Dressage bit suggestions for eventing giraffe

TGM

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Daughter has been riding OH's hunter a bit this summer, initially to do tetrathlon as her own horse has had a very busy schedule. However, to get more XC practice she popped him round a PC ODE run over a BE100 course and he went double clear. Then when her own horse was out of action, she substituted him last minute at the BRC Junior 100 Horse Trials Championships, and went double clear again!

So it would be nice to carry on eventing him, but what is letting him down is the dressage and I don't think the current bit is helping. He is currently in a thick French link loose ring snaffle. However he seems a little afraid to take the contact and you have to keep your hands very still and quiet otherwise he flings his head up. It would be nice for him to accept a slightly more positive contact and wondered whether it is worth trying a softer bit - perhaps rubber or happy mouth, and playing about with the type of mouthpiece.

Has anyone had a similar horse and found a good bitting solution?
 

toomanyhorses26

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I had my sensitive mare in a nathe straight bar rubber or a sweet iron French link but the link was a slight port if that makes sense - I don't know if either of these are BD legal as we only did unaffiliated but we were never questioned on them
 

siennamum

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I always default to a straight Nathe mullen mouth if horse is backing off the bit. You lose a bit of sideways control but horses love them IME.
 

TGM

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Thanks both, think I will try a Nathe straight bar then. The lack of sideways control will be an issue as he is very, very long and gangly, but uf we can get him happier in the contact to start then we can address that issue later!
 

chestnut cob

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R was v like that. Tried him in a NS*verbindend and he loves it. Much happier in the contact and softer. Been able to remove hia flash as he no longer sets against the bit or tries to avoid it. Wouldn't tolerate any contact before putting*him in this bit.
 

snooples

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Im not usually one to advocate a different thing to what op asks for but my horse used to be the exact same, DC but awful dressage and he would go around with his head in the air. I tried every bit I could find and the thing that fixed him in the end was the physio, he had some stiffness in his back and it only took one session but the difference was amazing. So if its not something you have already done it might be worth looking at. He never ended up being a dressage star but he was also a long gangly hunter and I was young so to me dressage was just the inconvineince before the jumping :p
 
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