Bitting advice please?

[Jingleballs]

At the moment I ride Casper in a french link hanging cheek snaffle - I've used this for about 2 years and he schools nicely in it - I also hack and jump him in it and took him to his first JumpX training last year.

When schooling, he can sometimes get a bit strong especially when you start pushing him out of his comfort zone but it's managable in the school and he can be so light and responsive in it and never fusses.

Hacking in it can be hit or miss - sometimes he's fine, other times he head tosses for most of the hack (but only in walk he stops if you trot or canter). The brakes are also a bit iffy - sometimes he'll steady really nicely for you - other times he just ignores you, leans on the bit and goes - he's got a very thick neck and is so strong when he does this - last time this happened I had to bail out the side door.

Jumping, again he can be a bit strong but I always find him more managebale within the arena although he does tend to always go in a outline in this bit when I actually need to lift his head a little for jumping- at jumpX he got a bit strong as we had such a long run up to the jumps - I had to take a few good pulls to steady him but he did listen.

The thing I'm concerned about now is that I know that I can't stop him 100% of the time in this bit. I know that he'll usually steady or slow when I half halt but it's not guaranteed.

I'm about to start doing some faster hacking with him - something I've put off due to this very issue and I'm also about to start doing some jumping again.

I'm unsure as to whether it's best to persevere with this bit as I know that 90% of the time I'll have control of if I should look at other options - we're going to do XC this year and I need to be able to steady him as he will rush to the jumps a little.

I hate strong bits as my hand's aren't the quietest but I also hate having to haul on his mouth to steady him (I'm working on my seat aids to try and reduce this.) Some people have said that a slightly stronger bit but a lighter hand can be much better for the horse than having to take a strong pull with a milder bit.

Does anyone have any suggestions or advice? Someone had suggested a pelham but I've never ridden in double reins and not sure if I'd be any good at it?

 

[JenTaz]

you could try a snaffle with a curb chain would work similar to the pelham i'd believe or you could try a pelham with roundings, as you can get french link pelhams that have the same mouth piece as a snaffle, double reins isnt to hard you could practice it on your snaffle would look a bit silly but it would help you get used to it what about a dutch gag as then you can move your reins down or up depending on how much breaks you think you are going to need

 

[hrhmika]

maybe a waterford, they prevent them from grabbing the bit and running? have no experience of them myself but have heard they can work well, each horse is and individual and different bits wil work for different horese, give each bit a realy good trial dont use them for 5 min and think they dont work, are his teeth in good order?

 

[Django Pony]

After trying loads of bits I bought the Neue Schule Universal Tranz Lozenge (link attached). It is FANTASTIC. My cob took to it straight away, he mouths away on the salox! He came with a Myler comfort snaffle and I had no brakes at all! He can be really strong. This bit is so good 'cause you can use it in so many different ways - (like a hanging cheek, like a gag, with a curb strap or without, or with roundings) it is really adaptable to different activities, and makes it good value too. The mouthpiece is gentle with its shaped lozenge, but you can experiment with different types of poll/curb etc pressure to find what works best for your horse. There are also different variations of mouthpiece if you felt that a lozenge isn't right for your horse.

http://www.neueschulebits.com/acatalog/Universals___Gags.html

I've been really pleased with it and would definitely recommend it, particularly if you're having trouble finding the right bit for your horse.

You can try them out at too, if you google "hire horse bit" you'll find placed that you can loan different bits from.

Good luck! x