Need some bitting advice please help!!

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Ruthyasquith

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I have a 6yo TB ex racehorse who I've had for two months. When she came to me she'd had 9 months off so we quietly started lunging and hacking and little buts of schooling. Then 4 weeks ago she had a little accident that required three weeks off so I've gotten back on her and again quietly ridden her away.

When bridled she always puts her tongue over the bit but then sorts herself out, she has done this from day one. When ridden she stops and refuses to go forwards, quite often she'll run backwards and most recently she went vertical with me and has tried to lie down with me on board. Now before she went off lame 3 weeks ago she did do the refusing to go forwards thing but never went vertical and the running backwards gradually got better the more I rode her so I didn't really worry however she never really seemed to be properly moving forward. I put this down to her being weak behind.

I have been riding her in a flash noseband so I took that off and her tongue constantly lolled out to the side and I suddenly thought maybe she isn't happy with the bit - she's ridden in a full cheek French link snaffle. I have tried her in a happy mouth and she really hated that.

She's had the vet to check her over, back, teeth etc, she has regular physio and I've had her saddle looked at so I know there is nothing causing her pain. She came from a home where she had been beaten because she refused to go up the gallops and was absolutely terrified of people. She is much better now and much more confident. I have never beaten or smacked her because I just don't think that will work for her and I think she must be unhappy about something to behave the way she does.

Anyway can anyone suggest a tongue relieving bit I could try? Or which myler she would be most suited to??

Thankyou for reading :)
 
I'm going to break the habit of a lifetime here, and suggest lunging, to thoroughly drill voice commands until she's comfortable and happy before riding her away. It sounds like she's napping, but you need to be sure that she understands what you're asking and isn't reacting to any fear, confusion or pain.

If she's happy(ish) with the french link, then I'd try something similar (french or lozenge) in a sweet iron or copper to encourage her to mouth, rather than stick her tongue out. I've only had one horse similar to what you describe - but not as bad - he settled with a sweet iron and copper lozenge hanging snaffle, but it was not an overnight fix. The bit encouraged him to mouth rather than snatch, which allowed me to relax and steady my hand, so we were both happier.
 
I've got two 3yo TBs that I've had since Jan and April - one raced a bit, one was just in training - encountered some similar problems although not as extreme. I'll tell you what I did and take from it what you will!

Bit - started in a Nathe bit (expensive, but much better than a happy mouth and are as close to no bit as you can get). One's still in it, the other is in a loose ring lozenge link now as he is more lazy and leans on the bit. As the Nathe is soft you can hike it up a bit (quite a few wrinkles) which will stop the tongue coming over, only did this for a few sessions and it soon stopped.

Going forwards etc - I did a lot of ground work (more with one, as I was waiting for a saddle) in a Dually halter - learning to stop, turn, back up etc and respect the handler. do enough of this and they will respect you more when you're onboard. I found both racehorses couldn't turn - even coming in and out of stables and field gates, would just stand there and look stupid. Now they turn with a tongue click or a hand wave. When riding if they don't go forward I'd turn them in a circle, or get someone to walk behind you to encourage forwards. Also lunging as pennyturner suggested and long reining is great for getting them going forwards and respecting commands, although best to start with a handler so you don't get in a tangle.

If you can be bothered/have time I really recommend lots of groundwork, especially as she's had bad experiences with people. I have another non-TB who's been beaten and whipped and we did lots of fun stuff - space hopper (he loves to throw it around, took him a while to realise he was allowed to enjoy himself), tarpaulins, sticks with crinkly stuff on the end for de-sensitising, walking between things and so on.

Feel free to PM if you want other ideas from my experiences!!
 
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