Two reins on a dutch gag/bubble bit

One rein or two?

  • Total voters
    0
Mine hunts in this bit, i school her in it occasionally, she is comfortable with it & i dont use two reins as i cant cope with them, & panic as my horse needs a consistant contact so she panics. i use roundings on the snaffle ring & second ring. I can not hunt her in a snaffle. I had the blisters & she had a sore mouth too. This bit, we get on, she listens so no arguing. Perfect.
 
Sorry to resurrect and old thread.
I use a bubble bit when hacking. My pony is saintly 99% of the time but I like to have some extra breaks for when she decides she wants to go and I want to stop.
If I'm trying to pull up from having a good canter and she doesn't want to she will throw in some bucks so I want a bit that is likely to lift the head rather than bring it down.
So, to my point: today I tried to do things 'properly' and used 2 reins. I didn't end up knitting too much and grasped how to hold them (snaffle rein in the usual place and curb rein between little and ring finger)
I understand how to use the snaffle rein alone, I can rotate my hand (point my thumb more down) and it pulls the snaffle rein. But how can I activate the curb rein? I couldn't see how I could 'pull' (bad way if putting it, I know) the curb should I ever need to.
Can I ask why this bit is so disliked? Would a Pelham have a similar but better action?
 
Wow, old thread.

Little critter there are many ways to hold double reins and people will tell you the correct way is with them crossed but in truth there are many ways that can all be correct and are used in various countries/disciplines.

I use a pelham and english(cheltenham) gag and both are used with two reins with the snaffle where is would usually go and the curb around the end of my hand. I have contact on the snaffle rein and the curb slightly loose, then all i need to do is rotate my hand forward. If you look up charlotte dujardin then it is the same way as her.


As for why the bit is disliked there are many reasons. It has imprecise steering, it confuses the horse by using poll pressure (lowers the head) but also bit slides on loose ring to raise in horses mouth (raises the head). It just depends on what the horse reacts to more, but some horses dislike the combination. As it has been said on this thread the bit is not supposed to be used in the way it most commonly seen and yes once people get more knowledgeable they usually change bits, to either a pelham or english gag usually. In your case, i would suggest looking at an english gag, my mare used to go round with her nose on her chest in rolkur fashion (she was obviously trussed up at some point) i changed to this bit and now she goes lovely with her head in a much better place that can no longer evade the contact and send me out the front door if she bucks. I usually ride on the snaffle with the bottom on the neck and grab if i feel her head dropping.
 
Megibo said:
i wish they would use a curb on the cob at college, he is ridden with one rein on the bottom ring and by novices. always throwing his head in the air and shaking it or tucking nose right into his chest.
Click to expand...

Do you ever ride him? If you do perhaps you could attach a back strap and move the rein to the middle ring. If the instructor can see he goes better like that then maybe they'll use the bit that way permanently. There is a spare flash strap hanging about in most tackrooms and by avoiding asking them to buy a second rein they'll be more likely to go with the idea.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top