Still having bit issues help please

OwnedbyChanter

OwnedbyChanter

With out my boys life would be bland
Apr 16, 2009
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Raininghamshire
Things with Ginger keep going one step forward and two back. This week the problem is back to bits.

He is currently schooled in a jointed loose ring happy mouth but it a little big, in all he seems happy in this but has this new habit of stopping mid trot and throwing his head in the air and hollowing. I ask him to drop his head and he does and carries on in a wonderful contact as before.

So I am looking at ordering a smaller one but want opinions on a happy mouth loose ring roller or just a smaller happy mouth jointed. He does not need anything stronger for schooling and does not need any poll pressure, he does lean on the fore a little still which is a working point for us.

He has a small mouth and is still only 5, he teeth have been seen to 3 times in the last 4 mouths and is due again on the 14 June as a check over (yes very paranoid mother)


Anyone use either or have an opinion of which one they think will suit?
 
Horses seem either to love or hate nylon bits, generally we avoid them as they can rub the mouth unless they are very wet and can therefore be too strong. Have you experimented with sweet iron or mixed metals?

We tend to use sweet iron with copper link, one has full cheeks the other loose rings. Size I agree is critical, particularly in loose ring version.

If I was using a nylon bit I would be looking at vaseline or bit butter on the corners of the mouth.
 
eml said:
Horses seem either to love or hate nylon bits, generally we avoid them as they can rub the mouth unless they are very wet and can therefore be too strong. Have you experimented with sweet iron or mixed metals?

We tend to use sweet iron with copper link, one has full cheeks the other loose rings. Size I agree is critical, particularly in loose ring version.

If I was using a nylon bit I would be looking at vaseline or bit butter on the corners of the mouth.
Click to expand...

I have found exactly the same thing. We have alot of sweet iron and copper mixed bits in various forms.
 
It will also depend on his mouth conformation.

Does he have a big tongue, low palate? Happy mouth bits in my humble opinion, don't seem hugely well made, they have a ridge on them which I would imagine would rub, and they also seem enormously thick - because they are covered in plastic.

Can be quite a mouthful for some horses. Jointed bits aren't always kinder for all horses.
 
He was in a metal loose ring with a lozenger he hated it really throw his head around.

Tried a basic loose ring snaffle which is what he was in when I got him but he leaned a lot in it and didn't really like the jointed action.

I tried the happy mouth a couple of weeks ago and he went great in it really happy in it until a week ago when he started doing what I said above.

He was hacked in a cherry roller for a bit but now we have established breaks and trust this has been removed and changed for a copper roller with sweet iron, I tried it the other day he was OK not great and did throw his head in canter enough for the martingale to kick in and me to sit back out the way.

The bit has to be dressage legal as well.
 
I will try the butter when the new size turns up.

Never had such as issue with bitting before but really need to get this right.

Might try schooling in the other bot tonight
 
I have changed nosebands, a drop can sometimes stabilise the bit in the horse's mouth, not overly tight.

ON one of my worst serached for a bit that my horse liked, I ended up with the curb bit only, from my double bridle. Totally unorthodox, not legal in any competition I wanted to enter, but it worked.
 
Why don't you ring Heather Hyde at Neue Schule?

She is absolutely amazing with bits, having run the original bit bank and then designed the Neue Schule range.

Not much she wouldn't know about mouth conformation, and she suggests bits you would never have thought of - which seem to work!!
 
SJP I will as that is a brilliant idea will call tomorrow.

I schooled him in the copper mix/sweet iron tonight errr nope will not do that again. He actually stopped and throw is head around about 6 times and I had minimum contact he was working beautiful to start with a complete dream then he just planted and started thrashing around until I kicked him hard on (giving with my hands) and got his attention back then he went straight back on the bit and working like a dream again.

He actually went behind the vertical in this bit as a way to avoid it even on a very sift contact. So I don't think this one is the answer either.
 
I swear by KK Sprenger sweet iron bits and use a loose ring lozenge with one and d ring lozenge with the other :wink:
 
Surprised when we tried one of these with Mr Quirky...it was a disaster as was a NS.......he turned his head on one side to evade the bit action!!

Not a fault of the bit just a measure of his Quirkyness, only accepts loose rings, lozenges and a big NO to stainless steel! Lets not even talk about the reaction to nylon!!!
 
TBMinx That is the bit he was in when he start with head tossing thing he did not like it at all very much like EML said.

EML yes teeth are always at the fore front of my mind, he was last seen on the 21 March and is next being seen on the 07 June.
 
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