Can anyone help with a bit for a very sensitive mouth

millys mum

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May 18, 2008
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Today, 01:43 PM
millys mum
Member Join Date: May 2008
Location: , co. durham
Posts: 30


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Just wondered if anyone could suggest a bit for my very sensitive mare, every bit i have tried has made the corners of her mouth sore, even bleed occasionally, she has had her mouth measured so size isn't the problem, her teeth are also fine, i have tried many different ones, happy mouths, rubbers etc. She is currently in a pee wee, i have found this the best so far but she still comes home sore. She is only used for hacking. If i cant come up with anything else i will consider a bitless bridle.
 

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i used to have a horse who had a sensitive mouth (corners of lips not bars) which sounds similar to your problem. i found that a happy mouth and rubber snaffle made it worse coz she didnt produce enough saliva and bits made from rubberized substances cause more friction that metal ones. maybe you could try her in a sweet-iron or similar which encourages saliva production which would lubricate the corners of her mouth and reduce friction. i know some people who have applied a little vaseline to the corners of their horses mouth but it was found to erode the rubber ever so slightly which in turn causes it to be slightly roughened and caused more friction. which would mean getting stuck in a vicious circle of using more and more vaseline to combat the growing friction caused by it.
 
I'd try an english hackamore - I use it on a couple of horses, and if you have a nice responsive horse and you don't need brakes, you can have it as loose as you like. It can be used on your normal bridle (minus the noseband) so you don't have to shell out on expensive (and they usually are!) bitless gadgets only to find you can't stop!
 
My gelding has a very sensitive mouth, and i use a Nathe(sp?) bit on him. Its basically just rubber (not the rock-hard stuff though. its quite bendy(not in the horses mouth lol) ) its fantastic as long as your horse has breaks ^_^
 
I'm in a similar situation. I finally went bitless. First attempt was a cheapo off ebay which left me with no brakes or steering. Next attempt was a second hand Dr Cooks off ebay which has been great - under fairly controlled circumstances. As my new saddle is still not here I havent ridden for 7 weeks and only got to use the Dr Cooks a few times before that so didnt try speed in company but he is so much happier in bitless that I think its the way forward for me.

I have a hackamore (just dont know what to do with it yet:eek:) in case I end up needing more brakes.

I also tried riding in a dually headcollar but he hated the pull across his nose (even though there is nose pressure with the Dr Cook) so scrapped that idea.

I really really fancy one of these Micklem Multibridles as I could then reintroduce a bit but still ride off the bitless option later on when his mouth settles. Just in case I ever actually compete again (right now I'd settle for a wee walk down the lane:)) and need to be bitted!
 
you could try wrapping a bit in somethine soft such as the elastoplast (type thing) tape. i've used it in the past and it really helped with one of my horses. i would however (if only used for hacking) resort to a hackamore if you can. my mare used to be ridden in one and i only stopped as she has the wrong shaped head for it (but that's another story ;))
 
Hey i have the same thing with my mare. I Hack and school her in a dr cook and then an english hackamore for jumping. We had so my trouble with her mouth as she hadnt been treated very well and has scars in the corners of her mouth so she would get really sore. She also was nappy and used to rear all the time. since going bitless we have had none of that im just sorry i didnt try it b4! I would defo recomend.
 
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