Neue Schule Bits - leaning horse!!

[Wilbur_Force]

Hi folks, my chap is currently ridden in a KK Sprenger bit (the ultra, I think). However, he is quite strong and tends to lean and grab, mainly on the right. He is in fine health - back, teeth, etc are all fine. My instructor has given me some excellent tips and in the main he goes fab for me. I am toying with perhaps a Neue Schule bit - still a snaffle. Any suggestions??? Anything to stop or help the leaning and going on to the forehand would be great. Thanks!

 

[Dressagebabe]

It really depends on the type of mouth your horse has, ie fat & fleshy or narrow and fine? If you lift up his upper lip at the side you can see whether his tongue sits out of the gap where the bit sits or where there are no teeth, if you can see his tongue bulging out of this gap then he has a fat fleshy mouth which doesn't take kindly to a chunky mouth piece like a KK bit, this type of mouth tends to be found on WB, ID or cob types.

If he is an Arab breed or part then the upper palate is very low in the mouth which means a jointed snaffle doesnt usually suit as it has a nut cracker action nearly all of the time so you need to go with a narrow bar in the mouth. I tend to use a Myler comfort snaffle as it is narrow but also has moving parts from the snaffle rings and the port roller in the centre, this is designed to stop horses leaning and becoming heavy in the hand. It is a very comfortable bit in general and if you have a horse that tends to be fussy in its mouth I find this particular bit reduces the mouthing of the bit in an evasive way also. Hope this is of some help.

 

[Tinkle]

I use a Neue Schule Verbindend for my mare who leans and it's helped with her a lot. I used a Myler Comfort snaffle at first and, although I liked the independent sides, I found she leaned on it a lot - because the joints are 'ball and socket' they only bend so far and then lock, eventually it just became like a straight bar.

I took her in the school on thursday and, although she's not terribly fit and hasn't been schooled for a while (always a recipe for leaning and storming off on the forehand), she was light in the hand and did some really nice canter work. Def recommend the Neue Schule.

x

 

[cavalo branco]

I've recently bought a NS Verbindend too! It claims to be for more established horses, helping to lift the shoulder. My horse is built a little downhill and can get on the forehand but this bit has definitely helped a lot. He feels much lighter in it. Never thought that a bit could make such a difference TBH