what bit do you ride your arabs in?

Archiepoo

Archiepoo

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hi just wondering what bits you ride ur arabs in? i know you shouldnt try to change their natural high head carriage but having him on the bit for fast work would be nice! :)
 
One goes in a hanging waterford out hacking, but a plastic snaffle showjumping. XC it varies between her waterford, a ring bit, or a tom thumb gag.
The other mainly goes in a hackamore.
 
Past arabs - Hackamore for home. Myler LS Combination for parties. Current arab, D ring french link. Myler mouthpiece on western curb, depends what we are doing.
 
i need something with brakes as hes a bit of a speed freak:D . he came from a pro and she evented ,team chased, and hunted him in a cheltenham which brings his head right up so ive got no chance of brakes ,but i hate it -apart from having a single joint hes got a low palate and huge tongue so it must be torture for him :(
 
I ride Tilly in a bitless (Dr. Cooks), with a running martingale. We don't have many issues with a high head carriage unless there's something particularly fascinating occurring over the hedge! My mum's Arab's ridden in a french link, and he's sweet as a nut in it.
 
Mine is in a loose ring copper lozenge, with a cavesson noseband and no martingale. She is very easy to hold, and has a very soft mouth. My old mare was ridden in a kimblewick and a running martingale and she was still hard to hold!
 
english hackamore for my older chap for hacking out but I need a bit for events and then he goes in a rubber jointed snaffle.

Youngster went in a Neule schule tranzangled lozenge bit which was perfect for him. It has a thin mouthpiece which is helpful for some arabs.
 
Jointed rubber snaffle for my mare and french link for my gelding. Arabs usually have very soft mouths so should be easy to stop however fast your going.
 
Arabs tend to have very soft mouths but very strong necks ;) Also not a lot of space in the mouth to put a bit (which is why a lot of people go bitless).

My old guy is in a straight bar ported kimblewick and that did him all through his endurance career - a pelham was too much but sometimes we just needed a bit more than a plain snaffle. Also the straight bar port really suited him and it's difficult to find that as a plain snaffle. The other arab is in a snaffle with a lozenge, as is my part bred.
 
Previoud arab in a rubber loose ring and current in sweet iron coper lozenge baucher and its fab! Wouldnt usse anything stronger
 
Mine goes best in an s hac hackamore, but seems to like a loose ring straight bar happy mouth, or a pelham. I've tried her in a ns tranz lozenge baucher, she doesn't seem to like the movement. A nathe has too much bend for her too. I'd like to try her in a loose ring mullen mouth snaffle if I can find one anywhere.
 
Would you be prepared to spend some time on going slower and relaxing him down before you up the speed again? Using the bit to change the head carriage is surely dealing with the symptom rather than the cause, and a mechanical rather than mental solution... My Arab was ridden in a Waterford and with his head high when he came to me (he was lovely to ride and safe I hasten to add). I worked on relaxation and allowing him to learn that he could have his head lower for a while, which in my case meant riding bitless in a rope halter because that's what I know. Then when his neck was in better shape I could start picking him up a bit. But we rode bitless everywhere for a year before introducing a Rockin' S french link snaffle.
 
Sorry, hijacking thread here!

I have been thinking about going bitless with mine as she has such bad teeth. Currently she has a loose ring French link and we have always had brakes.

What is the best sort of bitless bridle to go for and how do you fit them? She is quite a small Arab so currently in a pony bridle with cob browband.

Thanks!
 
nosenseofdirection said:
Sorry, hijacking thread here!

I have been thinking about going bitless with mine as she has such bad teeth. Currently she has a loose ring French link and we have always had brakes.

What is the best sort of bitless bridle to go for and how do you fit them? She is quite a small Arab so currently in a pony bridle with cob browband.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

IMO you would need to spend a bit of time on the ground establishing communication - horse responding to feel......I did some basic Parelli courses which enabled a simple change from bitted to bitless....my ponies did not like the cross under Dr. Cook.....the release was too little and too slow I believe......I haven't used a bit on any of my ponies since 1998....good luck.
 
If youve got the relationship on the ground with your arab then they will do anything for you. If you work on some basic ground exercises then transition to bitless will be easy but educate yourself because you ride totally different. My girl is in a rope halter with the reins tied into a bosal knot under the chin. I would suggest starting with the least pressure and then going up if you need it. Bitlessandbarefoot.com have a bitless bridle called the matrix that converts to numerous different bitless so it might be a good option to start with. If not then Id suggest a sidepull or scawbrig which has a tiny bit of poll pressure. The thing with bitless is the horse will tell you whether they like that particular one or not so there is no point paying out for one and then finding out your horse doesnt get on with it which is why the matrix is good. Like I said I ride in a rope but sometimes a scawbrig if I know we are going for a gallop as I like her to come back to me quicker. Shes gone from a stressy head in the air always fighting me to a relaxed horse who I can totally trust to the point where we have just started riding in a cordeo on open moor. You just need to be prepared to put the time in:)
 
The Micklem multibridle can also be altered for three different bitless configurations, too - "mild", "medium" and "strong". In fact it seems to do just about everything.
 
17 year old mare - kimblewick.
6 year old gelding - neue schule with lozenge.

I've previously ridden my mare in a hackamore, a libby's webbing lightweight one. She went nicely in it, plenty of brakes, but the foam rubber across her nose made her sweaty and itchy. I then tried a leather hackamore with sheepskin on the nose but this was too heavy for her and she didn't go at all well. So I went on to a kimblewick with her and she's fine.

The neue schule was used from the start with my gelding and he goes well, but my mare didn't like it at all.

I've also ridden other arabs in single and double jointed snaffles (no brakes) and a pelham (good for shows). Trial and error I think, each horse has its own preferences.
 
Mine goes nicely in an eggbutt french link, much better than in a single joint. She does dressage and has a lovely head carriage-well most of the time!
 
Arab that I ride up to 3 times a week wears a running martingale and has a loose ring jointed snaffle. She is such a sweetie but has not done much lately due to weather and lack of time on owners part. Tbh she is gentle enough that you could ride her in a headcollar if you wanted to, I have done in the field but never hacked her out like this
 
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