Tongue over the bit when stressy!

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Hannah has really got it on her at the moment... She is being very fresh when ridden, incredibly sharp off my leg and a bit of a stressy lady
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She is working really well over her back after our lesson with Spencer... and is lovely and light in the hand and through the mouth which is something I have never felt with her before. She is great when she is stretching down, but as soon as I collect her she starts faffing about with the bit and trying to get her tongue over the bit. Yesterday she managed it, so today I upped the bit one hole on each side, and tightened the drop by one hole so I could fit two fingers under it.

It seemed to work... she didn't get her tongue over but spent a lot of time trying to get it over
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There is no reason she is doing this, teeth, back etc etc all checked, it is a bad habit that she has learned gets her out of working!

So, have I done the right thing by upping her bit and trying her in a drop? The flash needs to be really tight to stop her getting it over which I hate doing, hence the reason I have been recommended to try a drop.

Any other tips?

Rebecca x
 
I would be interested to hear the answers to this post as this is exactly what Gin does. I put her in a drop noseband which stopped her for a while but then she figured out how to do it and then couldnt get her tongue back under the bit. I put her back in a flash and now shes just in a cavasson noseband so she can at least get her tongue back under the bit. Putting her in a drop was the worst thing I could have done. Im actually suprised how well she goes in just a cavasson, I really thought she would just take the mick.
 
Gin can still get her tongue over the bit in a double
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Shes an expert at it.
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I thought about trying a bit with a port but need to get my arse in gear and buy one. When I first put her in the drop she went really well but after a month or so she learnt how to get her tongue over the bit.
 
Have you tried any of the bits that have less tongue pressure like the Myler bits. Some of them have a slight port which may make them less uncomfortable and harder to get the tongue over (some aren't dressage legal though).
 
That is the problem... I tried her in the high port Myler and this worked but wasn't dressage legal and as soon as I warmed up in the legal one she started messing about with it so I decided that this was not the way with her
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She is currently in a KK Ultra
 
Has she got a fat tongue?! Goddy horse is the same, i spent a whole hack with him whipping his tongue round the side of his face
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The only thing he doesnt do it with is a straight bar Nathe! Failing that, try and find a very slim mouthpiece (10/12mm ideally) so they take up less room in her mouth and more room for her tongue!
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Have you tried sticking her in the double for a session? You dont need to use the curb so much but at least you know its there and will apply pressure in a different way. Sometimes they need something to back them off the "arsyness" and then swap her back...

Seems like she is feeling better in herself!!
 
Ralph used to do this a lot when he was a baby and I found that the only thing that stopped it was tightening up the flash, he does it occasionally now when I ask for something new and again just tighten the flash.

I thought it would be a problem in his double, but thats ok, thank god
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Funnily enough Molly started doing this when we upped the pressure on the collection work, put her in a flash and she has stopped. Think it is just a little evasion she tried as the pressure was upped, she seems to have stopped it now she finds the work easier.
 
This won't help in the short term but in the long term it's probably likely to stop naturally when she doesn't find things as stressful. Eric used to be terrible for putting his tongue over the bit or sticking it out the side of his mouth - he had a lot of nervous energy and was a real worrier but he's matured a lot over the last year and since his flatwork has progressed he barely does it all anymore. Short term I would say a drop noseband is worth a try.
 
Hannah is always stressed... she gets herself stressed just by thinking
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She has been like this for the six years I have owned her, so I just let her get on with it and I don't think she will change now
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