6/16/14

Help me out a bit!

Yes, my title is punny.

So, as y'all know, I had my first lesson on Friday. (See previous post) Red was ridden in a kimberwick bit, which he performed quite well in although I'm not 100% sold. He was still a little stressed with it and I think it's a little more than we need. The trainer said that he did wonderfully with relaxing into the bit for the first time in so long, and he had a very  nice soft mouth. I talked to some other people about kimberwicks and I just don't know if it's the bit for us. I'm definitely going to try the wonder bit on him as soon as I have the time (hopefully this weekend.) to see if he likes it. It's what Spirit is using right now and mom LOVES it. My BM bought one a week or so ago and she used it once and went out to buy one for all of her horses. I posted on a wonderful bit/hackamore group on facebook and asked for opinions and they said that Red may have done so well in the kimberwick as opposed to a plain snaffle because of the lower palatte. He may have a bigger tongue, smaller mouth and etc, or the snaffle could've pinched him. Of course, there is also the possibility that he got hurt by a bit once and was afraid ever since. He's quite sensitive like that until you show him that all is okay now and he won't get hurt again.

Wonder Bit.


Wonder bit.

But then again, I'm also very tempted to try out a Mullen Happy Mouth bit, which is what several people recommended to me. I love the idea of the rubber and while it's very gentle (unless you use it incorrectly, of course.) you still have good brakes and control.


Happy Mouth

I really like the rubber because there's nothing that could pinch the inside of his mouth. I'm not sure what style I would need though, because there's a lot.

3 ring

d ring.



half-cheek


I've heard from a lot of people that horses are more willing to collect and become more supple with the mullens, but I've also seen bad reviews. Red didn't seem to like the plain snaffle when I tried it on him awhile back, but I may try it again just to see. I'll lunge him first and just make sure he's comfortable.

Sooo...opinions? Recommendations??

15 comments:

  1. Not sure about the anatomy of his mouth or how he is to ride, but does he need the gag/leverage that wonder bit (or the three ring happy mouth you posted above) provides? If not, I would definitely try out a plain mullen eggbut or d-ring. I'm not a fan of the happy mouth mullens because of the bumps - would not work for my horse but may work for Red! I tried a Herm Sprenger Duo mullen on Fiction because of the flexibility/lack of bumps/space for the tongue and while it didn't work out, I was very impressed with it.

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    1. I'm honestly not even sure, haha! I don't think so. He has a soft mouth and etc, he doesn't need much. He is still kind of iffy with the bits but the worst he does is bunny hop and squeal. I barely had to use my reins at all to get him to stop trotting towards the run-in stall with the kimberwick and with the hack, he would've run me right in there.

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  2. If your horse does have a low palette, a double jointed snaffle might help. It's my understanding that they won't bang into the palette the way a single joint does. I use an eggbutt snaffle with a copper lozenge.

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  3. Keep in mind that you can always ride with the rein on the biggest part of the kimberwick so that it essentially rides as a snaffle--you don't have to thread the reins through the little slots on it for leverage unless you really need to.

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  4. I don't have much to offer, since I'm kind of in the same situation! Don't be afraid to try new things out! You're still at the barn, maybe you can borrow a few different ones to try out?
    Just make sure nothing hurts Red so that you can build his confidence up. :)

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  5. I would use the mullen mouth D ring or just a Kimberwick as Carly suggested. I don't suggest all the leverage options that the other bits give you until you are a lot more steady and low with your hands.

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  6. Okay, the wonder bit you posted and the kimberwicke are both leverage bits, meaning, like a hack, the pressure when you pull back is multiplied and primarily works on the poll and chin groove.

    The first happy mouth is a snaffle. The second is a elevator and the last two are also different snaffles. Snaffles have very direct pressure on the mouth and cheeks, in other words, however much you pull, that's how much pressure is applied.

    My suggestion, if he doesn't like single jointed bits, is to try either a French link or Mullen mouth snaffle. That's usually a pretty safe place to start.

    You've often said that red doesn't like bits? What exactly do you mean by that? I mean how does he react? Or is it more of a you can't get him to stop kinda thing?

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    1. He will stop, but he, up until the last bit of my lesson, is just sassy with them, haha. He would bunny hop and throw his head with the snaffle that I tried. With the kimberwick, the trainer lunged him first and on both sides, he had a bit of a squeal/bunny hop thing and then after a few minutes he slowed down and settled himself and he was a bit stiff while being ridden in it for like 5 minutes, then calmed down really well.

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  7. You have a BIG variety of bits there... if he is so soft I don't know that anything with the leverage is needed like Hawk said.

    Does your trainer have any advice? What was he ridden is before you got him?

    Keep in mind, in the wrong hands- any bit can be bad :)

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    1. She said that she thinks he will be fine in the kimberwick by our next lesson. He calmed down really well with it in the last part of the lesson. To my knowledge, he was ridden in snaffles and possibly a happy mouth, but I'm going to have to send my aunt a text to double check. :)

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  8. Sounds like you already have plenty of advice, can't really add anything else to it. :)

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  9. Sorry if I can't help much with this because I don't have much experience with trying different bits. Unless he needs a stronger bit because he is hard to control otherwise(which I don't think is the case), the mildest bit possible that has good results is generally best. Since he has a low palette, he would probably need a thinner bit, like you said. Good luck!

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  10. The best advice is to try different bits! For now, I would stick with what your trainer is suggesting, and just keep in mind that a Kimberwicke isn't a soft bit, but neither is it a very harsh bit (it's kind of in the middle). Once you get a feel for how Red moves in a bit, then try as many as you can until you find one you like :-)

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  11. I don't have much advice on the wonder bit - I've heard of it, but no one around me has used it before.

    Suzie goes in a Dogbone Argentine snaffle and I find it has enough "oomp" for her to pay attention. She has a smaller mouth and beforehand, had really cruddy teeth (which were fixed by a dentist this year, thank goodness!) so the less of a "hassle" a bit is, the better.

    My lease mare, Tally, goes in a double-jointed Happy Mouth and she LOVES it - she absolutely hated the steel double-jointed snaffle I had her in previously.

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