bits???

[emmilou]

Hi all,
need some advice from you all. my pony at the moment is in a normal snaffle and schools lovely in it. however he does have a bit of an attitude! as of when it takes his fancy (in the school or when he doent fancy doing somthing!), he sticks his neck out and runs. he does pull up but he can be a real git and gets quite strong when he's on a high.
i tried a hanging cheek snaffle but it made him rear!
what would you lot suggest. i just need to improve the breaks for when he's having ' one of those days'
xxx

 

[Frazer]

Hello!!!
Bitting is the most hardest thing to get right, it is literally trial and error! I am going trough this at the moment!! If the hanging cheek made him rear i am guessing this is bcoz the poll pressure!! Soo a dutch gag probably wouldn't be the best for this.. but you could try a dutch gag with two reins, one on the snaffle ring, and the other on the second ring which you can use when he is having one of them days! Or use roundings. Kimbelicks are also quite good, and might work!! I would try them first, and then maybe try a pelham with two reins but only as a last resort! My mare rears with a dutch gag, but with a cheltham gag which uses more poll pressue she is fine!! Maybe a waterford mouthpiece. Sorry probably not much help.

 

[helenandshadow]

Hi,
If he reared in the hanging cheek he probably doesn't like the poll pressure so i wouldn't recommend a gag or curb bit. I would try a different mouthpiece, perhaps a waterford or copper roller/cherry roller, which he can't take hold of. Does he open his mouth when he pulls? If so you could try a different noseband such as a flash or grackle.

 

[emmilou]

well, he has a flash at the moment. i was thinking of somthing a little weaker than a curb bit as he is quite a sensitive little boy! the snaffle he has is a thick chunky style one too x

 

[KatB]

Try a thinner bit. I dislike chunky snaffles as they are uncomfortable in a horses mouth, they leave less room for tongue etc, and can encourage leaning. I would just try a thinner mouthpiece on him, sometimes a plastic bit can produce less resistance too.

 

[emmilou]

will try that maybe first before i go any harsher as i dont want him getting too much of a hard mouth. ive always put of changing his bit as he's always had this same snaffle but i think its time to tweek it a bit x

 

[Jemayni]

Perhaps a bit of a controvertial idea but my horse used to do a similar thing, just block and run through the bit; he was only a baby so I didn't really want to upgrade bits. When I had is teeth done the vet asked me if I'd had these problems (I hadn't mentioned it) and said it was possibly because of the conformation of his teeth, she said a bit seat might help. So the power tools came out and he had this bit seat drilled in and it really helped, I now ride him in a (brace for it) sweet iron copper-lonzenge french link loose ring snaffle, which is a very straight forward bit, might be worth your time thinking about it, even if it does soun like a bit of a wierd thing to do!