!), so I'm going to stick with the snaffle if I can.

Sol, you might be right, and maybe it is a bit too low still. There are some people I could ask, but typically they weren't around this evening!
 
Mari said:
Sounds like you need to do some serious tack conditioning / cleaning!
Click to expand...

:) Fair point. The bridle is actually quite new and therefore stiff, but I admit I could maintain it a little better. I'm still learning - the first time I cleaned tack I was too scared to take it all apart in case I couldn't get it back together again! :)
 
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