Butterfly Driving style bit on riding horse

[SilverwoodGelfling]

Anyone have a riding horse who uses a driving style bit?

I have a Fresian/Canadian warm-blood who was trained to drive in his early years and then transitioned to a riding horse, been a riding horse for 8+years.

Looking at changing his bit from a slow twist full cheek to a French Link butterfly, as he has taken to straight ignoring riders (beginners ranging from ages 10-adult with range of experience) by grabbing the bit and “peanut rolling”. Last time I rode him was over a year ago before leasing him out, and getting his head into even neutral range took spurs, which I am not putting on riders just coming for a single lesson.

This is my first step in bringing him back into work after a 6-month break due to being closed for social-distancing. Will also be keeping a close eye on saddle fit and doing work in-hand. He rides heavy on the front, always has, but is not rushy so not inclined to using tons of leverage, mostly just need cheeks for turning support.

We don’t show, as we are part of a larger camp run by a local non-profit organization, so I bit only as nessesary to have safe and effective cues from mostly first time or early learning riders.

[DMK]

You probably see butterfly bits on riding horses more than driving horses these days. There’s just too many situations that can let a cheek ring get caught up on some part of a pair’s harness or an open end shaft tip. That said, it’s just a bit, probably not a lot different in action from a pelham with a french link mouth piece.

However if you are ordering from a driving catalog, pay attention to whether the cheeks are fixed or jointed. For riding (or driving singles) you want jointed. Fixed is for pairs/teams

[LilRanger]

If he’s a lesson horse, what about a daisy rein, or rein assist? It would keep him from rooting for their lesson/ride while you continue to train him.
he might be clever enough to only do this to noobs, so use it to make their ride enjoyable, and not yanking on him.