Mare with lolling tongue

[Harri Green]

Hi guys,
So I'm thinking about buying this 7/8 tb 6 y/o mare. It's been on my yard a while and now the owner wants to sell as she thinks the mare needs a younger more competitive rider. So I've had the chance to watch this mare a lot, I even watched its vetting. It has developed a lolling tongue which seriously hangs out when she's ridden. She's in a standard snaffle with flash. It's so bad you'd definitely loose marks in dressage. I want her to potentially event so dressage still matters a bit.
I've no experience with tongues hanging out, although i have had some very fussy-mouthed horses. Im thinking maybe playing with myler bits or my beloved pee-wee bit might solve the issue. She's seen the dentist and she had some minor issues but nothing huge enough to be causing pain. She literally didn't do it till a few months ago.

Thoughts please??

 

[Hoofing-it]

Hi guys,
So I'm thinking about buying this 7/8 tb 6 y/o mare. It's been on my yard a while and now the owner wants to sell as she thinks the mare needs a younger more competitive rider. So I've had the chance to watch this mare a lot, I even watched its vetting. It has developed a lolling tongue which seriously hangs out when she's ridden. She's in a standard snaffle with flash. It's so bad you'd definitely loose marks in dressage. I want her to potentially event so dressage still matters a bit.
I've no experience with tongues hanging out, although i have had some very fussy-mouthed horses. Im thinking maybe playing with myler bits or my beloved pee-wee bit might solve the issue. She's seen the dentist and she had some minor issues but nothing huge enough to be causing pain. She literally didn't do it till a few months ago.

Thoughts please??

Sorry, not a huge tongue lolling experience to draw on here either- is it definitely bit related? Does she do it when worked bitless (maybe lunged in just a cavesson?)

The lollers I've known have all being seeking to escape pain. If she was mine I might seek a second opinion on her mouth I think.

I'd be wary of buying incase the tongue lolling was a symptom of a more complex pain avoidance like ulcers (one of the lollers I used to work with did it due to this). What are the vet's thoughts- they're obviously the thoughts to go with here!! Has the horse's back and saddle fit been checked recently?

Would a trial to experiment with bitting be an option if she's already on your yard? Seems a bit odd that it's suddenly developed though unless something to do with bitting/ riding style has recently changed?

 

[twiggy2]

my vet events at a fairly high level and one of his horses does this, the horse s relaxed and on the bit but puts his/her tongue out to one side, the horse does not seek to evade the contact at all. vet has looked into every possible cause and gets miffed with losing dressage points due to it as the horse goes in the arena with the tongue hanging out and does not flap it about or as mentioned try to avoid contact so it is not an evasion just a characteristic

 

[Louby]

My last horse had a tongue issue and no bit would stop it, and believe me I tried practically every possible one out there. Flashes and drops did disguise it to compete quite successfully at dressage but he never truely worked softly or correctly. Its wierd as I now have a new boy and looking at videos of our progress, I seem to sit up, something I was always told about with my old boy as I tipped forwards and I do think the tongue issue caused it as it was a constant nagging on my hands. If I was buying a horse, I would not buy one with a known tongue issue. I loved my boy and wouldnt have swapped him for the world but it really did hinder us.

 

[Harri Green]

See, I watched this mare vet with her previous owner and she went so sweetly. In fact, she was perfect. Then she has a new rider and developed a tongue issue. Seems odd! The new rider is an experienced lady but perhaps she's doing something to cause this tongue issue??
She definitely has nothing wrong with her body/back/saddle.
Realistically could I event her? Or if I couldn't solve the tongue issue, would we always fall down at dressage?

 

[Harri Green]

Ooh also, I was hacking earlier an we bumped into each other, the mare didn't have her tongue out till my horse got close and she got a bit excited then the tongue was out. Weird! It wasn't like she was trying it on or anything, she didn't do anything accept stick her tongue out .

 

[ELFSBELLS]

I have this issue with my horse, he has no pain issues at all, I used to have him in s myler ported, did'nt like it at all, I now have him in a neue schule universal, goes much better, still at times the tounge flops out, but I find if he's working correctly then I don't have a problem, I really believe it's a known habit, x