Bitting Advice

L

LadyRascasse

Well-Known Member
Joined
6 September 2008
Messages
5,263
Visit site
Right this might get long, my old lad (23yr old) is a git to bit, he was in a pelham which was fine but i felt the mouth piece was to big and the bit was to sever for my less experienced sharer. so i played around with bits and settled with a neue schele universal. but i feel this isn't right for him and after a lesson yesterday my RI confirmed she doesn't think it suits him well. (oh FYI we have tried full check french link snaffle, hanging check french link snaffle, eggbutt french link snaffle, rubber straight bar pelham, eggbutt straight bar snaffle and the neue schele universal on the snaffle ring)

the things about him, he is very strong particularly out hacking, he is very lazy and like you to carry him. he isn't keen on poll pressure but in the right (soft) hand he is happy. i need a bit that will be suitable for both me and my sharer to ride in (although i would consider swapping bits between us if it was more beneficial to him) i would ideal like it to dressage legal as we do a small amount of local level dressage (prelim) but again i do showing so if it was a suitable showing bit i would try it and just keep a plain snaffle for the dressage.

any suggestion welcome
 
Try the pelham with no curb chain -it worked for one of ours, even though it looked a bit odd. Or try with the curb chain but only a rein on the top ring. The short shank combination bit by Myler suits some horses really well, but you'd want to try/hire one first because they are expensive. An english hackamore might be worth a try but you need to ride with a give/take action as a horse that leans in one can damage the nerves in their nose irreparably.

I hope one of these might help.
 
Maybe you should try him bitless. Im sure you could find someone in your area experienced with training a horse bitless. I dont mean a hackamore as they can be severe, just a D cooks or a sidepull, or even just a rope halter. As for him being strong, i would suggets teaching him the one rein stop. Google it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmpDSbXPtzU This may be useful as i feel every horse should be able to do an emergency stop. I think the problem is that most riders are taught to pull both reins to stop a horse. I think that if people learnt to ride a one rein stop, a lot of horses would never learn to pull in the first place. After all, it takes two to pull.
 
first things first, he is not in any pain he has been seen by the vet, farrier and back man on a very regular basis he is a happy contented horse who is a vile creature to be around when he is out of work. not keen on the bitless idea as a) i do know enough about it to be confident to use it and b) he has very little brakes with a bit i feel that he would have evn less bitless. might try the no curb chain thing on the pelham, and definably will be hiring before i buy. if there any advice lines that are a bit broad in range rather than just one brand?
 
mycobs=myworld said:
maybe try a hackamore they are for the more experianced look into them i have gone bitless for my strong horse but i use a dually now.xx
Click to expand...

Hia I had similar problems with my hw cob. I rang the bit bank lady and she was very helpful, I ended up with myler bit. She spoke to me personally and listend to my problems. You have to pay for the bit up front but if you are not happy with it you can send it back for a refund. You can get the number off the internet. Hope that helps. X
 
If the pelham was too chunky for him, what about trying a sam marsh pelham in him for yourself [or a sam marsh weymouth if you use a double]? Brilliant bits for ones which don't have much room for bulk in their mouth and really not as horrible as people think they are [in the right hands, like any bit].
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top