Chewing the bit....any ideas?

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jumpthemoon

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My friend has a rising 6 yr old arab x who is pretty green. He will work in a nice shape sometimes, but he goes through phases of tossing his head and really crunching the bit with his teeth - almost throwing the bit around in his mouth and catching it with his teeth. He has had his teeth done recently and this hasn't made any difference.

He is ridden in a single jointed eggbut snaffle - she has tried him in a french link and he was even worse. When he does it she releases the contact and waits until he settles again (I did put to her that maybe he's doing it because the contact releasing = reward, but she doesn't think so). Anyone have any ideas of things to try with him? What do you think to trying a straight bar bit?
 
My friend's horse (rising 5) did this when she got him. This might not work with your friend's horse but with him it's a case of keeping a constant contact and using lots of leg to keep him going forward into it. Releasing the contact does not work with him because it encourages him to toss his head more. Her instructor also suggested that she put the bit up a little in his mouth & this also seems to have helped. He still does it a bit but nowhere near as much.
 
Thanks for that
smile.gif
It's along the lines of what I thought but she doesn't think it would help if she kept the contact and rode him forward. She's asked me if I'll have a sit on him at some point though so maybe I'll be able to try it!
 
He's probably only got a little mouth - so a not too thick rubber one would be okish - but I'd probably go with the metal myself.
 
My arab used to do the chewing thing and fiddling with the bit - I went to a straight rubber bit for a while but eventually he started objecting to that, put him back in a KK Ultra Lozenge and once was strong enough in his back muscles did as suggested above, held the contact and didn't give him his head whenhe messed about and that seems to have worked. However he isn't happy in either a single jointed bit or a normal french link, he onl settles when the lozenge is angled (fussy git!) Might be worth a try tho?
 
My horse does something similar, he draws his tongue and bit back, chomps the bit which all end up chewed. Ive tried almost every type of noseband and bit and a straight mouth didnt work for him. He felt dead and seemed to lean on it. The best Ive tried is a hanging cheek/baucher snaffle as it is held still and off his tongue. I feel my boy has a fleshy mouth and large tongue so I try to buy thin bits.
 
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