Bitting Advice...

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spotty_pony

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One of my horses tends to get very fresh and excitable during the winter (particularly when hacking and jumping) however I am finding him worse this winter as he is fitter than he has ever been before!

I have been working on his schooling and he is listening to my aids, but if he gets too excited he has a tendency to bolt and take off which isn't very pleasant. He is ridden 4-5 times per week and is getting plenty of work. (Today we went out for a two and a half hour hack and he still had plenty of energy when we got back!)

I know this won't fix the problem, but I am considering trying him in a stronger bit as he is becoming more and more difficult to ride and I am worried about the consequences if I lose control (particularly when hacking out) as it obviously isn't very safe riding and feeling out of control!

He is currently ridden in a loose ring french link snaffle, with a running martingale and a flash noseband and is fine in this for everything during the summer. He does have a very soft mouth (except for when he decides to tank off!) he tends to drop behind the bit and is behind the bit when he is tanking off too, so I am unsure what a good choice of bit would be for him. I am going to speak to my Riding Instructor tomorrow anyway, but I just wondered if any of you had any ideas?

Any advice much appreciated. :)
 
when you are asking him to slow down think about what your body is doing to make him go forward. Maybe your body seat, legs etc is saying to him go forward then you are trying to correct it by using the bit to slow down,...........Just a thought
 
If he's coming behind the bit then you do not want something that applies curb pressure i.e. a pelham or a Kimblewick.

I would suggest a gag (I don't mean a Dutch gag - I mean a proper gag because the action of a Dutch gag wouldn't work) or a combination bit. It depends how light your hands are, and how serious the problem is. I would recommend either of these bits to be ridden in two reins, as then you can adjust the effect of the bit when you are riding.

When I was starting to reschool Jazz, I immediately put him in an MB04 combination bit, as it combines nose pressure, tongue pressure, bar pressure and slight poll pressure. It taught him to respect the bit (he'd had his mouth sawn off by a previous rider) and meant that I needed very little rein pressure to achieve the desired effect.

Now he is ridden in an MB02 hanging cheek or full cheek snaffle with a grakle noseband on a light contact.
 
How about a 3 ring gag with two reins?! One on your normal snaffle ring and one on a lower ring for when you need it. You can keep the second rein loose unless he needs reminding of his manners and I believe it has a head raising action too?! Probably a good idea to have a chat with your instructor.
 
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