Dressage legal bits !!

L

Lilmonty

New User
Joined
21 March 2016
Messages
1
Visit site
Hello,
I'm hoping someone could help me !
I have a 5 year old gelding in a Waterford bit Right now and as I have no idea about dressage legal bits I'm hoping someone could point me in the right direction !!
He's strong and forward going, ideally I would like a bit to use for both showjumping and dressage , would like it to keep the balance, help with direction and also keep the control !!
Many thanks ,
Lillie
 
OK, well, it's good that the OP has come to ask about an alternative :)

OP, why not start with something simple like a french link and see how you get on from there. If you're currently in the waterford then having 2 links in the mouthpiece rather than a single joint would be closer to what he's used to. I'd start with a loose ring, assuming that's what your waterford is, and see how you get on.
If you find that you need help with steering, then you could consider a fulmer as the addition of the full cheeks would help to guide him.
 
Hey OP,

You could try a Neue Schule Verbindend bit. Its dressage legal. I ride mine in a loose ring waterford for showjumping and XC as he has a tendency to be strong and lean on my hands, and i was using a French Link Snaffle for flatwork but found he would just pull and get strong and lean on my hands even with lots of transition work. I asked the bit bank for advice and this is what they recommended for me. So far so good, the leaning has almost stopped and he is actually listening and starting to really use his back end and our flatwork has improved majorly.

I wouldnt worry too much about needing the same bit for both disciplines, sometimes its just the case of different situation different bit.
 
I agree the horse needs training rather than a strong bit. A 5 year old that's that strong on the flat suggests to me it hasn't been properly mouthed during breaking. I'd be tempted to remouth first with a mouthing bit and then use a little French link or similar and see how you go from there. If you still need a Waterford for jumping then fair enough.
 
The BD website will give you all the information you need about dressage legal bits - look under the Rules section.

A lot of people mistake a horse that it out of balance and on its forehand as being strong. Before bitting your horse up I would suggest finding a good flatwork trainer to help you help your horse .
 
A waterford isn't dressage legal, but it can be very useful on a young horse teaching not to lean. It can also be a good bit for jumping, depending on how your horse goes.
I'd be trying the horse in a sided french link, and potentially swapping in the waterford at times if begins to lean heavily on hands and then going back to snaffle.

I'd have a couple of lessons with a good instructor to find out why horse is leaning and then work on the issue, certainly a waterford can be useful (in the right hands as HHO) but longterm want to be in a snaffle for competing :)
If horse is leaning because is being pushed forward too much or is being held too tightly in then a waterford isn't being used correctly, but only an instructor can see what is happening, we can't on HHO :p

A waterford isn't a great bit for strong horses, I prefer the McGuiness bit if really strong for that but I've only had to use that on a previous horse going xc a couple of times before able to go back to a snaffle or pelham with it and never needed the bit again. I would definitely recommend some flatwork lessons to find out why horse is leaning/strong and go from there :)
 
Last edited:
only_me said:
A waterford isn't dressage legal, but it can be very useful on a young horse teaching not to lean. It can also be a good bit for jumping, depending on how your horse goes.
I'd be trying the horse in a sided french link, and potentially swapping in the waterford at times if begins to lean heavily on hands and then going back to snaffle.

I'd have a couple of lessons with a good instructor to find out why horse is leaning and then work on the issue, certainly a waterford can be useful (in the right hands as HHO) but longterm want to be in a snaffle for competing :)
If horse is leaning because is being pushed forward too much or is being held too tightly in then a waterford isn't being used correctly, but only an instructor can see what is happening, we can't on HHO :p

A waterford isn't a great bit for strong horses, I prefer the McGuiness bit if really strong for that but I've only had to use that on a previous horse going xc a couple of times before able to go back to a snaffle or pelham with it and never needed the bit again. I would definitely recommend some flatwork lessons to find out why horse is leaning/strong and go from there :)
Click to expand...

A lovely, constructive post that I 100% agree with. Would agree with Skewbaldbow about the Verbidand too - we use one for our Fell for dressage, but he's jumped in a Wilki or Pelham (depending on the occasion).
You may need to have different bits for different disciplines - if you don't want to keep changing bits over then buy an 'economy' second bridle :).
Good luck
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top