pee wee bit??

[VickyH]

Hello I have a 15.2 14 year old ID x mare who I have had for nearly a year now. She is english trained but I have been schooling her for western riding with a view to entering western pleasure and reining classes. She has been going really well and at home is working really nicely in walk and jog but still needs considerable work on her canter/lope. At home she works lovely with her head fairly low and hardly needing any commands through the reins, working nicely from my seat. At shows however, her head comes up and she gets very strong :-( I have been reading up on the pee wee bit and wondered what other peoples opinions of it are, would it be suitable for us ?? She is currently in a waterford gag with the rein on the ring below the snaffle one for shows. Ideally I'd like to get her into a snaffle all the time. If the pee wee bit isn't any good can anyone suggest anything else?? As I said we have been schooling lots and she is responding really well but at shiows I feel like I'm having to constantly use my reins to hold her back and I hate doing it. I'd rather use a stronger bit gently than a gentle bit harshly at the end of the day.

 

[VickyH]

Forgot to mention her back is fine and her teethe were done about a month ago, she has been better since having her teeth done - she no longer throws her head up when I have to use the reins firmly now she is just strong!

 

[Sol]

Not sure if it would work, but might be worth a try? I find mine is brilliant, used it on at least 4 different horses now and had no issues!
However, rather than a different bit, it might be worth you spending more time getting her used to show environments so that she is calmer and more attentive to you at shows? Lots of horses get more excitable at shows, but most chill out after a while

 

[VickyH]

That's the annoying thing though, she doesn't get excited as such, she doesn't turn silly or on her toes at shows, she's not phased by them at all in fact, she just gets strong and doesn't listen to me quite so much ?? if that makes sense. She's done lots of showing with her previous owners so there isn't really much more I can do to get her used to the show environment - I guess it's just the way she is, and I wouldn't mind so much if I knew I had a bit more control. We have gone back to just doing the walk/jog classes for a bit but have a rodeo weekend in september which doesn't do just walk/jog pleasure, it has a lope in it too :-/ I'm not expecting to go and win but I would like to be able to stop her when I need to lol! It would also be nice to do a couple of the games/races but at the moment I daren't open her up for fear I won't be able to stop again!

 

[Keep Trying]

Hi,

I use this bit to hack out. My horse was very strong and dead in the mouth and once, after spooking , she did a 'mini bolt' and I found the bit to be totally ineffective. However, after lots of schooling, she is very much better and I find that she is really comfortable with it.

It depends what you are looking for really, something for poll pressure would be good for asking her to lower her head and, sometimes, I find softer bits are better for this. Have you tried a hanging cheek baucher or something similar? Maybe something with a lozenge might be more comfortable for her?

One thing I will say about the 'Pee-Wee' is it's very good for turning.

Good luck

 

[Jennyharvey]

I think that if you want to ride her in western pleasure classes, she really should learn to carry herself without you having to hold her. Most pleasure horses will carry their had quite low but without a rein contact.
Try teaching her the one rein stop. Google it or pm me if you want to know more aboutit. Basicall you teach the horse to disengage his hindquarters by bending his head round to your foot. This way you dont have to pull two reins. If you pull two reins the horse can pull back against you. If you want to be able to work on a loose rein, its best never to pull both reins.
When she is good at the one rein stop, any time she takes the rein and tries to pull, bend her to a stop. Eventually she will realise that she can go on a loose rein, and when she pulls, she is asked to bend to a stop. Very good for flexibility too.
Also, you can teach this in a bosal, halter or snaffle bit. If you teach the horse not to pull, you should never need a strong bit for them.

 

[VickyH]

Thanks Jenny My friend has been giving me lessons and we have been using that method in the jog, if she ignores my seat I bend her with one rein and disengage her hindquarters and it is working very well. She will flex both ways at a standstill with just a light touch on the rein now where as we used to go round and round in circles for ages before she'd stop! What bit would you recommened? I have just been looking at D ring copper rollers or sweet iron snaffle/wonder gag (with reins on snaffle ring). Would it bge practical to use a gag where I could have the reins on snaffle ring for pleasure etc and a lower ring for games?

 

[robinson]

The Pee Wee is a great bit . The problem is people try to set it up like a regular snaffle which is not correct. Use it correctly and you get great results. The web site www.macsequine.com clearly shows the correct fitting