Bits

[Danindigo]

Does anyone have any suggestion on bits?

I have a eventer experienced at novice level & hopefully will go to inter in 2008.
However he is quite a puller in the XC & so it is quite difficult getting him together for the more technical elements on the course. I used to to use a dutch gag but as he pulled it made his mouth rather sore so i borrowed a KK Ultra universal bit which was better but no great. I just wondered if anyone had a suggestions as to what to have a go with. Would a pelham be any better perhaps?

Thanks

 

[sfward]

Personally I have always liked Cheltenham gags. They seem to be more effective than the rather confused action of the Dutch/universal gags. My mare is very strong XC and it works well on her. A Pelham would certainly be worth a try, as would a Myler combination if you wanted to go for something a bit different - not tried them myself but heard some good things about them.

 

[Danindigo]

How does the cheltenham gag work?

 

[sfward]

The cheekpieces run through the bit ring and attach to the reins, so it applies poll pressure and has a head-raising effect. Very good for horses that like to bowl along on their forehand like mine does! You can also get them with cheeks - called a Nelson gag, just bought one for mine as helps with steering.

This is from the Neue Schule website (http://www.neueschulebits.com/acatalog/Bitting_Advice.html - incidentally well worth a look for some other options of things you could try as well as a description of Pelham action):

The Action of the English Gag (Running Gag - Lifting Action)

The recommendation is to ride on two reins and I would generally endorse this as I have known horses start off brilliantly on one rein and end up over-bending (chin on chest). It helps tremendously with brakes and outline and is often used on horses that are strong, heavy in front (on the forehand) or too deep (head too near the ground). It is available with rolled leather cheeks (aesthetically more pleasing) but not as fast in their action as our rope cheeks that slip back and forth through the rings much more quickly, giving a faster and more clearly defined aid, however, you will find Neue Schule gags have slightly larger rings so the rolled leather cheeks do slide more easily if you prefer to use leather cheeks. The eggbutt is referred to as the Cheltenham Gag, the loose ring is the Balding Gag (also referred to as the Polo Gag if the rings are larger), and the full cheek is known as the Nelson Gag which is a very popular show jumping cheek (aids turning).