Noseband advice???

[Damnation]

RIGHT.
As you all remember I have a mare with a very fussy mouth. I finally found a bit that suits her mouth conformation and that she likes and mouthes. She is now in a NS Verbindend.
Now its noseband time!
When I bought her she was in a grackle however, wanting to do Dressage I swapped this to a flash. All she did was fight the flash noseband. I then put her in a drop noseband and she did the same, was just fighting it. I put her back in the grackle and again she did the same. So I took the noseband off and her tongue just goes straight up over the bit with her mouth gawping open again!
I never do the nosebands up tight, I can fit fingers under them. Her saddle has just been flocked, she likes her bit, her back is done. I am loosing the will to live! If I could find something she liked, or get some exercises to get her to soften her jaw!
Because obviously for dressage I need a horse that will accept my contact and soften to it!
Any advice would help Thanks guys!

 

[Wagtail]

How long have you persevered without the noseband? I would use just a plain cavesson and just keep riding her in it. Many horses that have been restricted by nosebands will open their mouths and stick their tongues out when first ridden without the ristriction. This is because they are just trying to find out what they CAN do. It is a bit like when you get a new filling or crown, your tongue keeps going to feel this new thing in your mouth. I expect that if you persevere without the noseband that your mare will stop her antics after a few days, or couple of weeks at the most.

 

[Tickles]

I don't mean to be negative but if your horse is still getting her tongue over the bit it doesn't sound as though she 'likes' it that much :-( Are you sure it is fitted at the correct height? That can make a difference... TBH in a bit they are happy in you shouldn't need a noseband for anything functional (so can just get a cavesson if you like the look/need one for competing).

 

[Wagtail]

I have to agree with this. If your mare is still putting her tongue out after a few days without the noseband then I suspect it is the lozenge she is objecting to, as a lot of horses dislike them. I would try a NS demi anky bit as it has no central lozenge or tongue pressure. It is sindle jointed, but shaped so as to avoid the nut cracker effect.

 

[Damnation]

It is the only bit that she mouths. I have tried her in single jointed before and her head was up in the air and she ran backwards! I have had her in nearly every bit imaginable, from a happy mouth to single joints, to a hanging cheek, to an eggbutt, even a pelham, and a straight bar. But her mouth is always bone dry and she is very set in her way of going. The Verbindend is the only one she is relatively relaxed in.
Half of my problem is in her last home they strapped her mouth shut with a grackle and used ALOT of contact, apparently she was jabbed in the mouth alot too, and the girl lost her temper with her alot.
I will try her without a noseband for a while longer and see if she settles. She fustrates me so much because she has alot of potential and when she works well shes amazing.. but its few and far between at the moment

 

[K27]

I know where you are coming from- i have a horse that hates flash nosebands even done up losely, and a cavesson is just not quite enough on him- i tried him in a padded drop put on high, and done up losely and he loves it!, may be worth a try!

Difficult to say as i don't know your horse, but my boy used to get a tad tight in his poll and jaw at times, but i've really been working on his suppleness, and most of his work is done in a longer, rounded frame so he can stretch i ignored the feel i was getting from his front end and worked on keeping his hind legs active and swinging, and lifting his rib cage, slowing the tempo down, but still active behind- so he couldn't rush and get tight and tense in his frame- one of my trainers told me to imagine that he was trying to eat some lovely food that he wants to reach for all the time- which really helped me give and allow when he was soft in the connection- circles and shapes are my horses friend too!!- surpentines are useful for getting them to bend, and if he gets tight when going one way, i just drop in a random circle so he has to stretch out his tighter side, a bit like a "crest" release. If he went to set on one side i could also very slightly flex him at the poll one way or the other, but only very slightly, so that you couldn't really notice it.

The above may or may not help you, but just thought i'd let you know what i've done with my horse!

 

[Damnation]

Thank you K27 - I will bear that in mind!
You are right though its softening the jaw and poll, and stopping rushing because when she goes I have nothing! She just speeds off!
I will try what you have said tonight when I ride She is in the drop at the moment but I will try making it higher and loosening it off a bit more!

 

[K27]

Thank you K27 - I will bear that in mind!
You are right though its softening the jaw and poll, and stopping rushing because when she goes I have nothing! She just speeds off!
I will try what you have said tonight when I ride She is in the drop at the moment but I will try making it higher and loosening it off a bit more!

You're welcome- I'm no expert but just thought i'd answer as my boy was a bit like that! another exercise i do with mine thats proved v useful in getting rid of tension is to ride him for about 8 strides with his poll at wither height then with the poll at the highest point for another 8 strides, and then the poll at the lowest point so he is stretching right out and down, and then repeat it a few times all round the arena, that is quite a good one for my boy as it keeps his neck moving! anyway enough of my waffle! - good luck this eve!