What Kind of Bit Should I Try?
SO! Here we go!
I just bought an 8 year old Thoroughbred mare that’s well trained in dressage. BUT! She spent so much time doing that she now anticipates and is totally burnt out on dressage.
I myself am a western rider. I game and show western pleasure (I will easliy have the biggest horse in the arena as my mare is 17.2hh) and I need her work off light rein and pressure.
Well I have no clue what the previous rider was riding her in but she asks for sooo much pressure and doesnt do well unless you use a lot. Her last rider also depended on the martingale way too much. Which is really sad because she’s a really mellow easy going and she’s gonna be a great western mare.
But I’m not sure what kind of bit I should use. I’ve just been using a basic snaffle and she just asks for more and more pressure. And I’m not 100% sure how to help the dependence on the running martingale.
I always use draw reins when training western pleasure horses so I might try that, but I’d love to be able to ride her without anything before I throw her into the draw reins.
Would love to hear your feedback! :]
Yeah, heavy is much better way to put that. I’m used to a horse with light mouths. I’ve retrained horses before, but never a dressage horse. haha.
When I’m riding and I try to get her to say turn left at the trot or canter (she’s fine at the walk. I can do anything, neck rein whatever) She will listen to my leg and weight to an extent but she pulls at the reins constantly. At a walk I can keep her in a leveled out walk and she does great. And trying to get her to jog shes a little better. She listens to my leg and weight in the saddle but is still pulling a lot.
But its not so much get up and go. When I ask her, she flys, but she over thinks every little thing.
stick with a basic snaffle that you have..
I don’t know what you mean when you say "She asks for more pressure" since no horse likes to be cranked in by the bit and rein pressure.
Do you mean she’s heavy? Yeah, that’s common in dressage despite all the hooplah about collection.
So, if she’ heavy, ride her more on a slack rein and use your legs more but also use the end of the split rein or crop to help drive her enough into the bit when you pick up the rein.
So, when let’s say, you want to ask her to turn left, you can pick up the left rein, take out the slack slow, light, don’t pull,…and use your inside leg (left leg) to drive her into the bit so that she follows her nose.
If she leans into the bit pressure, then use the crop to tap her and encourage her to listen to your leg to do the turn.
If she leaks out to the right, then apply your outside leg to block and drive with both legs and the crop (don’t whack, use 1…2…3…4… tap firmer each time)
Once she realizes that you won’t be cranking her in all the time (dressage) and she’s freed up, she’ll soften up and keep her head more even with the withers and more relaxed about pressure.
It takes time to retrain her out of that habit that to her was the "right" way since that’s what she was trained to do (be heavy).
So…time is what you need, not another bit.
I wouldn’t bother with draw reins.
All that said……if by "she asks for so much pressure" you mean that she’s high headed, then simply do more lateral stuff…bending and yielding (she circles her body around your inside leg and brings her nose to the shoulder only)….. to soften her up to drop her head.
I don’t use draw reins to do this and can get a western headset. Reason I prefer not to use draw reins or martingales, etc.. is because it’s not safe. If something happens (the horse gets excited) you’re screwed. you can’t bend em around easily for a one rein stop. Or if the horse decides to buck, you’re screwed, too.
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EDITED TO ADD:
ok. since she just roots/pulls a lot, simply drive her more into the bridle every time she pulls away, you’re telling her to get on the bit, not allow her to get ahead of it.
and the serpentine lateral exercises will also be a huge help to soften up her body (it’s the body that gets locked up and resistant, not the mouth).
be aware as to how you use the reins, make sure you never pull, but you take out the slack and always drive her the moment that you pick up the rein.
Using your legs more always driving her every time she roots, being diligent, will help her realize that she can’t get ahead of it anymore. that there’s "pressure" when she does, and when she relaxes, there’s no pressure (driving her more).
i would stick to a snaffle myslef.
if you go on a harder bit and decide you dont like it, it can take a while to get her back into a snaffle, sometimes years. but if you want any suggestions i would say a 3 ringed gag.