bits... the ongoing saga!!

[trickivicki]

Hi Guys,

Looking for a bit of inspiration please

loose ring - soft in the mouth, but a big tooo gung ho in canter (I am not a strong enough rider to hold him up together).
drop cheek - blocky and unpleasant
wilkie - tucks behind and generally feels a bit worried

pelham - goes like a dream! (but I don't want to ride in double reins all the time).

(rising 6yo, Sec D, huge paces that fling me around every where)

Thoughts on a postcard please.

V xx

 

[HufflyPuffly]

What mouth-piece is the pelham that you use?

 

[be positive]

Unless you canter every time you ride I would school in the loose ring in walk and trot using the pelham for now to help get the canter more established.
Work on getting yourself able to sit and hold more from the seat, on him becoming as soft and light as possible in the snaffle in the trot, do some very short canters to work on the transitions in and out until it starts to become easier for you, this is assuming you want to be dressage legal rather than just a quick fix.
It will get better as he becomes more balanced, cobs can find canter tricky so tend to plough on rather than sit and carry themselves, transitions to canter from walk and back to walk will be beneficial and should make it easier for you to hold him together.

 

[Enfys]

pelham - goes like a dream! (but I don't want to ride in double reins all the time).

(rising 6yo, Sec D, huge paces that fling me around every where)

Thoughts on a postcard please.

V xx

The Pelham, is he better with contact on the bottom rein? Or just on the snaffle rein?

What is he like with roundings?

If he is good on the snaffle rein, I would simply take the curb rein off, or not use it.

 

[Bojingles]

Unless you canter every time you ride I would school in the loose ring in walk and trot using the pelham for now to help get the canter more established.
Work on getting yourself able to sit and hold more from the seat, on him becoming as soft and light as possible in the snaffle in the trot, do some very short canters to work on the transitions in and out until it starts to become easier for you, this is assuming you want to be dressage legal rather than just a quick fix.
It will get better as he becomes more balanced, cobs can find canter tricky so tend to plough on rather than sit and carry themselves, transitions to canter from walk and back to walk will be beneficial and should make it easier for you to hold him together.

I agree with this. My loaner and instructor have been bringing my 8 yr old cob back into work for the last 6 months after a lengthy lay-off. She really couldn't hold herself and balance in canter and had always had a tendency to lean in trot. After lots of research and trial and error, we started hacking her in a Swales Pelham (loose ring so no poll action). She virtually immediately softened, admittedy sometimes ducked behind the contact, but it really got her off her forehand while we built her up. She's now back in a snaffle and going beautifully.

 

[Sprat]

I think persevere with the loose ring. I had the same issue with my (then 6yrd old) welsh D x WB. It's taken about a year of being very gung ho in the canter and leaning horribly in the trot, but now he is becoming more balanced I'm glad I stuck with it. A much more manageable ride without too much in his mouth.

Also agree with the transitions as well. I found with Sprat that one or 2 good strides of canter were all that was needed for a while, and bringing him back to trot before he got too forward and strung out.

 

[trickivicki]

Cheers guys! Will stick with the loosey for now & focus on getting really quality/ relaxed trot work. I have over cooked him a bit I think and made the canter a bit panicky. I like the tip of doing tiny canters thank you

 

[Sprat]

It does take a while but once he gets balanced in a few strides of canter, then you can ask him for a bit more with another stride, but be sure to keep it short and sweet

 

[stormox]

definately persevere and school with the loose ring. Keep swapping bits and he will nvver learn what hes meant to do. A bit is not a magical implement that will make any horse into a perfectly schooled one. Try and improve your seat- it cant be pleasant foor the horse if he "flins you about everywhere" !!
Maybe do a lot of work without stirrups? Lunge lessons?

 

[Sprat]

regarding him flinging you about everywhere, have you had his saddle looked at? (not trying to teach you to suck eggs at all!) I was having problems with Sprats big canter but it turns out that the saddle I was using didn't fit 100% and so it was moving about on his back, making it all a lot more difficult for the both of us!

 

[Micropony]

And it's not just a question of whether the saddle fits the horse but also whether it's right for you. When I switched from a wintec to a Kieffer on my big-moving wb, it made a massive difference to my ability to sit still. The deeper seat and massive knee rolls were just what I needed, and the horse was very grateful I was no longer bouncing around quite so much!

 

[Sprat]

^^ totally agree. Mine has now suddenly become really forward and loose through his back as I'm not bouncing about on top of him so much

 

[smja]

I'm a big fan of eggbutt bits, particularly when combined with full cheekpieces. Might give you a little more help to hold him.