Needing help with bitting advice

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ashleyc24

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I have had my horse since August 2018. His name is Diego and he’s a Clydie x. He is an extremely hot and anxious horse. Especially when jumping. I have jumped him in a 3 ring gag bit as well as a Wilkie/bevel bit. The gag went quite well for a while however Diego started to evade by sucking under and drifting sideways when he didn’t get to go fast. The Wilkie on the other hand, wasn’t strong enough and he started to bolt at the fences. i don’t have a ‘personal’ trainer as such but I had a lesson yesterday with a lady who really helped us and she suggested something with a straight metal bar. I was maybe thinking a kimblewick but I think he is going to suck under and evade all the same. Any suggestions? Before judging and saying that the bit isn’t the problem- I’ve had qualified coaches ride him and say that he needs a better bit for him to understand what the pressure of a bit means so he respects it. So please, I am so stuck! Any help would be much appreciated!
 
Getting the right bit may help but the key to a horse that is anxious and runs through the hand is to deal with the cause of the anxiety, whether that is a lack of training or something physical or possibly a bit of both, until you can find a way to get him genuinely relaxed and trusting you will probably have to keep changing the bitting arrangements at regular intervals, it is not always a bad thing to make the odd change but it is not ideal if the horse is not fundamentally changing its way of going.
In my experience most horses that rush into their fences are basically fearful and either need to go right back to basics and relearn or they are in pain/ discomfort either tack related or something awry that is not presenting as an obviously lame horse but is there, possibly bilateral or higher up, horse generally do not waste energy fighting for no good reason.
The qualified coaches may be correct that he needs to understand the action of the bit but that still comes down to basic schooling whatever bit is in his mouth, there is no magic bit that will school the horse without input from the rider.
 
Yes of course! His old owner wasn’t very experienced but she thought she was. He picked up so many bad habits from her as she would intentionally ask him to run to the fences. I have been at the basics now for over a year. I’ve been getting help and everything and he’s been checked all over by my vet, dentist, chiropractor and an acupuncturist (I actually keep him on the acupuncturists property). I just need to find a bit that has enough pressure that he doesn’t ignore me when I say that rushing at fences is not what I’m asking but also have the bit not be so strong that he sucks under and pulls me out of the saddle. He’s so bold but if something were to happen when he’s rushing I would feel terrible that I didn’t take all the kind measures possible to stop him from doing it. Myself trying to stop him with more pressure from my hands and body with a simple bit seems a lot more inhumane then a light touch with something a bit stronger! Just after some suggestions on what bit I could try! :)
 
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