My recently purchased Danish Warmblood continually opens his mouth whilst schooling/hacking etc. He accepts the bit quite readily and is very willing in every way. I have tried him in a drop noseband but to no avail so have reverted back to a cavesson. His bit is a cyprium loose ring French snaffle and I've had his teeth checked. Any advice?
Mouth opening
- Thread starter melh
- Start date
Maybe you could try a flash noseband. At first he probably won't like it, but it normally works pretty well. Good luck!
hello!
If you use a drop or flash noseband, you will stop him opening his mouth, but you won't solve the problem. Does he do this when he is excited or does he always have his mouth open?
bye!
If you use a drop or flash noseband, you will stop him opening his mouth, but you won't solve the problem. Does he do this when he is excited or does he always have his mouth open?
bye!
Sarah
Thanks for your reply. He generally opens his mouth all the time whilst we're riding i.e on hacks, schooling etc but it is slightly more when he's getting excited.
cheers
mel
Thanks for your reply. He generally opens his mouth all the time whilst we're riding i.e on hacks, schooling etc but it is slightly more when he's getting excited.
cheers
mel
hello!
Glad to see that you had the common sense to have his teeth checked as it could have been pain that contributed to it. Do you have regular lessons? Can your teacher ride him with his mouth closed? It could be that he just goes with his mouth open and that is the way he is, or it could be that with a bit of schooling that he can be trained to close his mouth. if he is still accepting the contact and rounding niecely, it is probably not too much of a problem.
If he is hollowing and holding his head in the air with his mouth open, it could be a sign of pain somewhere, have you had his tack fitted recently, for example.
I hope you can either sort it or learn to life with it! Good luck! Do let us know how you get on.
bye!
Glad to see that you had the common sense to have his teeth checked as it could have been pain that contributed to it. Do you have regular lessons? Can your teacher ride him with his mouth closed? It could be that he just goes with his mouth open and that is the way he is, or it could be that with a bit of schooling that he can be trained to close his mouth. if he is still accepting the contact and rounding niecely, it is probably not too much of a problem.
If he is hollowing and holding his head in the air with his mouth open, it could be a sign of pain somewhere, have you had his tack fitted recently, for example.
I hope you can either sort it or learn to life with it! Good luck! Do let us know how you get on.
bye!
Melh, My horse had the same problem, and I tried all the aforementioned types of cavessons, also different bits. Nothing worked. My instructor said it wasn't my hands, and she did the same thing w/her previous owner who is an excellent rider. My instructor also suggested cranking the noseband as tight as possible, which did try, but then I had an ANGRY open mouthed horse! So...I decided to try her in a mechanical hackamore, and the problem almost instantly resolved itself. I then decided to try her in a bit again, and kept the cavesson quite loose, rather than making it tight. It seemed to do the trick, she very rarely does it anymore!! Good luck, I know it's frustrating!
HL2
HL2
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ~alison~*:
Maybe you could try a flash noseband. At first he probably won't like it, but it normally works pretty well. Good luck!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
A sidepull bridle can work wonders for this problem. It does not contain a bit, similar to a hackmore but you attach reins to each side instead of under the chin.
Maybe you could try a flash noseband. At first he probably won't like it, but it normally works pretty well. Good luck!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
A sidepull bridle can work wonders for this problem. It does not contain a bit, similar to a hackmore but you attach reins to each side instead of under the chin.
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