Bits sliding through mouth

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Barklands

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I currently have a mare where all of the bits we have tried so far seem to slide through the mouth which quite rightly, she isn't best pleased about (although is just about tolerating). As much as she has come on leaps and bounds with fussing with her she isn't inclined to let me look under the bonnet to inspect her mouth conformation. I have our dentist coming out to do her teeth end of next month and he's very usefully also a trained bit fitter however, does anyone have any suggestions as to what to try in the meantime to tide us over?

I'm not mad keen on full cheeks for her given that she has rather a propensity for getting caught on nearly everything in her vicinity...
 
Full Cheek.

or some ground work teaching her to be softer to the aid hopefully then you won't need to be putting as much pressure on the bit. Steve Young does this so maybe watch and see if you can pick some techniques up.
 
Bit too big? Horse setting head/neck unevenly? Uneven reins in rider? Uneven contact in rider?

Those are the reasons I have known.
 
A bit sliding through the mouth means the horse is resistant or the rider is doing something wrong. A well fitted bit shouldn’t move to that level as the whole point is communication is supposed to be subtle.

With just broken horses I will find they might move more because they have no suppleness and are ignorant about turning aids and about having a soft jaw so for a few weeks you might find this in the school but I always think it means you are asking things they are not quite capable of and need to step back so they are turning off the leg better. With an older horse I would be more concerned as means they have massive holes in their training.
 
maya2008 said:
Bit too big? Horse setting head/neck unevenly? Uneven reins in rider? Uneven contact in rider?

Those are the reasons I have known.
Click to expand...
This there are so many uneven horses. People do not work both sides of the horse properly. They don't use the offside of the horse to mount, dismount, lead and are not taught to. It makes their saddle uneven and their horse. When I was teaching this was one of the things we did in every lesson. Mount and dismount both sides helps the rider and the horse. BHS schools do not teach this so when you do the riding and road certificate it comes as a shock as there is no muscle memory.
 
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