It was the happy tongue I was looking at. I’ve filled in the NS online questionnaire, I’m interested to read what they have to say!
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This is a good vid to watch.,
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Thank you! I hadn’t considered that by taking the pressure off the tongue, the bar pressure might increase. The NS rep suggested the Flex loose ring Turtle Tactio or the Verbindend.
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My last horse had a sensitive tongue, low palate and hated a properly fit bit that didn’t have a soft “bean”. She ended up liking the Herm Sprenger Training Bit, which has a small and soft “bean” in the middle of the double jointed bit. French links properly fit did not work for her, nor did other bits that cut/put pressure directly onto the tongue. She was better with a French link in a larger bit because it didn’t put pressure on her tongue but would more “lay” on her tongue. I think Dressage Extensions and maybe Dover have a “try this bit” program.
My current sensitive gelding does great in the Training Bit, and I really like it.
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My Uber sensitive Lipizzaners LOVE the Sprenger Duo bit. They are soft, relaxed and responsive in it. I literally tried pretty much every bit ever made and they liked none of them til this one! Highly recommend❤️
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It’s not terribly surprising that the horse turned into a pulling freight train, though. Those segundas are NOT nice bits. It sucks the horse’s tongue into the port and then the points act like prongs to keep it in. When a ride does much of anything with that bit…the prongs dig in more. You can see a great demonstration here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTaI3yHokIU. They are very pinchy bits that I would expect to see more in the western world to “lighten the horse’s forehand” (as if a bit does that) than in the hunter ring.
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Agreed completely. I was saying that the horse didn’t know what a half-halt was - ie, he needed more training and a lot of “if you won’t half halt, we will whoa and try again” treatment. I had a mare just like that, and it took constant schooling to remind her the half halt request was not optional, nor was it a challenge.
I enjoyed that video (and have heard some of it at Bernie’s clinics which I’ve audited and rode in). Bernie is very considerate towards the horse, but I will say the one thing I slightly disagree with is his tendency to fat bits. For some horses with smaller mouths, I feel a thinner bit may be more comfortable.
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Yikes! What an awful bit!
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