Strong horses

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darkbay12

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I have a really strong 15h horse, currently ridden in an American gag.. I have tried lowering his bit but hes just too strong even in the arena
I can cope with him fine but I would like to be able to lower his bit and have him a lot calmer
He also gets a sore mouth because of it
Hes on calming food
Any suggestions would be great
 
I'm no expert by a long shot, but just throwing it out there that some horses go better bitless, my friends Sec D mare was a sod bitted, she goes like a dream bitless
 
My boy was also very strong bitted, well i thought he was just strong, turns out he ran through the bit because of pain in his head and mouth. After getting his mouth sorted and his head looked at he still wasnt 100% comfy with his mouth so i tried different types of bitless and he is now in a hackamore and is brilliant in it.

Or you could try a combi bit or kineton noseband, he may get on better with a different type of pressure.

This is assuming that he has been trained to accept the bit and still runs through it.
 
tankgirl1 said:
I'm no expert by a long shot, but just throwing it out there that some horses go better bitless, my friends Sec D mare was a sod bitted, she goes like a dream bitless
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i'm going to tentatively echo this but not from personal experience, somebody i know got given a Spanish horse and it was a horror( not of course saying yours is) pulled like a train , many many bits tried, teeth etc checked, he rode him one day in a halter and rope and bingo , one happy horse, one very relieved owner as he adored him. another friend has a trotter who hates the bit , she rides in a hackamore. sorry i have nothing better than that!
 
Without seeing him & you together it's impossible to say, so I'd recommend an assessment lesson with a good instructor.

When you say calming food you do realise that no feed will actually calm him, don't you? Seriously, I've known a couple of people feed increasing amounts of these feeds & wonder why they're horses get worse rather than better. If he doesn't need the calories take him off the feed.
 
I do have a feeling he may be in some sort of pain, we have had his teeth and everything checked so its just the bit causing problem. I am seriously considering trying him bitless! thanks x
 
I mean he has no food with added sugars etc, hes half throughbred and came to me skinny(only had him 3 months) so requires a lot of feed, he has a lot of exercise its just his bitting/strongness problem
 
My mare can very strong out and about. Kimblewick had horrid effect, dangerous tbh. Changed recently to a hanging cheek snaffle with copper lozange from a french link snaffle
..Only in arena but massive improvement all round.
 
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amymay said:
What other bits have you tried? It could simply be a case of him running through this very strong bit.
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ditto this.

I have said this time and time again but my mare was being a pig in her bits.. put her in a happy mouth as was close to giving up and she was like a different horse.. just turns out she hates metal.

What noseband is he in?
 
My cob was very strong when I got him and ridden in a 3 ring gag. I tried different bits but to no avail, then someone lent me a Dr Cooks bitless bridle. The change in him was amazing! I used to have a dentist do his teeth but when I moved yards I had my vet out to do it. He had always been a bit of a nightmare to have his teeth done but vet told me he had an exceptionally small mouth with a fleshy tongue and anything in his mouth causes him discomfort. He has been ridden bitless for several years now and we both love it 😄
 
Echo what others said, provided that any pain or fitting issues are excluded it might be worth a think about bitless.

I had a 15.2 sec D years ago, beautiful creature, strong as hell. He was very well in himself but even in a double bridle I really struggled with him. Someone at the yard suggested trying bitless and I was quite worried because I had heard these can be "strong" in the wrong hands. However from the first day onwards he was a different horse. Sold him a few years later when he was about 10 and I heard even into his 20's he was still ridden bitless and still as feisty and loving life as ever. I do think you have to exercise caution with them, but my experience with him it made a positive difference.
 
Tern said:
ditto this.

I have said this time and time again but my mare was being a pig in her bits.. put her in a happy mouth as was close to giving up and she was like a different horse.. just turns out she hates metal.

