Bitting youngster advice please

Holly Hocks

Holly Hocks

Well-Known Member
Joined
1 March 2010
Messages
5,402
Location
England
Visit site
I am trying to bit my youngster who will be three next month. On the advice of the dentist and a friend of mine who breaks in youngsters I got her an ordinary loose ring french link. She is my first youngster. She takes the bit quite happily - in fact she will get hold of it and put it in her mouth herself. But she won't settle - she puts her tongue over, under, over under, out the side of her mouth etc. Is this normal and if not what would you suggest please? If this is normal, how long do they do it for? I've been doing it each day for about 10 days now.
I was considering a straight bar rubber mouth to see if that made a difference, but as I don't know how long it should take for them to settle I don't know.
Thanks in advance.
 
Yes, being mouthy is normal for babies, I wouldn't worry about it. I normally put the bit a hole higher than normal until they have figured out where to put their tongues (getting tongue over bit can become a habit, esp if bit is too low in the mouth). I also tend to use a straight bar rubber bit quite a bit, although it doesn't suit all horses. Nor does a french link, BTW.
 
Puz is doing exactly this :S I'm ignoring it really, she'll get used to it.

Instructor recommends leaving her in her box (supervised) with the bit in. Just getting bored with it, basically, so it stops being interesting!

I'm also doing anything I do with her in it-including leading to/from field xx
 
If it helps, Sailor is still quite mouthy with his bit! He also grabs hold of it when taking the bridle off, so this has be a slow operation sometimes.

Not sure if that helps much mind lol

oh and he is in copper french link :D
 
Oh, and I have her in the Neue Schule starter bit-expensive but totally worth it, it's the only bit she's settled in xx
 
Cedars said:
Puz is doing exactly this :S I'm ignoring it really, she'll get used to it.

Instructor recommends leaving her in her box (supervised) with the bit in. Just getting bored with it, basically, so it stops being interesting!

I'm also doing anything I do with her in it-including leading to/from field xx
Click to expand...

Thanks Cedars.
I've been leaving her in the stable while I long-rein my other horse - I take all her food away so that she can't get any haylage tangled around the bit (although she always seems to find some from somewhere!) I take her out on walks quite a lot in hand, normally in her headcollar and she is fab, but I tried to do it the other day with the headcollar over the bridle and she was an absolute pain in the backside - attempting to rear, barge and just being obnoxious. What type of bit are you using?
xx
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top