uncomfortable horse

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alicep

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Morning all

Can i have your knowledgeable opinions on this please...

I have a TB mare whos an ex racer. Like most she quite strong when doing fast work or schooling therefore i normally ride in a french link dutch gag with pelhem roundings on the snaffle ring and the one just below and a flash nose band. with me she is perfectly happy she mouths this nicely and seems generally comfortable.

recently i have had a couple of different people riding for me once a week as i have had to go away for work and am off to london this weekend therefore there will be a couple of people helping my friend (who stables with me on a private yard) with my mare. This morning the friend who stabled me mentioned that when she rode alice yesterday she felt she was a bit over bitted for general hacking. and i have to say i agree that the bit shes in is not needed when just going for a plod but when i go for a general plod she is still comfortable in this therefore i dont bother changing it. but my friend reckoned that alice looked uncomfortable and almost worried and wasnt very forward (not normal). could this be that alice is just not used to the other people riding as obviously every one rides differently? or in general should i be plodding in something milder like french link in general? i should mention that the couple of people who have rode for me recently are ex competitors and do expect alot even when just going for a plod whereas i literally plod with a nice loose reign and enjoy it.

The other thing i should mention is that these people are a bit bigger than me i.e. taller and weigh more (i only weight 7.5 stone and am vertically challanged) this could contribute to a bit of uncomfortableness. your opinions/ideas would be greatly appreciated. bear in mind i never see all this as others are riding for me and i also dont experience any of this.
 
you could try using your reins straight onto the snaffle ring of your gag for quiet hacking as this is then using the bit at its mildest, then when doing faster, harder work changing them onto the middle ring? i havent used a gag with roundings for a long time and i dont think many people do these days.

how long has it been since others have ridden your horse? she may just be stressed at having different riders on board and a different style of riding as like you say everyone is different, also worth remembering that if these other riders dont know your horse then what they say is their opinion on her. i dont know if the height/weight change of riders would be effecting her, that again prob depends on the last time someone other than yourself sat on her.
 
ive had one lady for a while who rides once every other week. but apart from her its normally just me. the reason i do use roundings is so that she gets a mix of the different pressures, not just the pressure of one rein on the lower ring. and i thought a dutch gag should ideally be ridden with 2 reins? however i do not fancy fighting with my mare with 2 reins lol
 
i used to use a gag with roundings as i didnt like the thought of one rein on bottom ring so agree with you there, i then bought split reins so it was 2 reins at the bottom but only 1 rein in your hand if that makes sense. anyway, do you need the use of bottom ring when mare is being strong? you could try 1 rein on middle ring instead of the roundings?

if the lady that helps all the time has ridden recently i would ask her and see if she's felt any difference since the other riders started. my pony was ridden by 2 riders all the time and he was fine with that but i recently introduced a 3rd rider as im pregnant, that didnt go down well at all with him!
 
I could be completely wrong here but do using split reins and using roundings not amount to the same thing as it is still halving the pressure between the two rings that you are using without being able to change the pressure as you would with two sets?

I could be completely barking up the wrong tree so please tell me so.
 
i would have thought using split reins and roundings would have the same effect!? the roundings are on the snaffle ring and the one just below. i find this enough therefore do not use the bottom ring?! im going to hack out tonight (plod) with just a full cheek losenge snaffle i have and no martingale -bringing it totally back to basics and see how she feels although i dont know if i will get any difference as, as i said in my post -i havnt noticed any difference at all. hopefully when i get back next week it will be back to just me and the other lady every 2 weeks.
 
I would prefer to use roundings/split reins rather than 1 rein on a lower ring unless it was a very strong horse which she doesn't sound to be. I think back to basics is a good idea.
 
wasnt saying split reins were any different, just that thats what id used, dont think you get them anymore anyway! i was thinking you used bottom ring and snaffle ring with roundings so if you were to try just snaffle ring for plodding then middle ring for when she was stronger it meant not having to take roundings on and off!

back to basics is prob the best think to do, it may be that she doesnt actually need such a strong bit anymore, iv found with alot of horses/ponies that they only need the stronger bits and the fancy gadgets until they settle and then going back to basics works.

you'l know yourself once your back riding her regularly if there are any problems or you will then be able to put the difference in her down to a change of routine.
 
Yeah I agree with littletinker, often once they have been "gadgetted" up you can begin to remove the gadgets while still getting the same effect.
 
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