Looking for some bitting advice for my picky Bashkir Curly mare. She has quite a talent for putting her tongue over the bit while driving. When I got her 3 years ago she did the same thing while ridden- I tried a couple French link bits, which she hated. I eventually got a loose ring Myler comfort snaffle with a low port and she is quite happy in that for riding. For driving we have tried French links, Mullen, Mullen with a low port but she is still not happy and popping her tongue over or trying to. I am debating splurging on a Myler driving bit -maybe as similar to her riding bit as I can get, but I don’t have any experience with Myler bits for driving. Instead of a Liverpool-like design they seem to have a weird shaped cheek ring that I don’t quite understand but presumably allows some variation in rein attachment? Her riding bit (loose ring, obviously can’t use for driving) is very thin, which I thought was going to be harsh but she likes it better than any of the thicker bits I tried. She is very responsive to a light touch and does not require a lot of braking power at all (Not poky/lazy, just super responsive). Any experience with Myler bits for driving?
No reason you can’t use her riding bit for driving. Most of us have a loose ring snaffle on our driving horses at some point in training. Most of us (not all) will progress to a form of curb bit as horse advances in training. I feel I can finesse things better in a curb bit on a driving horse, but curb bits are not mandatory in most activities.
As for tongue over, I will give horse an extra hole looser, so he can put tongue back himself. We do a lot of bit wearing as young horses, starting with 2 or 3 piece, loose ring snaffles. Horse learns to manage mouthpiece, tongue, eating and drinking with the bit on. Horse will likely get tongue over bit during this time, find it uncomfortable. Giving him time, a loosely fitted bit, horse will get tongue back under by themselves. Bit wearing is just part of their training. They get comfortable wearing the bit, not fussy any more unless they have a mouth problem. We figure you can’t stop in a class, on course at a CDE to fix his bit. He has to keep going, so he fixes his own problem or has to go with tongue over until class is over, or you finish the course. With no stopping reward to fix bit, all the ones we had who learned this trick, fixed it or quit doing it. No reward is a big factor.
We tried tightening bit until horse was grinning like a Jack-O-Lantern, tightened nosebands, added flash to bridle. None of it helped to stop the problem. Husband finally said “He did it, he will just have to go like that until we are done”. So we “Drove On” and horses managed!! Wasn’t pretty, one let his tongue flap for a little, then fixed it. Another got very upright with tongue over, then fixed it and went well! Have to say from then on there were many less incidents of tongue over, until we seldom see the issue now. Bits are kept looser fitted than on horses who never got tongues over. Horse tend to hold their bits where they want them in mouth when looser fitted, so a thumb in lip corner to open mouth, helps open mouth to remove bridle without banging teeth by accident.
Your animal may have a low upper palate, thick or thin tongue, have wolf teeth, need a float done or other reasons to fuss with the bits you tried Correct width of bit is a huge issue I see often, mostly too narrow for the animal. Many times the upper part on curb bits will be rubbing molar teeth thru the skin because skull widens dramatically right there. So bit needs to be flared out wider there to fit or go to a bigger width for horse comfort. I like a nice thickness of the mouthpiece, but we work up to that because you can cause gagging by using too thick of mouthpieces (eggbutt) on a young horse. He doesn’t know how to manage that big, thick mouthpiece! I do not use thin mouthpieces, they do dig into the bars too harshly with any rein pressure.
Thanks! The ring on her riding bit is quite large so I would be leery of driving with it due to the unlikely (but disastrous!) possibility of her getting it hung up on the shaft. But I could try it ground driving her or driving for a short time in the arena with an attentive helper. I guess if she is ok it might be good evidence to try to “match” it for driving.
I have very picky and sensitive ponies as well. Mine both like the comfort myler snaffle and I ride them in a d ring. I also do drive them in it as well. My one guy likes the bit lower in his mouth and he always gets his tounge over. Just as goodhors says, I know he can get it back over, but he never does and fusses and head tosses the whole time.
So I added a rubber tounge layer and this has solved that problem. It works well, he can’t get his tounge over the bit and he’s much happier (I also tried keeping the bit higher in his mouth and he was super head fussy. Not happy at all!). I also wrap the bit in latex so its very soft.
I also ordered from Myler a liverpool bit with a high port (I also use this in a d ring when I ride my older pony and it works really well for him). The liverpool cheek looks just like any other liverpool I’ve had, so I’m not sure which ones you have seen. You can go on their website and choose whatever cheekpiece you like.
I’ve attached a photo of the Myler liverpool I had made a couple of years ago.
I ride my fjord mare in a ported Myler bit. I found that she really likes the conrad mouthpiece which is very similar for driving. Here’s a link to where I got mine so you can see it.
I found that she likes the tongue relieve offered by the conrad.
if your horse likes that wide barrel type myler, you might want to look into the stubben EZ control liverpool. It’s about as close to that type of action that I have seen on any liverpool. It doesn’t have the swivel ability, but it “locks” into a rigid bar when you have some contact, but still softens like a 3 piece on lateral work. But given the lovely price on it, if you can find one to try that might be preferable!
I don’t have anything constructive to say about your bit, but I wanted to say hi to another Bashkir Curly person! I have 2 Curlys. One is ABCR registered & the other I have no idea if he’s registered. Good luck on your bit issue!
As you noted, the only real downside of using riding bits is the possibility of getting the shaft tip through the ring. There’s no other reason you would not use the same bit riding as driving.
Have you tried one with a bean instead of the French Link? The French Links often have the parts that connect to the link pressed into the tongue and some horses do not apreciate it. It does provide a slightly sharper action as well. The lozenge/oval/bean usually has the “arms” laying flat for a smoother connection that some horses find less offensive.
I had similar problems as you. I finally broke down and bought a Bowman UTR (ultimate tongue relief) from Iowa Valley Carriage. The conrad shaped mouthpiece swivels so the horse can put it where he/she wants. It was very pricey coming up to Canada but Oh My. He is a different horse. The owner was great to work with too, I appreciated her advice (and it was spot on).
Myler Driving bits r used by many, many drivers here in the Pacific Northwest. It was the only driving bit Evette used by Patty Clune ( I think that is her last name) of Monroe, WA & Lisa Eckhardt used that bit, too, with her mini, Mae. I have two minis & each gelding has his own properly sized Myler driving bit. I used Myles bits with my riding horses; I highly recommend them.
Can anyone help me? I am new to this forum. I did a silly thing & took one saddle rein terret off-road measure rein snap width at the hardware store. Now it is loose. How is this repaired? I was told to try Lok Tite with it myself before sending it out for repair. I thought all terrets could be screwed in & screwed out. I did not realize this would harm the integrity of the terret security in the saddle. Does anyone have ideas? Harness is only 1 & 1/2 yrs old & I keep my harness in very good shape. Thk u!
Red Bay Lover
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