Bit chomping

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31 May 2015
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My 4 year old constantly chomps on his bit. He didn't do his when he was first broken but it is now a constant habit. Have ridden previously in a loose ring snaffle and now have him in a French link. It's not stress related, and tends to do it more when he is stood still. Just wanted people's opinions on how to manage this
 

Sugar_and_Spice

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Could be boredom. Does it stop as soon as you give him something interesting to think about eg lots of changes of rein etc? If he does it when ridden I'd take it as a sign he's not paying attention any more and change the exercise you're working on.
 

DappleGreyDaydreamer

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My 5 year old does this a lot when he's not focused in on something, or when he really wants to go. He hunted when he was in Ireland so I have problems with him snatching out hacking because he thinks he's going to gallop and jump hedges, and in the school if we're doing anything slower than a fast trot he will do it frequently. He's got better over the last few months so I'm hoping he will grow out of it!
 

Kat

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Have his teeth checked first, then check that the bit is fitted correctly not too high or too low. Then if he's still doing it you could consider swapping the bit to something a bit more stable in the mouth to see if that helps.
 

Tiarella

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Agree with others, it's a boredom thing. When I hack my 4yo down the lanes he thinks it's terribly boring and chomps/flings his head around. Doing something remotely interesting where he has to listen to me, he is fine!
 

Holzdweaver

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you could try a hanging cheek as its more stable in the mouth, My mare used to go nicely in a ported mullen mouth hanging cheek. You may have to play about a bit to see if it makes a difference, maybe borrow a couple of different types if you can to save spending and then the horse not getting on with it.
 
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