Why does he keep fussing with his bit?

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popsicle

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I am hacking out a friends pony and he is constantly biting at and snatching at his bit. He tosses his head and pulls down as well as chewing at the bit constantly. He has had his teeth checked and the saddle fits ok. The browband is not tight around his ears. He has a dutch gag on the second ring. Any ideas what to try? He is quite strong and doesn't listen to the bit much at all.
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i ride my welsh cob in a two ring dutch gag on the lowest ring, he used to be forever fiddling with his bit so i switched to a happy mouth 2 ring dutch gag, which worked a treat, but then a couple of months on i realised it had teeth marks on it and was getting sharp bits, so i switched back to the normal metal one and alls been well ever since! i think the happy mouth may of taught him that having a bit in is not all that bad! they do the happy mouths in 2 and 3 ring gags for about twenty quid so might be worth a try.... good luck X
 
Sounds like quite an unhappy chappy
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What happens if you let go of the rein pressure? It might be the horse is sore in the mouth (lips, bars, tongue or roof of the mouth) which might be caused from your friend being 'heavy handed' as he is inclined to be strong?
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I would try changing the mouthpiece (perhaps to french link or a mullen mouth) or getting something like a nathe or a happy mouth?
 
[ QUOTE ]
Sounds like quite an unhappy chappy
frown.gif
What happens if you let go of the rein pressure? It might be the horse is sore in the mouth (lips, bars, tongue or roof of the mouth) which might be caused from your friend being 'heavy handed' as he is inclined to be strong?
confused.gif
I would try changing the mouthpiece (perhaps to french link or a mullen mouth) or getting something like a nathe or a happy mouth?

[/ QUOTE ]

If you totally "drop" the reins he is ok, but any pressure and he starts to fiddle and fuss. Unless something is up ahead and he is otherwise occupied and then he "forgets" and is fine. He doesn't have any obvious sores in his mouth as I was there when the dentist visited, as our two were done at the same time. He is a 14.2h heavyish Irish Cob so has quite a fleshy mouth. Which bit do you think I suggest she try?
 
What link does she have on the gag and how thick is the mouthpiece? If it has a typical 'nutcracker' single joint then virtually any change should see an improvement, however if she is already using a french link or lozenge she might find choosing a slimmer mouthpiece might help- you may also find an over-tight noseband could be making a small problem worse as it forces the mouth to close over the metal- good luck
smile.gif
 
was just thinking that the mouthpiece on the happy mouth i used for a few months was considerably thinner than that of my normal gag so it could of been that the made the difference!!!
 
His behaviour will be because of the bit, any or a combination of these- tongue pinching from single joint, poll pressure, bar pressure, single joint pressing on roof of mouth, tongue pressure.

Its a very common reaction to a dutch gag. Try a french link mouthpiece and riding in two reins, to refine the aid, which is how a dutch gag was designed to be used. Or try some different bits altogether!
 
ditto teddyt common re dutch gag.

I use a nathe one to hack my boy out (stops the random welsh spooking better than a pelham) but hack on a pretty loose rein most of the time so we are both happy with it.
 
there is 3 general reason why they can mess and grab the bit.
1) they dont like the rider(normally refering to hired out horses)
2)they dont like the bit
3)the mechanics of the mouth are not working correctly and this is usually the case.maybe best to have dentist check again for good caudal\rostral movement and good lateral excursion ie forwards and backwards and side to side
chris
 
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