Fitting double bridle on a horse with a short mouth?

[Sol]

Double bridle fitting is a pain! Dan had his first ride in a double tonight, though we had major fitting issues at first His actual double seems to be too big pretty much all over so it wouldn't sit right anyway, so we managed to sort something out that would at least let both bits go high enough in his mouth...

But - it looks really weird! His mouth/lips is actually really short which means there ends up being loads of wrinkles which looks uncomfortable. But if I set the bits any lower, they would be too low in his mouth.... He seemed perfectly happy with them tonight (despite half an hours faffing trying to get it right!) and just got on with the job, bless him

If anyone has any links or tips on getting the fit perfect I'd appreciate it. He seemed happy but it just looked awkward



And no, I don't intend to ride him every day in it, it's purely a) to start getting him used to it gradually and b) we've been advised to school in his pelham now & then anyway, but he tends to end up too heavy in this. Double seemed a better option as I can predominantly ride on the snaffle with the curb as needed, just to give him the odd reminder. And it appears to work, so be nice

Thanks x.

 

[tinkandlily]

His mouth mabe be to small for a double, a rugby pelham is a good alternative.

 

[OneInAMillion]

Many horses don't physically have a big enough mouth for a double and it isn't an option for them.

 

[Sol]

I don't think his mouth is too small on the inside - he was perfectly comfortable with the two bits (both are reasonably narrow but not excessively so) and we did have a good look and on the inside, it seemed fine! The corners of his mouth are just really close to the end of his head, if that makes sense?!

Think you can see in this pic...

(and he looks awful in that photo, oops )

He'll probably have to go in a double at some point anyway, if I get my way with the dressage Because I honestly can't imagine him competing doing *exciting* things (like medium canter, as exciting as it sounds!) at competitions, in a snaffle

 

[Sol]

So do people discard dressage horses who 'can't' wear a double??

 

[winslow]

you could try the tom thumb curbs designed for horses with small mouths and/or large tongues

 

[Sol]

Thanks, just had a look and I think they appear very similar to the weymouth I already have?

Hmm, google isn't coming up with much either so I think this is going to continue being trial and error only! That, or Dan's going to be having surgery to make his mouth longer