which bit should we try

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nickylou

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Hi,this is my first post on this forum. my daughter has a new pony ,he is a real poppet,13.2 pba,11 years old. we've had his teeth done and saddle checked since we got him and she adores him. she lost a lot of confidence with her last pony which was my fault for buying one too young and bolshy for her. she is now getting her confidence back with him. today we popped him over a couple of small cross country jumps and although he jumped nicely he got a bit strong afterwards. he is forward going and has a soft mouth so she has a rubber snaffle . What bit would anyone advise we try as i don't want to overbit him but would like her to have some more brakes!
 
If you have a regular instructor I would seek advise from them. They will be able to make a suggestion that will hopefully suit both the pony and horse.
You could try a metal snaffle rather than a rubber one, or you could try something with minimal poll pressure such as a hanging cheek, or there is the option of a french link.
Personally though I'd consult someone who could watch your daughter and the pony first before offering suggestions.
 
very hard to say without more info - did he pull with his head down, or tuck his nose in and accelerate, or lean on her hands? different bits have different effects, obviously. a rubber snaffle is very soft, it may be that a normal single-joint snaffle would be enough. if you get one with full cheeks it will stay stable in the mouth and help a little bit with the steering as well. the snaffle's action is to slightly raise the head.
if he leans, then a waterford, or other bit with a few links so it moves so he can't lean on it, would work. sometimes you only need to use one a few times and the horse respects any bit from then on...
if he sticks his nose out and down, and accelerates, then perhaps a kimblewick - the curb helps a lot with that kind of problem.
hope that's not too confusing! it's a case of trial and error in a lot of cases tbh. best of luck!
 
[ QUOTE ]
If you have a regular instructor I would seek advise from them. They will be able to make a suggestion that will hopefully suit both the pony and horse.
You could try a metal snaffle rather than a rubber one, or you could try something with minimal poll pressure such as a hanging cheek, or there is the option of a french link.
Personally though I'd consult someone who could watch your daughter and the pony first before offering suggestions.

[/ QUOTE ]

Very good advise. It is not possible without seeing them, or knowing more about what the pony is doing AND what your daughter does or doesn't do to help
 
I would agree with the comments re bits - hard to advise wthout seeing. However I would recommend using a breastplate if you can gt one to fit, or a neckstrap, which your daughter can use to anchor herself on landing. I use this a lot on young horses, not only does it help stabilise the riders position and help them get their weight back , but pulling on the breastplate does also have a really good slowing down effect on the horse. Good luck
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Also bear in mind that there could be other causes - has he not jumped for a while (so a little keener as enjoying himself?) Or getting some spring grass to increase his energy? Agree someone on the ground is best to advise but he sounds a lovely pony!
 
many thanks to all for the advice. we have a regular instructor who comes to the yard twice a week and i'm going to ask her to ride him on wednesday. he came to us with sharp teeth and had been ridden in a full cheek snaffle with a flash noseband so we have been very careful to give him abit of time to realise that his mouth wasn't going to hurt him. HE had a neckstrap but i sometimes wonder if the kids use them
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he is a genuine nice boy and it was the first time he had been on open grass with other ponies so i think he was very good in the circumstances!
 
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