Bit for my brakeless pony

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Hattiehorse

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Ok, before I look like an idiot I'd like to say that I know NOTHING about bits or othr equipment that 'help' training.

My pony is a 14.2 middleweight cob, 6 year old.

I've had him four or five months.

His previous owner (a friend of ours) sold him to us with all tack. He has a two ring snaffle which she said was to help him 'round for canter' and also gave us a normal snaffle for when we felt he no longer had problems cantering (ex driving pony, generally just does mad driving trots instead!)

In the school he is fab, very responsive.

Out hacking is a different story.

For the first 5 mins he is lovely and calm and responsive. Then he gets wound up and speeds up, slows down - doesn't go at a consistant speed.
After the first trot (which is generally calm) he gets very excited and I have to hold him back. Trots get very prancey and uneven and he often slips in a few canter strides.

We also find cantering tricky. He just gallops. We can canter but it means holding onto his mouth the whole time and I mean quite strongly, not just a contact. Not enjoyable.

He often throws his head down so I was thinking a daisy rein or something?

Alot of people say to use a martingale but that stops head throwing? Which he doesn't use. I can use an old stirrup leather as something to grab onto.

A close friend has said about a stronger bit which I sort of agree with but I TOTALLY DISAGREE with all those massive, weird pieces of construction that are ridiculously strong...and I'm scared I'll use it wrong and do him some damage.

Can anyone suggest a stronger bit (than a two ring snaffle) that will help with brakes but won't 'hurt' him. I do not want it to 'flex' his poll or whatever they do as he is fine in that respect.
Or can anyone suggest other equipment/ideas that may help us?

Sorry for the rambling and Thanks for any help you can give us!
 
There are a couple of things going on - firstly you are trying to re-school from driving which is a very different contact on the horses mouth.

Due to the fact that this is a cob, I suggest steering clear of single jointed bits, as they are not ergonomic and can stab the roof of the mouth which would cause head shaking.

Depending on what you can borrow to try, my first choice would be a kimblewick followed by pelham with a straight mouthpiece (cambridge ported or mullen)

For training in the school consider a snaffle with lozenge, as this may improve their way of going as opposed to the single joint (i.e no raising of the head during transitions due to the single joint)
 
echo cotswoldJS......kimblewick for hacking and snaffle with lozenge for schooling (nuschule are nice for cobs with thick set mouths)! you're describing my 4year old
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Had him the kimblewick, cambridge ported, for 3 years (nuschule verbindend for schooling) now in full cheek french link all the time and have breakage a majority of the time.

Doesn;t work for eveyone but worth a go!
 
Thanks guys. I'll see if I can borrow a kimblewick from somewhere and give it a go.

Vicksey, I'm glad I'm not the only one with no brakes
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I think sometimes its about teaching them some manners aswell, the kimblewick has not de-sensitised my boys mouth at all, and at time I have really had to heav ho to stop, he actually has a very responsive mouth in the french link now (most of the time anyway)

But the other thing is, I find the martingale helps an awful lots too. Without that, my horses head he up in the air and then there is no stopping him. Good luck, It took me ages to get the right balance, but you'll get there with a bit of patience and understanding!
 
Have you had his back, saddle and teeth checked? My horse displayed some of the antics yours is (the prancy strides, wierd random transitions and odd head movements, flat out gallopping etc then periods of being normal for about 3 minutes then off again) when I first got him and it turned out the saddle he came with was crippling him. Seems strange that they could respond in this way for a bad back but that's what it turned out to be with mine and from the minute we got him a different saddle he was a different person. When we eventually "found" his canter it was beautiful!!!
 
Try to control the speed of the trot with the speed of your rise rather than with the hand. It is a bit hard at first but if you slow your rise he will slow to match.

Try it in the school, trot with very little contact and slow him by slowing your rise. Cob mare I used to ride was much slower if you left her mouth alone completely. She came in a dutch gag and was changed into a hanging cheek snaffle. She'd rush around like a loon at first but eventually she'd slow to match your rise.

Singing there once was an ugly duckling out loud helps too!
 
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