Bit help please!!

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rowy

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Just found out why Dancer has always been a bit rubbish at taking a contact. She has always been chompy and when I take a slight contact she becomes choppy and against the bit. Looked in her mouth today and realised she has like absolutely no room. Experimented by pulling the bit back like when im riding and realised it properly squishes her tongue and then she moves her tongue rapidly in her mouth up and down to remove the pressure and the chews the bit.
Bits I have tried:
Rubber bendy straight bar- she doesnt like as quite a chunky bit and really squishes her tongue
Loose ring french link- middle link really really squishes her tongue
Thin snaffle- nut cracker action, the point digs into her tongue.
NS team up- thinner so a bit too strong for her and she really fights against it.

Thought about maybe a myler as isnt that squared upwards so not on her tongue at all?
 
Not sure how she generally goes but I have a KWPN with a massive tongue and I use happy mouth bits that are straight and don't have the nutcracker action. I have a dutch gag and just put my reins on the snaffle ring, I use this one as it is designed much thinner in the middle than any other one I've seen. Also try phoning the NS bitting advice peeps, I had probs with port sizes in weymouths and bought a specialist one for KWPN big tongued horses with a different angle to it, it is possible they have brought out other bits to tackle this problem since then.
 
Sian - We have had the same problem with Alfie! He has a huge tongue, and a straight bar mouth piece has been squashing his tonige and making him really uncomfortable. :( We have just been and bought a NS Tranz Universal gag so I will let you know how it goes... pretty sure it would be dressage legal if ridden on the snaffle ring as it's action is then the same as a hanging cheek snaffle.
 
Forgot to say it has to be dressage legal!
Thanks Rhianne. Thing is there is so many dif types of bit but Dancer is so fussy!! Best bit she has gone in so far is her rubber flexible straight bar loose ring but still not great and fussy in her mouth.
 
My mare sounds v similar to your boy - just not much space in rather a full fleshy mouth, along with a large and sensitive tongue! She is now in a NS verbindent loose ring and very happy in it. She is in the 12mm (bradoon) mouthpiece as she is happy with as little as possible in her mouth - we haven't found it sharp. I would def recommend the verbindent to try, can you get hold of a couple of widths to try and see what he thinks? (is dressage legal too!). For some reason she didn't get on with a myler, although on paper it should have been good for her.
hth!
 
Demi Anky? Gives tongue relief with no central plate or lozenge.....

NS would be well worth a look for a good range of bits that are shaped to give tongue relief.
 
Myler hanging cheek comfort snaffle. Dressage legal and great for small mouthed horses, it's the only bit that my filly likes. You might need a size 1/4 of an inch smaller than normal.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/myler-han...t=UK_Horse_Wear_Equipment&hash=item35b6778a80

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Just been to local saddlery that gave me advice on bits.
She said that horses usually with this problem she recommends neue schule team up but I said she wasnt really happy in this and the only one she is even partially happy in is a straight bar. She said that Dancer may just prefer a straight bar because of the even pressure on the tongue. We have the dentist coming in 2 weeks so she said to try all the bits we have at home again and ask the dentist advice about her mouth shape and then to come back but she said the myler hanging cheek would probably work best.

So came home and had a look through our collection of bits and found a pelham which is a straight bar with a slight port and then just used the hanging cheek main part of it and didnt use the curb rein at all.
She went soooooooo much better in it! was unbelievable! If a bit is too harsh or painful, i would know about it but with this she just trotted around nice and round allowing me to take a contact. There wasnt ANY angry chewing but she was just gently chewing and creating a little bit of foamy saliva all round her mouth and mum was watching from the ground and said her ears were pricked and she looked a lot happier. had a canter and it was nice and bouncy and round- just felt wonderful!

Anyway straight after to compare I popped the NS team up back on and she went awful! Chompy and angry. you know when they poke their top lip down in anger and curl back their lips and ears were right back and she kept coming up and fighting the bit. In canter she sank behind it and then ran on her forehand onto it. was just terrible.

so plan is to use the pelham as she is happy in it until the dentist comes but I think bit lady is right and the myler hanging cheek will work the best as it is most like the top part of the pelham sort of thing as pelhams arent dressage legal.
 
i would try a hanging cheek with the same mouthpiece or a kimblewick again with same mouth piece
or magic bit(cambridge snaffle) which is basically same mouthpiece with rings
 
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