What noseband is he in?
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ive tried him in a metal and rubber Pelham and he just leans and doesn't listen at all, he came to me in a combined/lever noseband so that applies even more pressure but I have taken this off and used no noseband but again hes just very strong and takes advantage of this
 
Bertolie said:
My cob was very strong when I got him and ridden in a 3 ring gag. I tried different bits but to no avail, then someone lent me a Dr Cooks bitless bridle. The change in him was amazing! I used to have a dentist do his teeth but when I moved yards I had my vet out to do it. He had always been a bit of a nightmare to have his teeth done but vet told me he had an exceptionally small mouth with a fleshy tongue and anything in his mouth causes him discomfort. He has been ridden bitless for several years now and we both love it ��
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Thankyou! I might give bitless a try and hopefully it will work, as I said were not having any major problems im just concerned about the amount of pressure of his bit he has as its quite severe
 
agmp said:
Echo what others said, provided that any pain or fitting issues are excluded it might be worth a think about bitless.

I had a 15.2 sec D years ago, beautiful creature, strong as hell. He was very well in himself but even in a double bridle I really struggled with him. Someone at the yard suggested trying bitless and I was quite worried because I had heard these can be "strong" in the wrong hands. However from the first day onwards he was a different horse. Sold him a few years later when he was about 10 and I heard even into his 20's he was still ridden bitless and still as feisty and loving life as ever. I do think you have to exercise caution with them, but my experience with him it made a positive difference.
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the only thing im concerned about is the amount of pressure they put on different parts of the head but as you said if the horse goes better in them then its better than constant pulling of there mouth!x
 
darkbay12 said:
the only thing im concerned about is the amount of pressure they put on different parts of the head but as you said if the horse goes better in them then its better than constant pulling of there mouth!x
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I think if you have tried all the reasonable alternatives and happy there is no physical issue, then it may be worth a try. Do you have an instructor or someone similar who could ride him in it and talk you through how to use and ride in them if you haven't used them before. I've seen some folks ride in them and they make me wince. I always remember my old instructor from PC days telling me "the bit is as strong as the rider using it". I would take some advice from someone experienced and who you trust when it comes to the fitting and using of one, because they can be misused with horrible consequences. That said, it made a massive difference to my old horse, and he appeared to be genuinely more settled in it, I used to ride in a hackamore.

You could try speaking to the bit bank - they are incredibly helpful.
 
tankgirl1 said:
I'm no expert by a long shot, but just throwing it out there that some horses go better bitless, my friends Sec D mare was a sod bitted, she goes like a dream bitless
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My old TB used to throw his head around, turned out to be his teeth were painful, despite having them done, had a decent EDT out, horse sedated, teeth done properly, result, no more head throwing, baby cob with sore teeth is still ridden in a bitless bridle, happy cob, happy owner
 
Mine hated the pelham, threatened to rear and then ran through it anyway. Tom thumb was recommended to me and he seems happy in it for fast work (when not broken) for less fun stuff sweet iron lozenge loose ring seems to please.
 
I have a very strong horse- can set her neck & mouth of steel! Shes also an older horse so habits are ingrained & I was at the end of my tether with being sore all over. Tried l manner of bits etc. each to no avail....

Regular dressage lessons with a n experienced, qualified instructor who ison the same page as me. a neue schule verbindend bit (which fits her mouth correctly) & a lot of nights spent sitting up until 2am spent reading classical dressage books & I now have a soft well schooled horse who is on the aids & a pleasure to ride & I am always in full control of her.

It's hard work but you get out what you put in. Overcoming such a challenge has boosted both my riding ability & confidence as well as the bond between myself & my horse which is now unbreakable. I can honestly say my horse enjoys our rides as much as I do. Good luck it will all be worth it :)

ETA: I had a qualified EDT look at my horse before I started my lessons & it turned out she had some sharp teeth which had caused some ulcers & a nasty sore in her mouth due to riding her in a bit which was just too think for her mouth. I now pay as much attention to the mouth/ bit fitting as I do to the fit of my saddle.
 
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