Please help me with my horses bitting/mouth nightmare!!!!

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fruity

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Now my 4 yr old is going very well apart from she's not happy in her mouth 100%. She was re started by us in a plain loose ring snaffle that she was 80% ok in but she kept opening her mouth a lot and trying to get her tongue over it,she's VERY sensitive in the mouth and i've had her teeth done and checked TWICE recently so been told alls fine by a very well known top dentist. I then got her a KK ultra Tranz Lozenge as i thought the nutcracker action of the plain snaffle might be irritating her,the lozenge lays flat so i thought that she would be happier but if anything she's ten times worse,throwing her head in the air and even half rearing,now i'm a very hands friendly rider and i keep a very light contact so it's not harsh hands,she's better in the school than out hacking but i'm just not sure what bit is best for a horse that trys to get the tongue over the bit and has a VERY light mouth. I don't want to start strapping her mouth together as apart from this she is going very well and isn't being evasive otherwise, i just think she's not comfy and content with the bits so far,i feel so bad about it
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P.S) She is the same with my trainer and she agrees it needs changing,she suggested a plain french link???

Heres a ridden pic of her if it helps at all:

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I saw the pic's you posted before and thought what a nice sort she is and how nice to see no gadgets on her too!
Have you thought of a eggbutt mullen mouth snaffle for her at all? I've had good results with one on several youngsters I've backed and ridden on in the past. It can be made from stainless steel, rubber, vulcanite or a Happy Mouth, with or without cheeks too, whichever you think might suit her best. It's better to start with the mildest bit you can I think and they seem to accept these happily as there's nothing for them to fuss with.
 
I'd change to a hard rubber straight snaffle , that's what we start all our youngsters in. They tend to acept it better and later on we opt for a KK or hanging cheek.
She looks really nice and willing, the bits sell for very little so not a big outlay for you to try either.
 
Some horses simply will not tolerate a jointed bit.... so I echo HH with what she has said about the straight rubber bits, or any straight bit fir that matter. If your horse has a fleshy tounge, a ported or curved bit might suit better. I start all my youngsters in a rubber bar, it stops them learning to put their toubnge over the bit, which is a hellish difficult habbit to break if it gets established. A ported bit will also make it harder for the touget to go over.

Different bits suit different horses and it is no failing, or problem that a horse prefers one sort over another. Different horses have different mouth conformation, thats all.

All youngsters have changing teeth and mouth conformation. It is quite normal for them to fuss with their mouths till they mature and everything settles down. Think how a human baby screams when teething, this is prety much what horses go through so going easy on them helps. This is one reason lots of youngsters are turned away after backing because little is achieved by working a teething horse and it can sour up their attitude to work.

One other thought... it could well be worth getting your physio to give the horse a once over. If their is soreness in the neck or poll it can often look like a bitting issue... and it is to the extent that the bit is asking the horse to use itself in a certain way... but it is uncomfortable to do so, so the horse fights the bit.
 
At this stage the most important thing is for her to accept a contact therefore I would begin by putting the mildest bit possible in her mouth. My newly backed horse is in a plastic unjointed sprenger bit which is bendy and has an arch in the middle to accomodate his tongue. Another option for horses that try to flip their tongues over are Myler bits which have a slight port.
you are right to not want to strap her mouth shut as this will worry her more.
Will she accept a contact in side reins on the lunge?
 
One other thought... it could well be worth getting your physio to give the horse a once over. If their is soreness in the neck or poll it can often look like a bitting issue... and it is to the extent that the bit is asking the horse to use itself in a certain way... but it is uncomfortable to do so, so the horse fights the bit.

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She's had the physio to her recently and alls fine there. Thanks for your thoughts
 
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Will she accept a contact in side reins on the lunge?

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Yep she's going really well on the lunge and generally is in a consistant outline apart from having her mad moments occassionally!
 
it's very hard to tell from a single photo, but just make sure that you are keeping your hands upright and not riding with covered hands (as in the photo) as it does make your elbows and wrists stiffer without you realising it. i'd have her in a full-cheek single-joint or full-cheek myler 02 or 04 mouthpiece, with loose drop noseband correctly fitted, and concentrate on keeping a totally soft, firm, consistent inside rein contact for her to learn to go forward to and trust.
 
Thanks everyone for your advice i'm now off to select one of the bits you've recommended. I too am beginning to think she doesn't like jointed bits,i'm going to probably opt for the straight rubber.

Is it possible that she also doesn't like loose ring bits,i've thought about an eggbutt as i'm wondering if the movement of the bit is annoying her too !!??
 
the nice thing about full-cheeks is that the bit is very stable in the horse's mouth, the only movement is from the horse chewing or moving its tongue, or from your hand. they also help as a very slight steering aid. i have all my horses, from backing onwards, in full-cheeks, fwiw.
 
My horse was very like that, and it just got worse on hacks. I had a chiropractor out, who, after a few sessions obviously had made Chloe feel a lot better - she was quieter in her mouth, and it was easier to get some proper work from her. She doesn't fling her head around anymore as she doesn't mind having a contact, so you might want to look into that, depending on what type of back person you think will suit. Good luck, lovely horse.
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I'd change to a hard rubber straight snaffle , that's what we start all our youngsters in. They tend to acept it better and later on we opt for a KK or hanging cheek.
She looks really nice and willing, the bits sell for very little so not a big outlay for you to try either.

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I'd normally agree with that and thats the route I went down with my mare who was nosebandless and in a NS jointed loose ring snaffle as she too has a very small soft mouth... however the bit was just too big and hard in her mouth and although she was better in it she still wasnt happy... I have now opted for a Myler ported snaffle which has a nice light thin mouthpiece with loose ring cheeks and she is much better and much more settled in her mouth and easier to ride and take a contact on... If you dont want to shell out £40 for a Myler then just try a little mullen mouth snaffle...

I hope you get something sorted for her - took us months to figure out what my mare liked...
 
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