snatching at the bit

[noblesteed]

After a long ride out my horse gets tired/sick of accepting a contact and starts to snatch - yanking the reins forward and down. Of course this must hurt his mouth as much as it hurts my fingers. Pulling back or giving him a slap or saying 'no' doesn't seem to work. Any ideas on other things I could try?
In the school he is capable of working on the bit but has a tendency to become heavy on his forehand and lean on my hands, and so I have been working on him keeping a lighter contact and being more fluid. He doesn't do the snatching thing in the school.
I am wondering if a new bit would help. He has a small mouth with a low palate and a fleshy tongue which he pokes out to one side sometimes. He is in a bog standard steel loose ring french link snaffle which if fairly thin as his mouth is small.

He will be having his teeth done soon but this is something he has been doing for a long time and his teeth are regularly done so I don;t think it's teeth.

Sorry if this sounds a bit rambly but I am just trying to work out what to do next with him after he yanked my shoulders to bits yesterday!!!

 

[Crazydancer]

If he only does this on a long-ish ride, and you are keeping him on a contact all the way, he might just be trying to tell you that he aches maybe? It might be worth trying to let him take the contact down and do a couple of spells of long and low where it's safe to, letting him stretch off, then picking up the contact again.
But it may just be that he's excited/impatient when heading for home, can't help with that one!

 

[fjordhorsefan]

My horse does this too, and it is because he wants to have a stretch out. He also does it if he's bored though *sighs*

 

[Bettyboo222]

I was taught to never keep a contact for more than 20 mins, I always allow 5 mins stretching