bit question, suggestions appreciated ...

[notpoodle]

tried angel with the reins in the snaffle ring today (she's got a dutch gag). it was ok in the school .... then there was a lesson in the school and i had to leave, so i went down the bridlepath with her. i only realised i still had the reins in the snafflering when we were halfway to the path :rolleyes:

now, with the gag used as a snaffle, i had very very little control over the beastie, for it didnt seem to have any influence on her at all :rolleyes: i suspect her mouth has become a bit (?) dead after years of kiddies pulling her about.

i am trying to work out what bit might be worth trying with her. the gag she's not keen on, as steering and brakes only work on a rather long rein, the moment you take up a contact she'll either speed up or 'grab' the bit, throw her head up or just open her mouth wide ....

with the snaffle setting, she seemed to ignore the bit altogether :rolleyes:

the gag on a long rein works okay, if you stick to a longer rein ....

what does this mean? she responds to the poll pressure of the gag but not the snaffle on its own? the nutcracker action of the snaffle causes her to ignore the bit altogether? should i be looking at a bitless bridle with only pollpressure??

any suggestions would be appreciated :)

julia
x

[Gemma16]

Hmmmmm its a toughy. If she reacts badly to you putting pressure on the gag, maybe she doesn't like the poll pressure?

As for being a little dead to the mouth that would be understandable if people have been riding her with strong hands previously.

I think it might be a schooling thing. Get her used to listening y#to your aids there, then she should respect them when out hacking too.

If her mouth is dead, try using weight aids with her.

I have no immediate bit suggestions, but maybe try her in a snaffle? Try diff mouth pieces etc.

[notpoodle]

she responds quite well to leg and weight aids. i had the reins in the snaffle ring of the gag today, so it was almost a snaffle ... had no effect at all on her :rolleyes:

i am more than willing to try different bits, i just dont know where to start :rolleyes:

julia
x

[mellie]

Hi,
i was just reading your post,
and remembered i have a mag with a few pages all about bits,
and sizes and shapes of different horses mouths,
But,theres also a couple of bits worth looking ones a myler combination bit,which have got a good review,they may be a bit pricey though!,theres another bit,which is a combination bit,called the mikmar combination bit,and it disperse pressure over a choice of pointsand offers several rein possitions,,this bit maybe a bit on the steep side too though but still worth avin' a look,
www.mikmarbit.com,i can't find a site for the myler,but most retailers have them you might be able to order one.
any ways hope this helps,
mell

[notpoodle]

ah! myler bits! totally forgot about those! the manager of the yard is, i think, a member of this team myler thing, so i'll try and ask her about that option!

julia
x

[Mehitabel]

mylers are enormously expensive though!
i'd be inclined to have a few lessons in a snaffle/the current bit first, and see what the 'eyes on the ground' think. there are so many reasons she might be objecting to the gag yet ignoring the snaffle, it's difficult to say online.
also it may not be a change of bit issue, it is quite likely to be a schooling issue.

[RachelEvent]

I don't have any immediate suggestions regarding bits, but I just thought I would mention, that with horses mouth's who have been pulled about too much and become dead to the aids, that sometimes, adjusting the height of the bit in the mouth to a slightly different location means that they are receiving new signals, which they will then respond to lightly. It may just be a case of trying the snaffle out with the cheekpieces dropped a hole. It may work, it might not work, but it doesn't mean you losing money or hurting her :)

I don't know much about Kimblewicks, but if you find that despite schooling and different bits a snaffle still doesn't do the job, kimblewicks, especially those without fixed rein attatchments, are a bit of a stepping stone between a snaffle and a pelham.

My first thoughts lie in it being more of a schooling problem, BUT, you need a bit which allows you to work through the problem. I'd be most inclined to experiment with snaffles, different materials, different mouthpieces, even differet rings. If she doesn't like poll pressure, then a Baucher or hanging snaffle probably isn't a great idea.. how about trying a rubber snaffle (the thick ones may be too think for her pony mouth, perhaps a thinner happy mouth instead?) You could try and eggbutt snaffle (unusual, but some horses prefer the much steadier fixed feeling) you could try out looserings, and you could try out french links (don't confuse with Dr. Bristols - they have an angled centre link which uses a lot of tongue pressure) You could also try a few different types of material, there are sweet iron bits which are meant to encourage more salivation or the aforementioned happy mouths, rubber or nathe bits.

I like Mylers, would probably be worth asking your YO about suitable ones. At the end of the day, you need a bit which allows you to have a steady and consistent contact with control also, which at the moment you don't!

Rachel xx

[notpoodle]

we have our first private lesson tomorrow :D

roder her in the school today and she was being very, uhm, distracted. no idea why, she's in that school almost everyday ... but today there was an invisible monster in every corner :rolleyes: she even decided to spook at a woman walking past (not a scary spook though. and she was fine when i circled her back to the 'spooky corner') :rolleyes:

how do you stop a horse from being ever so easily distracted? i tried 'engaging' her by doing lots of transitions, serpentines and things .... was that the right thing to do?

julia
x

[les]

My 9 year old boy was very hard in the mouth when I got him last september and was ridden in a plain eggbut snaffle. He would just lean heavily on the bit all the time and would grab at it when I tried to slow him down. I toyed with a myler bit but decided to try a KK ultra bit first. He seemed to be a bit happier in this but still held his head straight out and had no brakes. I continued with this until about april of this year and tried to concentrate on re schooling him. Some one suggested a waterford so we gave that a go & he seemed to go quite well in this to strat with, even foaming at the mouth after a schooling session, but this didn't last and I still had no brakes.

So about a month ago I went with my first instinct and bought a mullen mouth triple barrel myler bit. He seems to really like this, he is flexing at the poll, rolling the rollers around with his mouth and I have got the lightest contact on his mouth that we have ever had & he has started to build muscles up on the right areas in his neck. We have also discovered brakes!!

Although they are expensive I could have saved myself a lot of worrying about hurting his mouth and a lot of expense trying other bits if I had just bought a myler in the first place, so I would say give them a try.

[JaniceH]

Why not try the Myler Bit Bank 01450 373845 / 07850 011518
www.themylerbitbank.co.uk, there is a little button at the top of the page, that takes you to lots of good info too, as well as how the bitbank works. That way you only pay for the one bit, and only the postage on the ones you try out.