Someone else rode my horse today and....

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Brambridge04

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said she was very hard mouthed?

She has only been broken a couple months, and her steering is a bit iffy sometimes, but she said oh she is very hard mouthed....

Bit concerned now, hints n tips?
 
Ok, so what exactly does she mean by this and how was she trying to "steer"?

Just to be sure, you shouldn't "steer" a horse - he's not a bicycle. What is wrong with the rest of her body??
 
She just said she was pulling away from bit, im not to sure really, ive never found her hard mouthed but wondered if maybe i was just accustomed to her?

I also send i use more leg to....
 
I presume she meant your horse has no mouth,not a hard mouth. Has your horse done any long reining? perhaps it would be an idea to do a bit to work on his/her steering a little.
 
but turning a horse isnt just down to the bit - it is weight legs and body - a point shown to my daughter some 8 yrs ago when the reins were tied on the pony she was competing for friends and told to ride serentine, figure of eight and changes of rein with her body and weight - it blew her mind and changed her riding totally - mmmmmm dont panic just bring your body and weight into your schooling :)
 
spike123 said:
I presume she meant your horse has no mouth,not a hard mouth. Has your horse done any long reining? perhaps it would be an idea to do a bit to work on his/her steering a little.
Click to expand...

Sorry spike but long-reigning isn't about steering - it's about rein aids which is much different.
 
I would of thought he was just hanging on the bit a little which is a very babyish trait which can feel like a hard mouth when you don't no the difference. I wouldnt worry, like you said he's newly broken and everything takes time to come together
 
I just asked for a bit more detail about what she meant and she said;

Well the bit seems to catch her, i looked at it first and i thought it looked small but it looked all right but i noticed when i was pulling her back she was putting her head down more and asking to stop she was tensing up in the neck which is usually sign its abit small

She is in a 5 inch full cheek bit with a lozenge and is a 14HH NF
 
Well its very hard to say on a forum when you can't see. Is your rider an instructor?
 
No she isnt.

Its a 5 inch, with a lozenge, and to me, seems ok, when the full cheek is flat againt one cheeck, theres probably around 1/4 inch space the other side.
 
Lots of babies will lean on the bit when you stop them or in fact generally. Or flick their heads up in the air or do lots of other things for that matter. It is hard for them to a) always understand what you want and, more importantly, b) do things with you on them because they lack the right muscles and balance early in their ridden career to support themselves like they would if you weren't there.

I would expect that as the horse becomes more balanced and more muscled the heavy feeling will become less and less. They often feel heavy to start with because they want the rider to hold them up because it is hard for them. Don't let her lean if you can help it and she'll probably learn to carry herself over time with some schooling.

My six year old will still go dead and lean on me if he is feeling tired. I usually give and retake my reins to get him to pack it in. He's far too big for me to hold up!
 
You say your 'someone else' isn't an instructor.
So, I've got to ask the question - does she have a lot of background in backing/bringing on & riding newly backed youngsters? Maybe experience with getting & developing a good feel with hands & seat?

If not, then go with your own instinct & perhaps find someone who is very knowledgable with youngsters who are just getting going - worth paying/asking for an assessment session. This could help immensely to determine how you & pony are getting along & could give you help in deciding the next few weeks of schooling :)

The natives 'can' tend to go naturally on their forehand to start with, this does mean working through from behind.

No offence to your 'someone else' but there are people who have experience in all spheres, but maybe not with new-broke youngsters and developing mouths.

A 5" is approx right for a forester on bit size but obviously we can't see 'how' the bit sits, so this is just an educated estimate. I've had a few in the past for backing (as well as other M&M's), and only one was different - a 5 & 1/4. Many natives of 13.2 - 14.2 are around the 5" bit size give or take 1/4 inch :)

Good luck & hope you work through this comment.
 
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Hard mouth at 2 months?? I doubt it unless she been abused,

more likely its down to schooling she is young doesn't know all the aids yet and prob leans on the bit and doesn't understand i would put her in a nice bit and lunge her a while to relax no side reins yet just get her going forward and relaxing
 
She has a 5 inch full cheek snaffle with a link/lozenge in middle.

Certainly not abused but needs a lot more schooling.

I was concerned abt comment at first but im.not now....
 
I have a NF and in commen with alot of natives they tend to get on their forehand. If you back seat and weight aids to ride and prepare for transitions you help them to tranfer their weight and they are more able to come underneath them and respond to the rein aids. Unfortuately alot of people just use the reins for steering and stopping and forget about the other bits which you can get away with on a fully trained balanced horse but not on a native baby.
She is not hard mouthed just needs to get off her forehand more and it sounds like you get a good tune out of her. Our NF did camp a couple of times, once an intructer got on her thinking she could do a better job than my 13 year old daughter but the pony actually went worse for her.
You have to control the pace and rhythem of trot with your weight, if she starts to rush use half halts or bring her back to walk and rebalance before asking to trot again. Once you learn to control by seat and weight it is possible to vary the contact so if she starts leaning keep the same pace but use a lighter contact so there is nothing to lean on. Leaning is usually a way to pull you forward out of balance so that they do not have to use their quarters.
Lots of good advice from other posters who I would say are far more knowledgable than the person who passed the comment.
 
Brambridge04 said:
I just asked for a bit more detail about what she meant and she said;

Well the bit seems to catch her, i looked at it first and i thought it looked small but it looked all right but i noticed when i was pulling her back she was putting her head down more and asking to stop she was tensing up in the neck which is usually sign its abit small
Click to expand...

Um - WHY was she "pulling her back". I would suggest that anyone who refers to "pulling" a horse back is CREATING a hard mouth! ANY horse who is "pulled back" is likely to set its mouth against the discomfort of a ham-fisted rider!

A baby horse has NO mouth - it's there to be made! And you make a mouth by only using VERY subtle rein aids to support voice and seat!
 
Sounds like bollox

Don't let them ride your horse again because they obviously don't know their ar*e from their elbow

Anyway a young horse should get consistency - so only ride him yourself.
 
JanetGeorge said:
Um - WHY was she "pulling her back". I would suggest that anyone who refers to "pulling" a horse back is CREATING a hard mouth! ANY horse who is "pulled back" is likely to set its mouth against the discomfort of a ham-fisted rider!

A baby horse has NO mouth - it's there to be made! And you make a mouth by only using VERY subtle rein aids to support voice and seat!
Click to expand...

This! The rein aids should be the last you think about using, weight, legs, seat and voice are all as important. With youngsters often find you have to use an open rein initially for direction, but you should never be having to pull back - it's the same as the horse that gets kicked is the horse that has to be kicked same goes for the rein aids too.
 
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