bit chomping

[nickyb]

any ideas for getting a horse to stop chomping on the bit the whole time, i ride in a loose ring snaffle, with a caverson noseband, i've tried flash straps and a grackle and even a drop noseband but this makes him even worse, as he fights even harder to open his mouth. trouble is it seems to be getting slightly worse and i am starting to get regular comments of "mouth opening" on my dressage sheet. any ideas?????

 

[kerilli]

he should mouthe the bit, that is a good sign, but if he's chomping hard on it and opening his mouth a lot then i'd make sure his teeth are 100%, and that he's 100% at the poll (mctimoney chiro, etc), and then try a change of bit, perhaps something like a sprenger with lozenge in the middle.

 

[nickyb]

teeth are fine, and he's in a neule shule training bit with the lozenge in the middle. has just had the physio out at the weekend too and all ok. it is a stress related thing for sure but just need to try and make it better for him....somehow!

 

[kerilli]

in that case, i would try being as light as possible with your hands, get him happily taking the contact forward to the hand.

 

[nickyb]

i do, thats the most fustrating thing, he goes very nicely, works in self carraige, holds himself nice but just keeps chomping, now you see my fustration.

 

[Bubblegum]

I have exactly the same problem with my ex-racer. Started reschooling him last autumn. After different bits now have him in a port Myler snaffle, with hooks and plain cavesson noseband. This seems to take the bit off his tongue and suits him better. I too work him forward into a soft contact, and he goes so much better now. However, I agree its def stress related... as soon as we take him out to compete he starts chomping all over again!!!
It is frustrating isnt it... I just hope over time, as he gets more confident at shows he will settle more & more. I guess its just a case of taking him out and about as much as poss... and keeping things easy & simple to help him settle.

 

[OrangeEmpire]

I've found with my TB that he hates the movement of a loose ring. I've just tried him in a egbutt happymouth straight bar and the chomping is much reduced as it doesn't move about so much. He's not totally settled but much better.

 

[TarrSteps]

You could try a "supported" bit like a Baucher or similar, which holds the bit off the tongue. Some very fussy horses prefer this set up, which is the purpose the bit was designed for in the first place by the way. A port or some other form of very stable mouthpiece might help but there is the issue of it being dressage legal if that's a concern.

Did he race? Mouth faults seem to be pretty common in ex-racers, although dressage horses, especially those who do a lot very young and certain personality types, often seem prone as well. Interestingly one almost never sees them in western horses, which I think is quite telling.

No offence, but as you know, he can't be working correctly and chomping at the same time so kerilli's comment about teaching him to take a soft, consistent contact is very valid. This is a real trick, by the way, and it takes a lot of slow careful work to teach a horse with a mouth fault to relax enough to take the hand. I have to say though, I've never seen anyone take a short cut UNLESS the problem stems from a physical issue and even then, mouth faults tend to be like nail biting - they continue even when the original motivation goes away because, as you say, it becomes a general stress reaction.

To some extent, it's unlikely that you'll cure it completely (the stresses of horse shows are notorious for bringing out old habits) but you should be able to retrain and manage the situation to help him a bit.

My personal experience is often horses with mouth faults go better without nosebands, although that's not an option for competition. (I usually ride at home without but school in one intermittently - if the horse is working well putting one on is usually a non-issue.) I am REALLY, REALLY not a fan of flash nosebands but in this case a loose one MIGHT go some way to controlling things. Even better might be a good quality, sympathetically adjusted drop, especially one with the two buckle noseband adjustment. For some horses it's the cavesson that really causes the issue, especially if its put on tight and interferes with the molars being able to slide over each other and a properly adjusted drop should actually have less of that effect. Again, not a fan of covering up issues but you might have to find at least some sort of "stop gap" at least for showing.

But the real cure is to address whatever is making him display the tension in the first place. What else have you experimented with? Any management changes? Tack changes? Have you had a trainer ride him? What does you own instructor say about the situation? Are there certain circumstances that make him better or worse? Calm repetition, as bubblegum said, is often the key to lessening anxiety, especially if you can break down the tasks into manageable chunks without overwhelming him.

 

[tigers_eye]

Liberty started doing this recently, and I found taking him out of a KK with lozenge which he'd liked for well over a year, and putting him back in his single-jointed fulmer has stopped it. I've kept his not-overly tight mexican grackle on. I did try a straight bar happy mouth, which he didn't chomp in, but could get his tongue over.....

 

[TarrSteps]

I've found Fulmers and full cheek snaffles very successful with horses that are fussy mouthed! Not every horse likes "more" movement.

And, as tiger-eye says, circumstance change. If something else worked for him in the past then didn't, don't rule it out as an option now.

 

[morgan4eva]

Our pony used to chomp but is much better now with an eggbutt lozenge and a dropped noseband. I know it sounds stupid but it seems with him it is a stress thing but if he can get the bit to make a noise he will do it all the more (attention seeking!) If I put him in a happy mouth which does not rattle he doesnt chomp nearly so much.

 

[nickyb]

thank you all so much, def some good ideas to try, well worth posting this today.