frothing on the bit

[shadowfax1967]

hi
can any tell me the reason why my 14.2 cob mare froths on the bit, it is not just a little but loads. when me daugher rides her she is like a donkey, but when i ride her she is very forward going but well behaved which i like about her, my daughter is just a novice that lacks confidence so my mare is a great conbination for us both
i always thought that it was a good sign and that it shows they are working the bit, and my farrier has told me that i am right and that his wife competes in dressage and their horses do this its a good thing. but what has put an element of doubt in my mind is that recently somebody told me that it is because she cant swallow properly with the bit in and i should be looking at another bit for her.
she is rode in a kimblewick with curb chain, i have tried her in an ordinary snaffle and she was a nightmare throwing her had around pulling me out of the saddle etc and she doesnt do this with her normal bit in, in fact when im riding her with the kimblewick she is great on the bit all the time. i have had her teeth checked and she is fine

 

[OMET]

I wouldn't worry.
Frothing is due to the horses being soft and relaxed through it's jaw. I ride all my horses bitless and they froth at the mouth.
It is hard to swallow with a bit, just push down on your tongue and try o swallow - very hard.
Does your Kimblewick have a ported mouth? Changing to one that has could help

 

[magoobaybee]

wen a horse foams at the mouth its called mouthing it is a very good sign and I wouldn't dream of changing ** bit!!! Keep it up!!

 

[learningcurve]

I have always believed that a small amount of froath is good alot not so good.
Please correct me if I am wrong.

 

[vimto92]

If it is a lot then I'd be thinking if she was tense and unrelaxed.

 

[dansmum]

When my horse gets tense and jogs out hacking he comes home with froth dripping everywhere like shaving foam. So probably not a good sign when theres excessive.

 

[jenb]

How much froth are we talking about here? A little bit, like lipstick, is fine. If it dripping onto her chest then that's not so good, and I would agree that it sounds like she can't swallow.

Are you sure you are not mistaking "on the bit" for her tucking her nose in and hiding behind the contact?

Also, trying one snaffle does not mean she doesn't like snaffles per se. Have you looked into her mouth and assessed her conformation - how much room does she have in there, is her tongue fleshy, how sensitive are her bars, how low is her palette? All of these things will have a bearing on what type of bit suits her.

 

[Julz]

It could be that the kimblewick doesnt suit her. If she has a large fleshy tongue then the bit might be too thick, and is blocking her throat so she cant swallow. it could be her teeth, even if you have had them checked, was it your vet or dentist that checked them?

If she's only doing this with you and not your daughter, then maybe it could be that she's leaning on your hands more than on your daughters.

Personally, if she's a cob, then she probably has a fleshy tongue, and the bit is too thick for her. try changing to a myler comfort or a mullen mouth snaffle/pelham.

 

[pinkypug1]

Like the others have said a coating around the lips is fine this show shes relaxed and accepting the bit but if ths dripping out of her mouth and fying over her chest & legs its because she cant swallow the saliva & its has no where else 2 go but out of the mouth!

id change ** bit to a much finer mouthpiece ans see how you go from there!

 

[nani]

Hmmm... do you know, I'm not sure if it is the bit...

Mine has "lipstick" when working in school, then when we go out on a hack at weekends and he's particularly full of beans, it's like he's drunk a cappucino!!! It's all over the place... but it's the same bit. How's that work then? We work less on a hack than we do in the school. Wierd.

 

[ANN H]

My mare is in a kimblewick with curb chain and she froths constantly. I asked our dentist about this and he said its a good thing, but she might also have an over-active salive gland!

 

[wildponies]

A little froth is a good thing (lipstick) but too much / excessive slobbering is probably a sign that your bit is too thick for your horse's mouth and it is struggling to swallow.

 

[graciemoo]

A little froth is a good thing (lipstick) but too much / excessive slobbering is probably a sign that your bit is too thick for your horse's mouth and it is struggling to swallow.

Hmmm... do you know, I'm not sure if it is the bit...

Mine has "lipstick" when working in school, then when we go out on a hack at weekends and he's particularly full of beans, it's like he's drunk a cappucino!!! It's all over the place... but it's the same bit. How's that work then? We work less on a hack than we do in the school. Wierd.

How do these two scenarios occur? They are the complete opposite...

Surely it will be like us, some people sweat more, even while resting, and just sitting in a warm room, or some people produce more hormones than others...everyones glands are at different levels. Surely it will be the same with horses?

 

[jenb]

Hmmm... do you know, I'm not sure if it is the bit...

Mine has "lipstick" when working in school, then when we go out on a hack at weekends and he's particularly full of beans, it's like he's drunk a cappucino!!! It's all over the place... but it's the same bit. How's that work then? We work less on a hack than we do in the school. Wierd.

