Strong Dressage Legal Bit for Prelim

A

ArchiesGirl

New User
Joined
14 December 2016
Messages
7
Visit site
Hi!

So I've owned my girl for a little over a year, and she's very blood mare in nature, gets very fizzy and aggy when we canter for too long etc. I currently jump her in a dutch gag on the bottom ring (we go up and down between the 3rd and 2nd ring) but we do have a snaffle too. However, she's really stiff in her snaffle, never goes into an outline and sometimes a worry I've lost her.

Part of my problem is I don't know how to get her into outline besides the push with the legs and half halt with the outside hand XD

However, we had a really nice 2016 with a couple of dressage competitions. She's absolutely lovely in the intro, a little hollow, but really nice overall. However, when we do prelim is where everything goes wrong - she gets fizzy in the canter, then when I ask for trot we end up leg yielding on and off the track with her head in the air, something that's more controllable in her gag.

Does anyone have any advice for me on a bit I could move her to? I'd love to get her back into the snaffle, but I'm not sure how to get to that point.
 
This is a schooling / training issue not fundamentally a bitting issue.
But I do get where you are coming from in a way.
A Dutch gag on a bottom ring IMO is never a helpful schooling bit. It's only real purpose is some pretty serious pressure used for braking purposes.
Fundamentally you need to develop your training so that the horse responds to light hand and seat aids, which takes time, patience and a lot of experience (in the form of instructors if you haven't reached that level yet yourself).
Bitting wise I would suggest trying a Pelham with 2 reins as an interim solution but really it is just a case of better schooling
 
There is no such thing as a strong dressage legal bit.

Get some lessons and work on the issue, don't hide it with strong bitting.

Sorry to be blunt but dressage is about showing your training off not about 'going in an outline'.

Also she is not 'lovely' in the intro if she is hollow - being hollow is resistance.
 
I agree with the poster who has suggested starting in a Pelham and 2 reins so you can use them independently and gradually try to use less bottom rein. You might also want to experiment with some different mouthpieces, for example my pony hates any bit with a losenge or joint, he is much better in a bit that is quite still like a mullen mouth or a myler.

The best thing you can do is get some lessons so an instructor can give you some advice. My pony used to hollow and rush and I rode in a Pelham but with some lessons and time and practice he is doing affiliated dressage in a snaffle now. :)
 
Batgirl said:
There is no such thing as a strong dressage legal bit.

Get some lessons and work on the issue, don't hide it with strong bitting.

Sorry to be blunt but dressage is about showing your training off not about 'going in an outline'.

Also she is not 'lovely' in the intro if she is hollow - being hollow is resistance.
Click to expand...

This is quite accurate. You don't say how old your mare is, or what level of schooling she was at before you got her. Sounds like you need to go back to basics, and maybe try something like the neue schule trans-angled universal which can help just train them into a softer neck http://nsbits.com/product/tranz-angled-lozenge-universal/
 
I don't necessarily disagree with anything that has been said - but it could have been put a little more gently and supportively. Especially as the poster is new here and, from previous posts, also a young person still at school.

Bitting is really complex and there are loads of options. Although there is no really strong bit for dressage - that would defeat the point - there are bits which work differently and which your mare might respond better to. Probably the best place to start is your regular instructor. And possibly also a call to something like the Horse Bit bank - you can hire bits for up to 30 days to try them out before you buy. Helps save you from ending up with a large discarded bits collection.

At its heart this is a schooling / training issue. No bit of kit is going to magically transform any horse - no matter what they say in adverts! But sometimes it can help a bit.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top