Help with bits please!

tonitot

tonitot

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I'm thinking of getting a different bit to hack my horse in, she schools nicely in her eggbutt snaffle with the lozenge link but can be difficult on hacks. She basically just tries to walk incredibly fast with her head up looking at everything and when I ask her to slow down she puts her head even higher, tucks her bum underneath her and does a funny, fast walk and pulls with her head right up. She also gets rather strong when she gets like this, not uncontrollable but she makes my arms ache from holding her (even just in walk!) and trotting is near on flat out unless I swing off her back teeth. Half halting doesn't work, she knows what it means as she responds really well to half halts in the school but on hacks she ignores them.

Martingales seem to make no difference, either she just totally ignores them or I can't get them short enough to do their job (she needs cob size to fit around her neck but this then means the straps that attach to the reins are too long). Teeth, back and saddle have all been checked recently and are all fine.

I'm thinking of putting a different bit in just for hacking, just something a bit stronger so I can ask gently and she responds rather than having to pull against her all the time but I'm not sure what? I was thinking of using a two ring gag with a lozenge as I was under the impression that they used poll pressure and asked the horse to lower their heads, but when I was at my local tack shop the other day I got talking to the lady there who told me that they actually raise the horses head? She recommended a mullen mouth pelham but I'm not very confident using one because they have a curb chain which I've never used before and I don't want to put it on wrong and cause her any discomfort or harm.

So what would you go for? Or would you try something else before trying a new bit?
 
Gags are an elevator bit - bringing the head up, weird i know :) You could try, but you could also try a tomb thumb or a hanging cheek ? :) Pelham is a very strong bit to jump straight to from a snaffle and a mullen mouth is the straight bar which she can lean on and become stronger..
 
Ah okay, I always thought that gags encouraged them to lower their heads! Learn something new every day :)
I did think that about the pelham, she's not particularly keen on straight bar bits and I thought it was a bit too much of a step up, which is why I asked :)
The Tom thumbs do look good but a bit severe, although I think I have quiet enough hands (my boss always says I do!) I would worry about using it. I did think of a hanging cheek so maybe I'll try that first, they don't have poll pressure though, do they??
 
FestiveG said:
pelhams are not strong bits, if the hands are soft enough. Better to ride with a Pelham than puling on a snaffle
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This ^^^ if you use 2 reins the curb only comes into play when required, you could try one with a french link so similar to the snaffle and far less severe than the tom thumb would be as you have more options with a pelham.
If she puts her head up high consider a standing martingale.
 
tonitot said:
Ah okay, I always thought that gags encouraged them to lower their heads! Learn something new every day :)
I did think that about the pelham, she's not particularly keen on straight bar bits and I thought it was a bit too much of a step up, which is why I asked :)
The Tom thumbs do look good but a bit severe, although I think I have quiet enough hands (my boss always says I do!) I would worry about using it. I did think of a hanging cheek so maybe I'll try that first, they don't have poll pressure though, do they??
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Yes hanging cheeks have poll pressure but it does what it says on the tin - makes them hang.

Be positive I agree if you use two reins on Pelham it is les severe on horse but sometimes two reins are not always easy for some to get used to hence why I gave another option.
 
That was what I thought FestiveG, I feel horrible swinging out of her all the time because she doesn't respect her snaffle when out :(

be positive, I was going to use roundings if I were to go for the pelham as I'm useless at using double rein, though I will learn how to if roundings won't be as good? Will look into different types of pelhams :) will also have a think about the standing martingale
 
I am a great believer in using a stronger bit when required and in experienced hands. However, your problems in walk and trot would definitely benefit from schooling her whilst out hacking. Do loads of walk-halt-walk and walk-trot transitions so that she learns to respect your commands.
 
tonitot said:
That was what I thought FestiveG, I feel horrible swinging out of her all the time because she doesn't respect her snaffle when out :(

be positive, I was going to use roundings if I were to go for the pelham as I'm useless at using double rein, though I will learn how to if roundings won't be as good? Will look into different types of pelhams :) will also have a think about the standing martingale
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Learning to use two reins is not that hard and is a useful skill, think of riding with the top, snaffle rein, with the curb just loose enough so it can be brought in to use if required, once the horse accepts the pressure and yields to it usually you can leave it alone and just ride on the snaffle, it can make the step back to the snaffle for flat work easier and may even improve the dressage. Roundings are ok but will not give you the subtlety of two reins and you do not feel when the curb is coming into play.
 
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