Bit Help! Horse not accepting bit and going tense and speeding up.

milliepup

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I have had my mare for 6 months now and she is very low mileage. She has always been taught previously to go round with her head up or behind the bit and hollow. I am trying to ride her more long and low but we are having a real battle with her mouth. She will constantly play with the bit, move head from side to side mouthing the bit when she does try and take it and now has just started to almost grab it and just get faster and faster and run away with you. In walk she works beautifully but in trot and canter it is getting unbearable no matter what we try. She also goes very tense as soon as you ask for the trot and try and work her forward and she will get behind your leg and sometimes stop dead and reverse. Teeth have been done recently, back checked with no problems.
At moment she is in a loose link snaffle with a flash as she keeps opening her mouth. Have tried a myler comfort snaffle which she hated and and a korsteel snaffle and all the same.
Please help as I really don't know what to try next.
Thx
 

OrangeEmpire

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Sounds like she is panicing/afraid of the contact - do you tense up? how about ignoring her head position for a while and sorting out her rythmn. if she rushes do you 'pull and release' with until she is going at the right pace? It is very easy to be tense when they are zooming off like this and hang off their mouth!

how about ignoring canter for a while and doing lots of transitions where you only trot for a few strides. Do serpentines and loops all round the school so she has to listen do you and move off the leg and throw in random transitions - halt/ trot /whatever to keep her guessing. I did this recently with my youngster as she panicked about cantering. Really helped as they have to look to you for direction. Also talking soothingly the WHOLE time really helps too! (you sound like an idiot but it is worth it!)

eventually she'll forget to stress and just enjoy finding out where you want her to go next! Good luck!
 

Peanot

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Hi, I had similar problems with my mare and I ride in a sprenger loose ring french link now. I tried the myler too and it was OK for a while but she doesnt go well in it at all now. I also sometimes ride her in a french link pelham which she likes but dressage doesnt allow this so I dont use it very often. I found that she didnt like the flash or having too tight a noseband. I bought a comfort bridle with a crank noseband and tried this. The first canter, she tried it, so I just held and used my leg, and this seemed to work. She also opens and closes her mouth but she isnt strong when doing this, so I dont strap it shut. Before with the flash on, I think she didnt like it as she couldnt open her mouth. So I would try taking off the flash and see how she goes then.
My mare does have a big tongue and so the bit isnt very thick, as there is not enough room and I found that a normal snaffle with the nutcracker action dug into the roof of her mouth, which understandably she didnt like either. I hope this helps.
 

reynold

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what is she like when you lunge her - you could try lunging her in a pessoa on the beginner setting and see if you can improve her without the rider
 

Shilasdair

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Bitting is something really individual to the horse, so it's hard to say. If I were you I'd try riding her in an eggbutt straightbar or mullen mouth, rubber or nathe (size to fit horse's mouth) to try to get her to take a solid and quiet contact for a while.
I'd lunge her in it with side reins so she can find her own contact. first.
Then ride, trying not to tense up myself (easier said than done, I know).
When she starts to get 'heavier' in the straight bar or mullen mouth bit, I'd swap her for an eggbutt single jointed or french link.
I'd avoid using stronger bits....
S
smile.gif
 

Honeypots

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Daughters pony used to be very tense and uncomfortable in her mouth when we first got her. She was in a snaffle and flash. It turned out she had a low palate and was objecting to the nutcracker action of the single jointed snaffle and the flash was just making it worse. She's now in a french link with no noseband and is a different pony altogether. May be worth just checking/or getting someone to check for you, the conformation of her mouth.
 

Luckylocalian

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I had a similar thing with my boy - he just would not accept the bit and his mouth was bone dry and really tense. I phoned Heather's bit line at Neue Schule www.neueschulebits.com and was recommended a Verbidend connection bit... the difference was amazing! I liked it so much I have just bought another bit from their range for jumping - they are really nicely shaped and the metal oxidises and they all seem to really like it. Try www.shop4bits too as they will let you trial them first. I have been very impressed!
 

randira

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A very similar situation to my own with my mare who is 6 with as yours, low mileage. She was getting incredibly strong and fussy in the mouth and I was running out of ideas having tried everything mylars, tom thumbs, pelham .. you name it.

I thought sod it we are running out of bits and she is 6!!!! So I put her - very simply in a loose ring happy mouth straight bar, one of the mildest bits you can get and she is a TOTALLY different horse. She hated any nut cracker action and the fact I had her in a flash or grackle must have been torture. She seemed to hate metal too, because she has a nice wet mouth now with a bit of foam where as before she would be lathering. She is also a lot more willing to open her mouth for the bit and has stopped tugging. The bit gives a bit of tongue pressure which my mare does not fight. However I have almost been riding around like a cow girl with a really loose cotact and a neck strap - using that and my seat to give aids, until she was 'looking' for a contact. We stayed in walk the first session and next bits of trot and the next just a few strides of canter and then bring it all back again. Sometimes it's the unlikely ways that work, but good luck and at least give it a try and a few sessions to see if it might be the key xxxx
 
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