Rubber bits?

[neighlass]

The type of bit which goes in a horses mouth not anything else you may have been thinking!!!

I dont plan on backing Daisy til she is at least 4 but I do want her to get used to the various tack that she will be encountering and wondered whether to go for a plain straight rubber bit or a rubber snaffled or any other you could recommend.

She is 2 in May so I dont think it is too early for looking into this. She enjoyed messing about with a leadrope in her mouth and of course I will be looking into ways in which to introduce etc. I have tried putting my fingers in her mouth but havent tried too hard as I dont wanna make an issue of it before I even start.

So any thought on beginner bits?

[fimacg]

most people seem to use happy mouth straight bar snaffles, from what I have read, but I have no direct experience

[fleabitten]

I agree with fi.

Ive heard of breaking bits - perhaps someone can shed some light on these? Found this on a website - "Designed to encourage young horses to play with the mouthpiece by using key’s. (Considered to give the horse a good mouth in the early stages of training). "

[haffyfan]

Mouthing bits make them fussy in the mouth/encorage them to chew the bit!!


I would just use a french link or whatever you plan to ride her in.

[neighlass]

Thanks guys. I saw some rubber snaffle bits and thought that might be the way to go but I havent a clue about bits. They are in Robinsons - what do you think?

[haffyfan]

My pony Sunny wore a soft bendy rubber snaffle...ocacsionally a bendy rubber peltham when more brakes were required...as anything else made his mouth sore. At the time I knew nothing about hackamores and they were not widely used outside of SJ/some enduarance horses but had I he would have been much happier and now I don't use bits at all.

Some horses chew the soft ones and I don't like the hard ones...also some horses find them too fat to cope with in their mouth.

[fleabitten]

Would probably be best to try a couple of bits on to get the right size. If you put Major's in her mouth so its lying flat across her tongue. A bit should fit your horse’s mouth so that the mouthpiece extends approximately 1/4 inch (0.6 cm) beyond the horse’s lips on either side.
Use a tape measure to measure from the inside of each cheek piece or ring to find out the size of the bit. I dont see any reason why you shouldnt get a bit out of Robinsons if you measure for the right size first

[spotti]

*cough* Bitless! *cough*

All the above is good advice, but I now hate bits with avengeance(sp?)!!!

[haffyfan]

My grandad always said you measured up for a first bit by slipping a straight piece of wood in their mouth and marking it up...whether this is something he made up or actually what you do I don't know.

[neighlass]

I am unsure how she is gonna take it, I have read to attach it to the headcollar with twine at first.

Reading time....

[ernieburt]

Shires do a flexible rubber mouth and a ripple mouth bradoon recommended in your horse last month in the "backing special" £10-£17. Both are supposed to be great for young horses or those being intruduced to the bit for the first time.

[neighlass]

Brilliant, will have alook at the article

[jack]

instead of useing a headcollar as you cant be sure of getting the bit in the right position why dont you go on ebay and im sure you can pick up a very cheep bridle ( i did for george and payed 2.75 for a brand new one and i think the p+p was 3.95 and at that i dont care if he eats it ect

[neighlass]

Hiya,

Yeah since I last posted I have sourced a full size bridle and so am gonna use that

I am still unsure at the moment whether to go for a straight rubber bit or to go for what I intend on using (thus getting her used to it from the off) which is a snaffle.

Will let you know how it goes...

[rebanna]

i used a happy mouth with a cherry roller it's apple flavioured as well

[zoon]

The type of bit you use should depend entirely n the shape of her mouth. The fit of the bit is just as important as the fit of the saddle or you'll have a horse that evades the bit as soon as a contact is taken from the very start of her education.

Will she object to you opening her mouth and having a look at the size and shape of her tongue and the roof of her mouth? For example - when her mouth is closed does the tongue bulge around the teeth? This suggests a large fleshy tongue. If you poke a finger in her mouth and feel the roof of the mouth (the palate) is it high and cavernous or low and flat? You can have a rough guess at her mouth conformation from her breedeing - do you mind me asking what breed she is?

If you have an eggbutt snaffle (your current chosen bit) at home pop it around someone's arm or your own leg if you are on your own with the ring in each hand and pull like you would if reins were attached. You'll see the mouth piece closes like a nutcracker and the joint moves up in the air. Now imagine this on a horse with a low palate and a large fleshy tongue. The bit crushes the tongue ans whacks the horse int he roof of the mouth. Here you'll end up with a horse that throws her head in the air when a contact is taken and will probably over bend to try and reduce the pressure on the palate. On the other hand, a horse with a small tongue and a high palate will end up with most of the pressure on the bars of the mouth and will tend to go well in a single jointed bit.

Each type of bit has a mouth conformation it is suitable for and conformations it is not suitable for.

For example, my warmblood gelding has a overly large fleshy tongue that is typical of warmbloods and actually protrudes from between his teeth it is so large. He also has a very low flat palate so has very little room in his mouth for a bit and its movement. For this reason I ride him in a Myler (very thin mouthpieces so suitable for mouths with little room) with a barrel in the centre and a small amount of movement in the joints. This means that when a contact is taken, the mouth piece collaspes only slightly creating an arch for his tongue and putting pressure on the bars and evenly over the surface of the tongue but no pressure on the roof of his mouth. The cheek of the bit will depend on the activity I am doing and the level of control required.

[ceej]

Zoon is right they are all different - check out this site (which I reckon has enlightened Zoon as well as me!) - click to get the enlightened bitting fact sheet its very good

www.neueschulebits.com/acatalog/Enlightened_Bitting_.html

however, I do think rubber is best for a youngster as they will invariable chomp about on it so why put something in they will hurt the bars of their mouth on. I personally have always used a rubber straight bar for bitting as I think anything jointed (even if ultimately jointed is better for the horse) is too fussy for them to start with.

However, the best thing if you have one is a lunge cavesson as you can use the cheek clips for the bit and keep the lunge line on the front and let the horse go round the circle (usually with mouth wide open hoping the bit will 'fall out') for a few loops then chomping probably. let him get used to the feel of the bit in his mouth before even attempting to use the bit as any form of aid (ie don't attach any reins onto it or try to lead with it until the horse has the feel of it). Once the horse is used to it, you can start to lunge properly (although not too much at age two) and move onto long reining to teach the horse the aids of the bit.

[neighlass]

Those replies were fantastic - thank you!!!

I will try and have a look although I may have a bit of a fight (no pun intended haha)!

I have been really busy so I havent attempted anything with her in this way yet. I am in no immediate rush, have just been grooming etc as she has been in season and has been a bugger!


Will let you know what I find if i can have a look/feel...

[zoon]

Never looked at that site ceej, seems like common sense to me. Plus someone once put my cherry roller balding gag in the crook of my elbow and took an contact on the reins (not a strong one either) and it bloody hurt, so I imagined that in my mouth and will always think twice about bitting now.