Mare very fussy in her mouth?

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Lill

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And dramatically protests if you try to take a contact...

I think this is because she has always been ridden with a very very light, barely there contact and fall onto her forehand.

I need to get her working properly into a contact but am not sure how to get her to accept it?
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Yes her teeth were checked a week before she came to us. She has always been like it though, so for about 2 years now.
 
Ummm i think previous owner had her in a happy mouth loose ring snaffle.

We've currently got her in a ummm... loose ring french link snaffle.

Am tempted to try her in a KK loose ring snaffle or a Neue Schule loose ring snaffle as all our horses seem to go well in these bits?
 
How do you ask her to actually take a contact?

Many people use very backward rein actions with their hands, frequently with quite low set hands. This puts direct pressure onto the tongue which hurts. Many horses try to evade this, the two common evasions being hollowing and coming above the bit or overbending and dropping behind.

What you should be aiming to do, is nudge the very edges of her mouth with the bit but this requires very high hands. The lowering of the hand back to a normal position can then act as a reward" and the hands should remain completly still and none fiddly at this point.

Try reading the couple of articles on my blog about this, it might enlighten you, however, it also might be exactly the opposite to everything you have been taught.

It begins with teaching them from the ground, but the explanations are there either way.

http://dressage.wordpress.com/

Also, ensure the bit you're using isnt too thick for her mouth. People tend to automatically go with a thick bit believing it to be kind but some horses dont have the anatomy to cope with them which can make it difficult to close their mouths (hence making it difficult to settle and take any kind of contact)
 
She may be happier in a non metal bit maybe??

I tried a horse last year when I was horse hunting. I could not take a contact on her at all - which was most disconcerting - and she got terribly upset when I first got on her. (Didn't really improve much, so got off after 5 mins). However, she had shown no signs of being fussy in her mouth with her owner. And went absolutely beautifully. The girl was a lovely rider, and the horse and I obviously weren't suited - so I left it there.

I only say this because could it be that you need to rider her more from your seat and leg - and into the contact, rather than 'taking' the contact, and insisting on it???
 
Thanks, i'll have a read of that.

You could be right actually, she does have a very tiny mouth, i think the neue schule is the thinnest bit we have so will try her in that.

Am only lunging her in side reins at the moment(plan to ride her sunday), only now after 9/10 days of this is she beginning to work a bit better in them. I know from what her previous owner has told us that she is very fussy as we've been told a few times to make sure we never ever take even a slight pull on the reins. You can also see from her neck that she's never worked properly into a contact.
 
i would ditch the loose rings too, i'd try a full cheek. a lot of horses dislike the extra movement from a loose ring, prefer the stability of the full cheek.
Myler comfort snaffle 02 mouthpiece with full cheeks is a wonderful bit.
 
Maybe, but will try her in the ns one... don't think we have any non metal bits at the moment.

Oh yeh she was lunged in a full cheek on Sunday but didn't seem any better/worse than the loose ring french link.
 
Be aware however, that side reins encourage them to tuck their heads behind the vertical and evade that way. Side reins exert an almost constant pressure on the mouth which can be evaded if they tuck their heads in and drop behind the verticle enough. You get the odd horse that chooses to actively rage war on them and pull the other way but for most, the result is quite deep over bending.

Some breeds of horses have teeny tiny mouths internally that people never notice. Some also have very large tongues. Warmbloods are reknowned for having very large, fleshy tongues for example. While, say connemaras, have very small mouths and dont have a deep port on the upper structure. So, for example, mine is a wb x connie and that results in a large tongue, small mouth, little room for a bit syndrome.

Lots dont consider this and then strap the mouths shut with a flash instead which wont help them to settle. Its certainly something to consider anyway.
 
The side reins aren't very tight, we just wanted her to get used to the feeling of something on her mouth, before she's been lunged in a bungie which isn't quite the same!

She is a TB (see my post 'meet ada' in PG) and she was ridden in a flash but now i'll have her in either a cavesson or no noseband at all i think, see how she goes.
 
For many horses who dont like a contact it comes back to a fear issue. They've been jabbed in the mouth, are used to pain caused by the riders hands and not surprisingly, they dont want to know
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Shes got very little muscle on her neck so you want to be trying to get her to work quite low in her frame but with the head out - ensuring shes actually stretching. (This is precisely where gadgets and gizmos fail - they lower the neck sure, but the actual stretch is incorrect as you will always see the horse tuck back behind the verticle. The head should remain on it or with the nose out infront of it while the whole neck stretches down and forwards)

The chances are it will take time for her to begin to accept a contact in her mouth if she associates it with pain.

If you read through the article on the blog, there is quite a lot about working them from the ground and teaching them to start to accept a contact. Id be doing lots of that with her and trying to teach her that the bit and the hand wont hurt her.
 
I would also try something more 'fixed' like an eggbut or full cheek snaffle. One of mine used to dislike taking a contact (not as bad as yours, I don't think, he used to open his mouth a lot and try to curl his tongue up in his mouth) but goes really well in a NS eggbut lozenge snaffle and drop noseband.

Fussy horses can often dislike the mobility of the loose ring and prefer something more stable that they can almost lean into (but not too much, obviously!)

Something else which I've heard many people say about horses who are reluctant to take a contact that they actually prefer you to ride them into quite a strong and steady contact. They dislike the feel of an inconsistant contact, as in, giving and taking of the reins all the time. This is certainly true of mine - he stops fussing with his mouth when I push him forward into a firm and stable contact.
 
Bitting can be a nightmare, it seems to be down to trial and error a lot of the time.

My mare is also very fussy in her mouth and tends to set along the left hand side of her jaw. She also hollows and carries her head high (and I mean REALLY high) if you use too much rein.

I found by much trial and error that it is the tongue pressure she objects to (which supports something another poster said - I will try the high hands thing tonight) and that the only bit she will actually relax in is a loose ring, halfmoon snaffle. Ultimately though, she is very fussy and I have had to learn to ride her almost 100% off my seat and leg and leave the front end alone as much as possible. Good luck
 
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and I have had to learn to ride her almost 100% off my seat and leg and leave the front end alone as much as possible. Good luck

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See this would be fine if she were to keep, but she's not!

I plan to keep lunging her every evening this week and then under the eye of my instructor on Sunday get on her!
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See this would be fine if she were to keep, but she's not!


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Yes, sorry, i wasn't being sanctimonious (I hate those, 'oh maybe you should learn to ride better' type responses
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). I'm sure you are riding her from your seat and leg. the trouble comes when you want to sell them doesnt it!

I have just found that with mine - as opposed to the others I ride - I just can't touch her mouth much, even when she's being strong, and she will rarely 'sit' in my hand so to speak. I think it is a tough habit to break and I wish you the best of luck. Finding a good bit is the first step though.
 
You dont have to have too much contact to ride correctly.

You can get your horse on the bit, engaged hq, off forehand, back rounded, etc, with a very light contact and maybe this will suit your horse.

the how to is here...its pretty simple to do, but a lesson with a good instructor who can teach this is the easiest way to start.

http://irishnhsociety.proboards41.com/in...read=1189155540

ALTERNATIVELY..... have you ever tried ot ride her bitless.... maybe its worth an experiement to see how she goes.
 
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