Can we Revisit Bitting Please!!!

[sjp1]

As Tobes and I are 'at school' we have been put in a happy mouth loose ring snaffle. YO says start soft and work up if necessary. We now have the addition of a flash because piggy opens his mouth.

However, I am not very much a fan of jointed bits, Tobes has a fat tongue and I think a fairly shallow palate, and I am not really a fan of flashes. Clearly he is opening his mouth for a reason. But he has always opened his mouth and I would of course prefer that he doesn't.

Now, I know he is my horse, but as YO has been so helpful to us, I have thought it right to go with what she says.

My question is this, I am thinking about a non slotted Kimblewick with no curb. Would I be able to ride on a contact with this, as our aim is to get him using his bottom to go forward rather than slopping along on the forehand and also to encourage him to break at the poll rather than johnny head in the air with a hollow back.

On the times when he does this properly it is a wonderful feeling.

 

[laceyfreckle]

yes you can ride in a kimblewick with a contact BUT to be fair if you are not going to use the curb then you may be better off in a hanging cheek in whatever mouthpiece he likes. I assume he likes the mouthpiece of the kimblewick, if so you might find he prefers a mullen mouth hanging cheek snaffle - and that is a bit which is still 'dressage legal', where as a kimblewick (or any ported bit) isn't. Of course you might find a french link a bit more forgiving then a single linked bit too.

If he has a fat toungue the chances are he finds a happymouth all too much 'stuff' in his mouth as they tend to be quite thick.

We use a french link sweet iron loose ring snaffle which works for us. The sweet iron is fairly thin but because of that doesn't take up so much room.

 

[Skippys Mum]

And once again you are describing Arnold!! He hates jointed bits or anything too big in his mouth.

I had a lot of success with a cambridge mouth pelham which is the same mouthpiece as the kimblewick. We have ended up with a plain mullen mouth ssteel snaffle though and he is as happy in that as anything.

I use it with a loosely fitted drop noseband (I can send you my old one to try if you want a shot of one) as he fights a flash. He does still open his mouth a bit but I am choosing to ignore that and just keep plowing along - he is getting better and better as long as I dont make too much of an issue of it

 

[sjp1]

I have to say I am soooo confused! I haven't tried a kimblewick on Tobes yet, but I am thinking that jointed bits are taking up too much room. I did have a Mark Rashid raised snaffle - which is sweet iron with a port that collapses backwards when you take up contact. However, as I am now trying to ride with contact, I am not sure that this is the correct bit, and YO (who is very anti anything NH) says it is useless. Notwithstanding that, he did open his mouth with that bit as well, however, I did let him slop along with it, but he didn't seem to dislike it as much as he does this set up.

It is so difficult, he is being a much better behaved boy in this, but he doesn't like it and I hate to see him in something he doesn't like.

Friend rides her cob in a kimblewick, and she says it is a quite severe bit. Is it?

What is the difference between laceyfreckles suggestion of a hanging mouth mullen mouth bit and skippys mum's steel mouth mullen?

Can I have pics or links? Am just feeling well at sea with it all!!!!

 

[OwnedbyChanter]

I was told to put a flash on my boy as he opened his mouth and chewed the bit when schooling.

I kept changing bits until he was happy and once he was schooling correctly the chewing stopped no flash needed.

He is now in a hanging cheek and very happy. If I let him slop on the reins he will grab the bit and chew but once I pick them up to work he stops. A horse once trained correctly and slowly (in most cases) to work on the contact from behind should be able to work on the contact in any bit.

 

[SavingGrace]

I use a single jointed JP eggbutt snaffle on Grace. It has a very thin mouthpiece and is curved. It was designed with horses who don't have alot of room in their mouths in mind.