Snaffle bit for horse that prefers a curb? Or just go double?!

[tobiano1984]

One of my horses (a cob x sports horse) has been doing very well with his early dressage career, currently competing at Novice at training almost at Ele. He's always been very strong on the contact - not in a tanking off kind of way (we jump and hack just in a snaffle), but just hard down the contact and sometimes difficult to turn. It's hard to describe - he's well schooled now but was roughly broken in Ireland and doesn't have the softest of mouths. It was fine at Prelim level but now we're trying to do more with him its become an issue. His normal rider manages to get good work out of him but she's a very strong eventer, and even she says he pulls too much - whereas I struggle a lot - I've always erred on the light side of contact (possibly from riding a lot with curbs for Western and dressage horses) and then also because I've broken a couple of fingers in key places!

I don't want to go on and on trying to describe it but suffice to say, he's been professionally schooled for the last 1.5 years so it's not a case of poor riding (he's had a variety of riders), he's just tricky to bit. Currently he's in a Harmony snaffle, which is eggbutt and lozenge link. He went better in it to start and now is getting stronger, harder to turn/balance, and crosses his jaw/evades the bit a lot (he's in a drop now).

Anyway - tried him in my other horse's low-port Pelham that I use for showing and he loves it - totally light, flexible, responsive to the lightest touch, did some beautiful work - much easier to do simple changes etc. No flapping around of the mouth, everyone happy and relaxed - also really seeking down onto the contact whereas in the snaffle he comes back up at you with a very tense neck. Obviously he can't compete in this, so I wondered if anyone else has had a similar experience with bits and whether they found a snaffle that worked, or whether you just went for a double?

Any experiences along a similar vein?

ps yes he has teeth/back etc checked regularly

 

[eggs]

I might well be in the minority but I would suggest trying a double. One of my horses has always been heavy in the snaffle - not too bad in a mullen mouth but doesn't seem to like jointed bits.

As an experiment - on the advise of my dressage trainer - I put her into a double bridle and haven't looked back since. She is so much happier in it. From a horse that you would say had no mouth she has become a pleasure to ride and is now able to utilise her power and keep her balance.

 

[tobiano1984]

I might well be in the minority but I would suggest trying a double. One of my horses has always been heavy in the snaffle - not too bad in a mullen mouth but doesn't seem to like jointed bits.

As an experiment - on the advise of my dressage trainer - I put her into a double bridle and haven't looked back since. She is so much happier in it. From a horse that you would say had no mouth she has become a pleasure to ride and is now able to utilise her power and keep her balance.

So glad you said this! My instructor is of the classical persuasion and felt that it was better to have a light, happy horse in a curb than fighting one in a snaffle. I had a lesson with her on my main horse in the pelham just before a showing show, and she said he was tons better. Out of interest, how did you progress to a double? Just go straight for it?

 

[eggs]

Yes, just went straight into the double. I use the Sprenger aurigan warmblood weymouth with regular length shanks and an eggbutt ultra bradoon. I initially tried the Neue Schule warmblood weymough with long shanks but she didn't seem to like that too much. Fortunately she is a horse who shows no inclination to want to go behind the vertical and putting her into the double did not make her think 'backwards'.

At first I tried riding more off the bradoon but soon discovered that she went better if I used more curb that I thought I should.

 

[tobiano1984]

Yes, just went straight into the double. I use the Sprenger aurigan warmblood weymouth with regular length shanks and an eggbutt ultra bradoon. I initially tried the Neue Schule warmblood weymough with long shanks but she didn't seem to like that too much. Fortunately she is a horse who shows no inclination to want to go behind the vertical and putting her into the double did not make her think 'backwards'.

At first I tried riding more off the bradoon but soon discovered that she went better if I used more curb that I thought I should.

OK thanks, I'll do some research! With the horse in question I'll need to be a bit wary of him thinking backwards - he is forward going but if unsure can drop behind the leg. My main horse is fab in a curb - just seems to concentrate the power and he is much better balanced so actually seems more forward thinking.

 

[Under-the-radar]

I rode my mare in a pelham for a short while and following the success of that have gone into the double (happily to coincide with us almost being ready to go elem as well )

She is like a different horse in the double - it's not that she is really horrid in the snaffle, but her initial reaction to any change in the amount of contact is to resist and hollow. I only really ride on the snaffle rein in the double, but there is never any question from her whether she may or may not do anything.

If you horse can tend towards the backwards thinking, just don't ride on the curb too much in the early days.

 

[Walrus]

Do you think it's the curb lever having an effect or the mouthpiece? My pony has quite a fleshy mouth and doesn't like any sort of losenge or joint and we have found the myler mullen mouth snaffle to make a big difference.

 

[JGC]

My old mare (chestnut in my sig) was in a double - she really leaned on a snaffle and I definitely preferred for her to be light and soft (and therefore not risking damaging her mouth) in the double than leaning on the snaffle. I still rode her from time to time in a snaffle (cause I believe it's good to change things up sometimes) and the longer I had been riding her for in the double, the better she was in the snaffle.

She was leaning in the snaffle because it was hard for her to learn to collect (she wasn't really built for it) so it was extremely important that I did not use the double to ask for more collection or engagement than I could get in the snaffle. She was leaning because it was hard, so I had to make sure that I didn't ask her for even harder work, just because it was easier for me in the double - does that make sense?

 

[charlie76]

My horse is much happier in a double so that's what I school and compete him in after trying every snaffle known to man! He tenses and shortens his neck in a snaffle but not in the double. I actually think it's the curb chain holding the bit still that he likes. I do still hack in a snaffle which he tolerates.