Bitting help please!!!

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Lawdyloo

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I have a tb she's an ex race horse she is only 15.2hh but when we are schooling and show jumping she is in a snaffle but out hacking soon as we go into canter we go mad she just goes and there us nothing I can do to stop. Any advice would be great!!!
 
Don't canter on a hack !!

On a more serious note I would ask your instructor what they would recommend.

I have found with a couple of ex-racers that the more they were bitted up the worse they seemed to be. My last one was easy in a straight bar flexible Happy Mouth as I could take a little pull without him 'fighting' the bit and he was easy to pull up.

Do make sure that you don't grip with your legs as this will only make your mare go faster. Don't forget that she will have been trained to go fast and it will take come careful reschooling to overcome this.
 
eggs said:
Don't canter on a hack !!

On a more serious note I would ask your instructor what they would recommend.

I have found with a couple of ex-racers that the more they were bitted up the worse they seemed to be. My last one was easy in a straight bar flexible Happy Mouth as I could take a little pull without him 'fighting' the bit and he was easy to pull up.

Do make sure that you don't grip with your legs as this will only make your mare go faster. Don't forget that she will have been trained to go fast and it will take come careful reschooling to overcome this.
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I would agree here. This horse has probably always run fast when out on hacks, so its about teaching her that you dont want to go fast. Perhaps stick to trotting on hacks, and maybe work on fast canter and slow canter transitions in the arena so that you can steady her up.
I dont really think a stronger bit would help much here, as tb's are very good at coming behind the bit so you might find she does this and you have less control.
I think more schooling at slower paces would help her, and if you really want to canter on hacks, do it for a few strides at a time until she gets use to not running off with you.
 
I think you'll find it is all about technique when it comes to holding a ex racer in canter until they learn about you and you way of doing things. I ride out race horses and we have a lovely mare that is easy as anyhting to hold in a steady canter or gallop, but we had a new girl who we put on her as she is the best behaved and we didn't see her for dust, the horse was off, a few weeks later she got the hang of it and she can canter her happily with out needing to pull etc.... you'd not have thought it after she disappeared up the hill, pulling like mad!!!!

They have different buttons out of racing and need time and patience to learn a new way of doing things.
 
Thanks we have been working on cantering and when I feel it's a bit to much we trot till she calms down then try again. She is good as gold 99% of the time but in her old home I don't think she done much hacking so she just remembers having to gallop on grass so we are starting the long proess of teaching her everything she knows is wrong poor pony!!
 
Educate the horses mouth and her mind (as in schooling) see how you go before thinking about changing her bit, if she's an ex racer and has not been re-schooled in anyway, she won't have a proper mouth.
 
My ex racer was the same as "Eggs" stated, the softer the bit the better the ride, he was in a straight happy mouth for everything inc eventing, we did spend a long time schooling and retraining to except a nice contact rather than fight it.
I was speaking to a point to point jockey once and whether it is true or not but he said the horses seem to go faster with a stronger contact.
 
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