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boon
Posts: 1
| I have a mare that has a light mouth but not light enough for a o ring!
She always shakes her head and bites on almost any bit I put in her mouth.
Any ideas? I've been thinking about using a draw bit.
ALSO I have a gelding who turns his head but not his body.
He also has a very tough mouth.
IDEAS? |
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 Miss Laundry Misshap
Posts: 5271
 
| I have a horse that every bit I've put in his mouth causes an issue. I switched to a Jim Warner hackamore and he's a completely different horse. No head throwing, no pulling back, no running through stuff. He simply doesn't like anything in his mouth.
I tried snaffles, I tried mullen mouths, 3 piece dog bones, chain bits, nothing worked. JW...the light shined down! LOL |
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 Experienced Mouse Trapper
Posts: 3106
 
Location: North Dakota | read about the goostree simplicity, there's a video on youtube too. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 302
Location: TX | I was going to say the same thing about the Goosetree Simplicity.. GREAT bit. |
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 Expert
Posts: 4625
Location: Desert Land | When is the last time she had her teeth done? |
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  Northern Chocolate Queen
Posts: 16576
Location: ND | For starters.....define light mouth. Does she fight contact with the bit, finging her head to get away from it? Or does she break at the poll, give to the pressure but not give you the "feel" you want? Have you had her teeth checked by a good equine dentist?
If teeth have been checked and she fights contact with any bit you put in her mouth. I'd honestly go back to square one & teach her to give to the bit properly in a snaffle and rebuild her training from there. A soft horse should ride in any bit you put in their mouth, they'll like some better than others but they'll still shouldn't through a fit & fight. I do have some horses that I prefer to ride in a hack simply because I like how they feel better in it. But even they will ride properly in a bit.
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 I Don't Brag
Posts: 6960
| My good, now old mare would work in anything you put in her mouth......as long as you didn't use it. Had to learn to eave he alone and let her do her job or would end up with her shaking her head and losing time.
Another mare I had was broke to death, light as a feather, would round up and collect at a feather light touch of the reins....as long as the adrenaline didn't kick in. She was fussy and after trying a whole arsenal of bits on her we came to realize that she was most comfortable in either a chain mouthpiece or an UNbroken bit. Ended up running her in a Rutledge Roper. For some reason she seemed to like that big flat bar in her mouth and the swivel action of the shanks slowed my hands down enough for us both to be comfortable. (She didn't much like any kind of hack either).
Sometimes, if they are working, you just find what is comfortable for them...being used in your hands What works for one person's hands on a particular horse, does not work for another. |
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Expert
Posts: 1477
Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | I would have her checked by a equine dentist not a vet. Dentist usually are more thorough that a vet will be. If she's light in the mouth I would put a hack on her. I like the Jim Warner hacks. Or even a halter. Some horses just hate bits. |
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Miss Laundry Misshap
Posts: 5271
| As far as the other posters, my horse is seen by an equine dentist. He does give to the bit, but he gets more and more irritable with the bit in his mouth. I choose not to fight him. I can do more in a halter than I can with a bit as far as suppleness. The hack just adds more whoa! |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | Nateracer - 2014-05-13 2:31 PM As far as the other posters, my horse is seen by an equine dentist. He does give to the bit, but he gets more and more irritable with the bit in his mouth. I choose not to fight him. I can do more in a halter than I can with a bit as far as suppleness. The hack just adds more whoa!
I had one like that. He had a very low palate and a very thick tongue. I could ride him in a bit but he was never happy. He was super good in a hack, so I chose to just roll with it once I had him finished. I won quite a bit on him, then sold him. He's 21 and still running in the same hack I sent with him. |
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Miss Laundry Misshap
Posts: 5271
| Three 4 Luck - 2014-05-13 3:01 PM Nateracer - 2014-05-13 2:31 PM As far as the other posters, my horse is seen by an equine dentist. He does give to the bit, but he gets more and more irritable with the bit in his mouth. I choose not to fight him. I can do more in a halter than I can with a bit as far as suppleness. The hack just adds more whoa! I had one like that. He had a very low palate and a very thick tongue. I could ride him in a bit but he was never happy. He was super good in a hack, so I chose to just roll with it once I had him finished. I won quite a bit on him, then sold him. He's 21 and still running in the same hack I sent with him.
I think part of mine's issue was that he had wolf teeth until he was 11. We got him when he was 10 and found after we took him to the equine dentist. Had a vet say no, no wolf teeth! So now it's dentist all the way! Poor kid lived with the pain and now it's a hard for him to figure out it's not going to hurt him. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| For both horses it sounds like a training issue.
There are ways to soften up a horse. I would also question what your hands are doing when you ride the horses. |
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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | Check teeth first.
does she maybe not like pressure across her tongue? My horse HATES chain bits, dogbones, snaffles...but he LOVES ports. He likes the tongue relief. So,etching to think about. |
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 Famous for Not Complaining
Posts: 8848
Location: Broxton, Ga | You might want to try a chain mouthpiece..........on the mare.......you can get a lifter bit with a chain mouthpiece.......that will give you more than O ring. |
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Tried and True
Posts: 21185
Location: Where I am happiest | Some horses are just happiest in a good rope nose hack. |
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 Big Gun
Posts: 2216
Location: Texas | mine also has a low palate and I have to use a hackamore on him as well |
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