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stace1

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was wondering if anyone elses youngster had done this in the past, and how to overcome it solve it, as not sure whether shes doing it as a babyish thing, she came out of racing end of sept and hasnt done much since,
a pic before i explain further
P230909_15250001.jpg


she does something a little like this, thing is she does it sometimes when tied up around the yard if shes been there a while so not sure if its bordom, but she does it when i put her bit in and when im riding, its rather off putting when im on bored as she has a tendancy to tilt her head, and mess around, throw her head etc, shes had everything checked, teeth saddle etc so all fine in the area, so im wondering whether it could be cos the bit doesnt quite fit, hmm shes done it with both bits ive tried though, or whether shell just grow out of it as she matures and becomes more established ??
 
Hard to tell from the picture but it looks like she's chewing or sucking her top lip?

That kind of 'vice' (like crib bitting, wind sucking etc) generally start from a stress reaction to something - it's their way of coping, bit like humans sucking their thumb or chewing their nails. They do it when they have no other outlet for frustrations, bordum, anxiety or stress.

It then becomes a habit and they find it comforting. The initial cause may have gone but it's become their way of releiving pent-up emotions.

I'd guess she's finding something about whatever you're asking her to do stressful/boring/frustrating (delete as appropriate!). She should stop doing it as those feeling subside through practise, or if you manage to eliminate the cause.

Trying to stop them doing it is often counterproductive, as it just makes them more stressed/bored/frustrated, so unless it's causing problems I'd be inclined to just ignore it and try and tackle the route cause.
 
Is this of any help, copied from a link I found:

"Let's begin with his mouth and the bit. A horse won't cross his jaw for fun. It's usually a reaction to mouth pain - and it's a fairly typical reaction to pain from a single-joint snaffle. Have your horse's mouth inspected by a good vet, an equine dentist, or - preferably - both. He's at an age when he could easily have a retained cap or wolf teeth coming in, in addition to all the usual issues of sharp edges and points. Once you know that his teeth are fine and that he doesn't have lacerations to his tongue or to the insides of his cheeks, high up inside his mouth, you'll be able to turn your attention to his bit. Horses' mouths differ quite a lot. You'll find a lot of information about mouths and bits in the archives - so all I'll say here is that you might want to try a French-link snaffle, adjusted so that it touches the corners of your horse's mouth but doesn't create wrinkles. If he is unhappy or the bit bangs against his teeth, take it up the least amount that will restore his comfort - you might end up with a tiny wrinkle, but beware of raising the bit until it creates multiple wrinkles. At that point, ANY bit will be making the horse uncomfortable. "

IMO I would get a second opinion from a vet regarding the teeth.

My horse used to tongue loll and cross his jaws, once the vet gave him a thorough teeth check up and rasp he stopped doing it. Dont just bang a flash on though however tempting it may be, there is a reason she is doing this.
 
thanks every one i too thought it may be a vice related thing, like boredom. im trying just to ignore it and hope she stops in time, i deff wont be putting a flash on or anything, when i tried her she had flash and martingale on but th i dont see the point as thats just hiding the cause and not actually soliving the prob and at this stage i think shes far too goung for 'gadgets'

i had her teeth done a month ago, they were very sharp and needed work which i though may be the prob but nope stillthe same, the dentist did say she still had teeth to come through and a few caps to come off, could this be the cause also ??
 
There's a 6 year old tb i know who does it in the stable, seems just to be a boredom/impatience type of thing, i wouldn't worry too much, but if it does it when riding just try to get it to concentrate more perhaps
 
Do u mean she sort of Opens and shuts her mouth a few times with jaw crossing? Does she do it at other horses? If so that's a foal thing, it's submissive and they sometimes just get in the habit of it, esp if they're weaned early or something. She should just grow out of it hopefully!
 
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