Chewing & chomping on bit!!!

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pottamus

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My Welshie is ridden in a french link loose ring which suits him fine....brakes are fine and steering!! But he chews and chomps on it and starts to lean on my hands and then drop his head down...I think in an attempt to grab the bit and chew on it or whatever he is doing! I have put it up a couple of holes gradually in case it was too low in his mouth but this makes no difference. It is not a major problem but becoming a little tiresome as I am constantly being pulled about and trying to stop him before he nose dives...also when he is chewing and chomping he is not concentrating and so tends to spook at things too!
All our work is hacking by the way and he is fine in every other way really. Any ideas???
 
Sorry i dont have any advice but my irish sports horse does it too and its beginning to really annoy me! he only really does it on the beach or doing jumps....kind of when he is excited!
 
I was having a similar problem, he was putting his head down, grabbing the bit and taking off (only while cantering)!! So Ive just put him in a Waterford loose ring and he had a shock to the system LOL! He went lovely in it, no taking off!!!!
 
Yes I did buy him a Waterford months and months ago for that reason but I am afraid to admit...worried about using it in case it goes horribly wrong! Always like to keep things simple on my horses so I guess I am a bit reluctant to try it and wondered if others had similar experiences and what they did. I have to say though that he is in no way taking off...this is done most when walking along!
 
I always thought it was a harsh bit but as long a you ride light with you're hands its fine, it just stops them from grabbing hold of it.
Does he work from behind or flat in front? He might need gee ing up to use his hind quarters, all we do is hacking, gonna start schooling in a school soon though!!
 
Well he can get bit bored on his own patch so not the most forward ride in the world...on different turf he is a different matter altogether! He can need a bit of geeing up as you say and I think as he walks along it is something to do if you know what I mean as he is not a runner offer at all.
 
Bears a lazy git in walk, its the only gait that I need to nag him in, but Ive found if I make him soften and work as soon as I get on he listens and works well, but I usually just work him for 10 mins then let him mooch! But I do it on and off throughout the ride. Bears a typical Cob usually but its just been recently he gets over excited in canter and can't contain himself so he feels the need to put in the odd buck and go fast!!
 
This usually occurs when the horse is unwilling to take a steady contact on the bit, and therefore this persists. Often the horse may tip his head too - these two evasions can go hand-in-hand.

Basically, without being able to see what is going on, this is probably happening because the horse is not correctly onn he bit, not going forward or willinging engaging. Therefore he will not be between your hand and leg, hence why he is leaning on your hand too and becoming overbent. A horse truely between hand and leg would not be able to avoid its work with these evasions, also often a sign of poor submission.
Indeed, it can often be a sign that the horse is tense and worried about their work.

Also just check for an discomfort, either from badly fitted bits, ulcers, wolf-teeth, sharp molars etc etc. To encourage im to take a steadier contact and accept the book a little more, a straight bar snaffle. (or eggbutt of fixed mouth bit) may help, because they will remain stiller and give the horse confidence to take hold of them a little more.
 
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