well we have had very good results with a low port, longer shanked western curb. she was so much better today, soft and responsive like the pony i remember. there was no bracing, no head tossing either. she is actively listening again for my cues, and no longer just being naughty and disrespectful for the heck of it.
i’m no expert rider, but i am a fairly profficient english rider and my pony has had a very good education. when in the arena she is a beautifully responsive and subtle dressage pony; it’s on the trail that she gets willful and naughty.
thanks to those who suggested the low port curb, that was the answer for us, as she has demonstrated that she really hates a snaffle in any way, shape or form.
That’s great news suz! (Hee, I made a rhyme) :lol:
Glad to hear the low port western curb is working out for you, sometimes, it’s the bit we don’t really expect that does the job perfectly. I absolutely think its a Haflinger trait, given the conversations I’ve had with other Haffie owners, but Mitch is a lot like your mare. In the arena, he’s well behaved, and doesn’t fuss. And in fact, he goes decently in a french-link snaffle there. But out on the trail, he turns into a Mr. Hyde at times, and switching him to the mild curb bit really made him more responsive and better behaved. Sometimes, you gotta do it, because the horse is happier that way.
I totally agree with howardh… I sort of see it as a bit and training issue. I myself was downright adamant that I needed to use a snaffle, it was just a matter of training and we’d get through this come hell or high water – and that I had to train and work with my horse or I was a failure at riding him in a snaffle.
Well, to be honest, I learned better. I don’t think it’s fair to either the rider or the horse that they have to be told it’s a training issue, not a bit issue, and that they have to keep working with that same bit. Some horses just don’t plain like how certain bits feel, and a good horsewoman/man will know to find the bit they’re happy in. It might take some trial and error, but I think all training issues do involve bit issues – the bit has to be right for the horse in order for training to progress. Otherwise, the horse and rider just keep arguing at cross purposes, and no training gets done.
Since I went to a western curb for riding outside of the arena and on trails, my horse has actually become a lot better in a snaffle when we’re in the ring.
Glad to hear everything’s working out for you, suz. 
thanks dreamswept, that’s an awfully nice post!!
and as long as my mare is happy and i’m safe, it’s all good, as the kids say!
[QUOTE=dreamswept;4538911]
I totally agree with howardh… I sort of see it as a bit and training issue. I myself was downright adamant that I needed to use a snaffle, it was just a matter of training and we’d get through this come hell or high water – and that I had to train and work with my horse or I was a failure at riding him in a snaffle.:)[/QUOTE]
Agree. I’ve found through the years, it’s both. My good steer roping horse would go with anything EXCEPT a ring snaffle, unless you were feeling suicidal that day. Also, out on the trail, if there are lots of trees and eyesight-blocking bushes, a horse can ‘feel’ (wonder who asked them how they really, really felt?) closed in and this is where the predators could pounce from. In an arena, a horse can feel ‘safe’ but, to me, it’s a totally different ball of wax when out in the great wilds.
The only bit my Belgian/QH cross will respond to is a Low Port Uxeter Kimberwick. Snaffles don’t work for him. He absolutely can’t stand them, and I have no control whatsover.
