the bit or me???

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horselife1

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So my horse is currently ridden in an eggbutt snaffle however for whatever reason he is not at all comfortable in his mouth. When I school him and try to pick up any kind of contact he fights with me, chomps the bit and generally fidgets with his head, becoming very short in his strides and agitated. Riding him round with no contact whatsoever is no problem whatsoever according to him but he still holds his head very high. When jumping I ride him in the same bit and bridle which is a grackle and he is generally one to rush after a fence, but suddenly when I land after a jump and I go to pull him up, he throws his head up so much when he would normally lean down on my hands, suppose you could say one extreme to another. I really don't want to have to continue riding him like this whilst he is clearly in discomfort. It is only since having some lessons to get him more round and to get me to stop just letting him toddle round on the buckle of his reins that this problem has emerged. His back is 100% fine and he gets regular acupuncture. His saddle was only recently checked and his teeth are due in Feb. He has no other issues at all. He's generally a rather tense horse however I have seen a definite and sudden change in him recently and I'm out of ideas. I was thinking of changing him to a nathe type bit? He has no turnout so discontinuing his exercise is sadly not an option, I really want to do whats best for him and I hate riding him like this, I'm more than happy to admit that I'm doing something wrong but I don't know what!! possible things I have thought of is that: the mouthpiece of his snaffle is rather thin and the fact that I have found myself fighting with him may have caused a bit of pain in the corners of his mouth. he's a 15.3hh connie x Tb 9 yo if that helps. Thanks in advance...
 
If you've checked all the pain possibilities it might be he hasn't got enough room in his mouth to cope with a single jointed snaffle (I'm making an assumption its a single jointed so apologies if it isn't). If so you could try something like a Myler low port comfort snaffle on hire (but speak to the Bit Bank first for advice as they may have a different suggestion). In the past I have successfully used bitless bridles with horses that don't like a bit so this is also an option to try.
 
Its nigh on impossible to advise without seeing you. What does your instructor say? The fact that his teeth are due in Feb could easily point to a problem there - it would be worth seeing if you can bring that forward and get those checked ASAP. Otherwise I would be leaning to it being your way of asking for the contact not being correct for him. Contact should come from behind generated by the legs and contained by the seat - not held in place with the hands alone. Alternatively it might be that he has been so used to working in a more hollow shape that he lacks the muscle development to support self carriage and so being held in place hurts - although his response after a jump doesn't really suggest that as a primary issue.

But as I say - very difficult to offer sensible advice without seeing you. Get a good instructor to help.
 
i'd start with getting teeth checked by a good dentist. have you tried riding him in a headcollar/bitless to see if theres any difference?
 
Teeth are my first thought too. Dentist due in Feb, but when were the teeth last done? I would bring the appt forward.

Has your instructor tried jumping him, if so does he do the same for them?

For the moment, if your snaffle isn't already one, try riding in a French link with D rings, or a bitless bridle.
 
FestiveFuzz said:
I'd start by checking teeth if he were mine.
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This. Due in February means nothing. Mine was due in February and when some minor contact issues showed up a couple of months ago the first thing I did was call the dentist before we worked through them. And they were very minor, nothing that indicated real discomfort.
 
horselife1 said:
but suddenly when I land after a jump and I go to pull him up, he throws his head up so much when he would normally lean down on my hands, suppose you could say one extreme to another.
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no one can be sure but that part sounds like a teeth problem. A dental technician must check with speculum (gag) and light also need palpation. your horse might have some hooks on teeth (all kind of hooks possible but especially I'm talking about number 311 or 411) by the way dental technicians or vets can not fix big hooks by manuel floats, need electric tools and probably need sedation. So I'd call a dental tech having electric tolls and a vet (for sedation)

After fixing hook problems your horse might have same problems for a few days because he/she supposes that he/she will feel same pain while jumping but next week you he/she will forget it.
I might be wrong and that is a supposition.
 
It’s most likely to be a holistic approach by the sounds of it.
You have a tense horse with no turnout and what sounds like sub optimal work under saddle.

So I’d honestly re-evaluate the lifestyle, get teeth done, involve a very good instructor and probably a physio too.
 
(I'm making an assumption its a single jointed so apologies if it isn't)
yes it is single jointed and thats a very good assumption which I hadn't thought of, I've emailed the bit bank about the myler and I'm waiting for their opinion.
 
The fact that his teeth are due in Feb could easily point to a problem there - it would be worth seeing if you can bring that forward and get those checked ASAP.

I'd start by checking teeth if he were mine.

i'd start with getting teeth checked by a good dentist.

Teeth are my first thought too.

Due in February means nothing. Mine was due in February and when some minor contact issues showed up a couple of months ago the first thing I did was call the dentist before we worked through them. And they were very minor, nothing that indicated real discomfort.

no one can be sure but that part sounds like a teeth problem.

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thanks everyone I rang my dentist today and he can actually fit me in in 10 days, I feel stupid for just disregarding the fact that it could be his teeth
 
have you tried lunging him in side reins? if not i would have the side reins on a very light contact and see if he has the same reaction , if he doesnt it may be worth having some lessons to see if it is your contact which is the problem. i found that my loan mare didnt like a french link but is fine in a dr bristol or a half moon snaffle so may be worth trying other bits....if he still has a problem i would be bringing the dentist app forward...
 
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