Bit advice - pony resisting a contact.

Walrus

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Hi,

Just wondering if anyone can advise on bit possibilities. Pony is native so have quite a fleshy tongue/ mouth, he's been broken for about 18 months and to be fair it's slow progress! The main issue at the moment is the contact, now I'm working on my hands and having a consistant contact but not fixing etc. I appreciate that I need to sort my hands out (preferably quickly) and get my leg on. However, he really resists the bit, I just feel if he'd relax his jaw it would all work! He seems to just resist and fight constantly. I'm starting to wonder if I need to alter his bitting and see if I can find something he's a little more accepting of. He's currently in a neue schule starter bit as I like the fact that it's not too thick and has the losenge and is loose ring, but starting to think maybe he just doesn't get on with it. Any recommendations are welcome!

Also, teeth were done recently, saddle is professionally fitted, physio sees him regularly and we have regular lessons so work on our issues! He is a native and (not wanting to generalise) has the temperament to match - stubborn!

Thanks
 

flying solo

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I had 'issues' tried a ported kimblewick and my welsh goes 100 times better in it. He used to run through the snaffle and using anything else he would have a head throwing tantrum if I took a contact for more than a few minutes!
 

Walrus

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Thank you. To be honest I've never considered anything that's not a snaffle (as I broke him in I think I see it as a failure on my part!), although I have ridden him in a wilkie snaffle before. I would also like something dressage legal if possible - i don't think a kimblewick is. Do you think it's the mouthpiece that makes the difference with your horse or the way the bit acts (if that makes sense!). :)
 

Tickles

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If you know you have issues with your hands (and it sounds like you're fixing them :)) then why not focus on getting him forwards and allow the contact to come later? Still very young for working into a contact... and IMHO an overrated, or at least too often rushed, aim.
 

Shavings

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we had my cob in a mullen mouth he went like a dream in that as it was had no joint and it bent round with his mouth (if that makes any seance) it might be worth a try for your boy as they are not strong bits :) hope every thing works out for you both!!
 

Walrus

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Thanks guys, tickles it's hard to explain, he's not not forwards if that makes sense. In fact most of the time he's like a small speeding bullet in trot! He needs to learn that leg on does not necessarily mean forwards but it's moving him for bend and straightness etc. PRoblem is that when I try and use my legs in trot to ask for bend etc I then end up using my hand to slow him etc and he resists. I've been trying to get him long and low which seems to be the hardest thing ever as his reaction to any contact asking for bend or down or slow down is to go round with his head above the bit, his neck upside down and this ugly muscle popping out on the underside of his neck.
 

muffinmunsh

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We changed the youngster over into a baucher / hanging cheek, which just gives her more security as not moving around too much. Her answer to things us usually getting the speed up and she used to rush right through the contact. With this bit she just seems to be more settled and can get and hold a contact a lot longer now, without trying to rush. That said though, we spent the last 9 month purely on working on her muscle "Tragkraft" with bits if lateral mixed in frequently. She is worked 6x a week, 3x half hour schooling, 1x jumping and 2x hacking... All seems to work to settle her
 

BonneMaman

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The kimblewick could be working well because of the straight bar/ported bar. Some horses really object to the nut cracker action of a joined snaffle or lozzenge.
 

smiggy

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Am I right in thinking he is a fell?
My daughters little fell was exactly the same,I posted on here I think. Basically if I asked him to do any work,bending contact etc, his reply would be a stonking power trot round the school in the way that only fells can power trot! He came in a Wilkie and I swooped him into a team up snaffle to see if that helpd.
Tried all sorts,ignoring it,using rising to slow,pushing him through it and just letting him power trot till he was tired.
After one particularly gruelling twenty minutes I thought right that's it, next session I put in a Pelham I had lying around.
Wow different pony! Light in the hand, respectful, could bend and his previously dodgy motor biking corners canter became a lively collected thing of beauty!
Still used a snaffle for hacking etc but if I schooled him we used the Pelham.

Just saying may not be your hands, might be an evasion. Ours had done a lot of showing and noice level dressage so I knew he could do it!
 

Janette

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I have had a very similar experience to Smiggy.

Horse tanked off in trot, leaned, inverted, fell in, argued - all when using a jointed snaffle.

Put her in a solid mouthpiece - different horse.
She was extremely strong out hacking so I tried a pelham. So now we school/hack in a pelham with lots of tongue clearance and dressage in a Myler hanging cheek baucher (it's the closest thing I could find to match the pelham)

When I have a lesson, we have to hack to the arena, so for the lesson I tie the bottom reins in a knot and we loosen the curb right off so I effectively have a hanging snaffle.
 

Miss L Toe

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Hi,

Just wondering if anyone can advise on bit possibilities. Pony is native so have quite a fleshy tongue/ mouth, he's been broken for about 18 months and to be fair it's slow progress! The main issue at the moment is the contact, now I'm working on my hands and having a consistant contact but not fixing etc. I appreciate that I need to sort my hands out (preferably quickly) and get my leg on. However, he really resists the bit, I just feel if he'd relax his jaw it would all work! He seems to just resist and fight constantly. I'm starting to wonder if I need to alter his bitting and see if I can find something he's a little more accepting of. He's currently in a neue schule starter bit as I like the fact that it's not too thick and has the losenge and is loose ring, but starting to think maybe he just doesn't get on with it. Any recommendations are welcome!

Also, teeth were done recently, saddle is professionally fitted, physio sees him regularly and we have regular lessons so work on our issues! He is a native and (not wanting to generalise) has the temperament to match - stubborn!

Thanks
I replaced my neu schule [tends to be quite thick] with a happy mouth roller, and he liked it. Get an instructor to crit your hands, it is likey that you are not positively rewarding him when you ask for a transition by allowing him to drop his head. This is something not taught in many approved Riding Schools, so try a higher level instructor of the BHSII level.
 

Kiristamm

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I second the Myler! I use a handing cheek level 2 (dressage legal i believe) and it really encouraged the long and low.

My sister used to have this problem with her heavyweight cob, because he didn't like to "work round" he produced lots of muscle under his neck, then he couldn't do it because the muscle (and probably fat!) was impinging his wind pipe.

Lots of lunging in a chambon really helped him to build the correct muscle and for the underneath muscle to disappear.
 

Lollii

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Try a Mullen mouth, straight bar bit - some horses can't take a jointed bit.
My horse was the same in any jointed bit, he was perfect in a Pelham, no leaning, no tantrums - perfect, so for dressage legal I put in a Mullen mouth bit - He is SO much better, good luck.
 

Walrus

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Thanks everyone, really helpful comments.

Smiggy - yes he is a fell and I call it the crazy sewing machine trot! If I carry on I'll probably have arthritis in my knees before I'm 30 from the speedy rising!

Kirristamn - I agree with the under neck muscle, am lunging him in the bungy to try and build the right muscle.

Lady at the yard has a myler she said I can try so might give that a go and then go from there.

THanks everyone.
 

BringoutheBest

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not sure if it has been said already but just to add;
I have a pony that can be atrocious with accepting the contact. I had so much problem getting him to move forward into it (although as with the OPs pony, it isn't that he isnt forward going - we also had a lot of problems with rushing.)
I have just done hundred and hundreds of transitions. Just concentrating on staying completely relaxed and not caring what he does with his head, just transition after transition until he realised it was so much easier for him to work softly and to move into the contact. He is really getting there - still not consistently good but much improved!! Good luck with you pony :)
 
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