bitting problems

[lowbardon]

hi everyone ,wondering if anyone can help with my horse, at home she is a very quiet sensible cob she can sometimes get a little strong but she normally stops or slows down when i ask her too so i took her hunting on monday ended up being out 30 mins then i took her home as she was outof control ,she galloped past the whole of the field i couldnt slow her i might as well not had a bit in her (she was in a cheltnam gag) as it was her first time i expected her to be a bit strong and excited but not that bad, i am not the most confident of riders, i have put her a pelham to see if that helps, i would love to try her again but need some brakes can anyone suggest anything that might help me and her thanks

 

[kerilli]

umm, it depends whether she ran with her head down, and out, or tucked in... was she steerable? did you try planting one hand on her neck and jerking with the other, as sometimes a solid pull with both just gives them something to run against. tbh i'd say trial and error, borrow bits from people and see whether they work. a waterford is good because they can't lean on it, whereas a vulcanite pelham is easier for them to lean on. a metal pelham is harder to lean on. a bit with cheeks helps with steering/prevents you from pulling bit through mouth.
in the post about the bit that broke, there's a waterford gag... with two reins, the snaffle rein for normal, the curb (gag) rein for emergencies, i think this must be a very surprising bit for a rude horse!

 

[lowbardon]

she just took off sort of dived her head down i had no steering and she was not listening to me at all tryed turning, will look into borrowing a waterford,i have try her in a dutch gag and i dont think the gag worked much , she has a big neck which is muscle not fat so she kind of sets her neck, not sure but she has started to chew the bit and constantly try and pull the reins out of my hands dont know if she is trying to get her tongue over the bit(how can you tell?) i feel if i could get her to listen to be and if i could bend her neck slightly i might have a better chance of stopping her

 

[alicedove]

I know a little girl who took her lovely native pony hunting for the first time and he did exactly that, same thing. Ran through got more and more wound up, on through hounds, and then continued on and shot off luckily towards some people with trailers, where he stopped (hunt was miles back!)

I reckon if her head was down, then a gag -like action would be best, but you prob need it to be quite thin. Lean back, fist into neck, with the one rein, really tight, then take the other rein, and give some real pressure, yanking if you have to, take her head round and try to turn her head or whole horse. You will have to, if necessary, hurt her, then she won't do it again.

Good luck, on the fourth go she will be absolutely fine!

Failing that can you pay someone to take her for you two more times?