Genioglossus muscle

[Mari]

My pony has a very large grass muscle which sits low down on his tongue. Every bit I have tried touches his grass muscle so he constantly draws his tongue back. He doesn’t try to put it over the bit or stick it out of his mouth & he doesn’t toss or shake his head. Anyone else have a horse with a huge grass muscle? What bit did you find suited? I have had bit consultants / experts assess pony & couldn’t help.

 

[AnShanDan]

I've got a conxtb with this conformation. Think it's a pony thing?
She is fussy in the contact and was getting her tongue over sometimes as well. She also has a long "smile" which means bits that are intended for tongue relief still end up sitting too far back.
The bit fit person I used put her in (after about 20 other bits) a sprenger turnado, it's actually working well. It's not an instant fix but we are making much better progress since using it, much less chomping and mouthing.

 

[Mari]

Thank you. My pony is small Welsh D. He has a small mouth 4.25” & a short smile. My bit fit person used curved mouth piece pony snaffle & left a Myler type with a small roller to try but to be honest he’s not much better in this than anything else. She’s coming back with more small bits. I have a side pull Bitless bridle that I tried him in & he doesn’t open his mouth / draw back tongue with this but of course you can’t compete in this.

 

[AnShanDan]

I think I had to come to the conclusion that there was no perfect answer to this and I had to work with what I had. I've persevered with the turnado, and it's been gradual progress, so the more she relaxes and carries herself the easier it is for me to give her a better contact and then she relaxes more. I also tried a bitless bridle, worked fine for hacking etc but found it woolly to school in.