Is your riding the same then? Or do you have to take up more of a contact when he's full of beans to keep a lid on him?

Dripping saliva occurs when the horse cannot swallow. This could be due to the bit pressing down on the tongue, or because the horse has tensed his jaw, either voluntarily or involuntarily. He will do this voluntarily if he is nervous, or maybe excited about something. For it to happen involuntarily, it's most commonly due to people fastening crank nosebands/flash nosebands and the like far, far too tightly so that the horse physically cannot relax his jaw.

The bit may press down on the tongue because of it's design and the fact that it is not complimentary to that horse's conformation, or because of the rider being heavy handed or yanking at the reins.

 

[pepsimax]

my horse drips froth too and its all over the chest etc and is rubbing coz it irrates the hell out of him,could it be his flash nose band ?

 

[nani]

Is your riding the same then? Or do you have to take up more of a contact when he's full of beans to keep a lid on him?

Dripping saliva occurs when the horse cannot swallow. This could be due to the bit pressing down on the tongue, or because the horse has tensed his jaw, either voluntarily or involuntarily. He will do this voluntarily if he is nervous, or maybe excited about something. For it to happen involuntarily, it's most commonly due to people fastening crank nosebands/flash nosebands and the like far, far too tightly so that the horse physically cannot relax his jaw.

The bit may press down on the tongue because of it's design and the fact that it is not complimentary to that horse's conformation, or because of the rider being heavy handed or yanking at the reins.

Um, maybe I do take up more contact, this would make sense... thanks jenb . I don't use a flash or crank, so maybe he is just nervous. It is a thin bit and has a port and I chose it so he could swallow and he's normally light in the hands so that explains alot especially what I've gathered from other postees.

 

[Kelsey&Merlin]

Forthing or foaming at the mouth may look like the horse is upset or has rabies but it's actually a good sign that the horse is relaxed and comfertable with their bit.

 

[qhranger]

As I always understood it heavy frothing at the mouth is not a good thing.You generally see it when the bit is too thick or when the rider has the head pulled in to the chest ( and this certainly can happen when on a hack as lots of us-me included- get a little tense when our horses get fresh) so that it is difficult to swallow. I have noticed alot of excessive frothing with rolkur and dressage and if you notice the horses neck carriage and facial expressions they look very uncomfortable. I have never seen a healthy horse at liberty running around excessively frothing at the mouth.

 

[pinkypug1]

Found this info online....

"The foam that dressage riders like to see is "lipstick" foam - small amounts of foam around the horse's lips. This indicates that the horse's mouth is wet, not dry (good) and that he is able to create a small amount of foam by mouthing his bit softly and quietly (NOT by chomping it loudly, like a rude tourist with a huge mouthful of chewing gum).

There's another sort of foam that DOES indicate stress. If you see a dressage horse with a mouth that is DRIPPING with foam, not just "lipstick" but huge quantities of drool, with foam that drips down the horse's chest and flies back to coat the rider's breeches and boots; if the horse's front end looks as if he has just emerged from a bubble bath waterfall, then there IS a problem. This copious frothing doesn't indicate calm and comfort; it's caused by the horse's head and neck being tightly held in an arched position that puts constant pressure on the horse's parotid glands."

 

[kirby]

As I always understood it heavy frothing at the mouth is not a good thing.You generally see it when the bit is too thick or when the rider has the head pulled in to the chest ( and this certainly can happen when on a hack as lots of us-me included- get a little tense when our horses get fresh) so that it is difficult to swallow. I have noticed alot of excessive frothing with rolkur and dressage and if you notice the horses neck carriage and facial expressions they look very uncomfortable. I have never seen a healthy horse at liberty running around excessively frothing at the mouth.

Of the internet;
For the purpose of exercise, the horse needs a closed mouth (the horse is an obligate nose-breather), a dry mouth (contrary to traditional thinking), and little or no tongue movement. The throat should be programmed for deep breathing, not swallowing. Accordingly, the tongue should not be on the move and the tip of the tongue should not be retracted. The soft palate should be immobile and lowered, to enlarge the respiratory portion of the throat at the expense of its digestive portion, i.e. to enlarge the air channel at the expense of the food channel. DDSP is normal for swallowing but abnormal and, in fact, disastrous for deep breathing. Predictably, episodes of DDSP are especially apparent in the racehorse, particularly in those racehorses (the Standardbred and, increasingly, the Thoroughbred) that race with two bits in their mouth. But DDSP also occurs in non-racehorses.

Use of a bit sends conflicting messages to the horse's nervous system and the confusion is particularly evident in its effect on the horse's wind. Human athletes could not perform well with a bunch of keys in their mouth.