I have a 5 year old TB gelding that constantly sticks his tongue out the left side of his mouth. He does it worse when being ridden, but he also does it at feeding time. When he was at the track they did use a tongue tie on him. He is a very cute hunter type horse and I want to show him in the spring, but obviously the tongue is going to be a problem. Right now we ride him in a plain d-snaffle. Any suggestions on bits I could try that may help? His teeth were floated 6 months ago. I dont think its a pin related thing cause he does it when in stall and when he is trying to get people’s attention.
A Myler low port comfort snaffle worked for the one I had
i was also going to suggest Myler, but idk if it will help. i had a STB off the track who did the same thing. eventually i went bitless with him and that helped a lot. but he always did the tongue thing at feeding time.
Why is the tongue thing a problem? A friend of mine had a hunter who always stuck his tongue out over a jump. Always to the left side. It was his little trademark. I don’t believe she was ever marked down for it. Its just what Luke did.
Many judges see it as a bad thing. In most cases when a horse does that its because they are avoiding the bit. My trainer is a usef judge and told me I will get penalized for it.
I’d try putting him in a nice comfy headsatll with a french link and let him wear it all the time. I’d take it off to clean and keep it soft and conditoned, but I’d definately let him wear it around the clock for a few days and see what happens. No noseband, just a headstall that won’t come off too easily.
We had a reiner that did that all the time, being groomed, led, ridden, in his stall, out to pasture.
Other horses playing with him would chase his tongue and grab it.:eek:
We considered it an OCD problem, a bit like cribbing, weaving and such, just not as bad.
His stuck to the right and the people that were selling him had photoshopped the tongue out in the pictures it showed.
You could see that blurry space in the pictures once you knew he was doing it.
I don’t think he lost points for the tongue, but it sure was irritating and nothing anyone ever tried helped.
Even ridden bridleless, his tongue was hanging out there.
He also had a long, thick, flapping tongue, not easy to miss.:lol:
Sorry, I hope your horse is more discrete with his tongue.
If you find a way to stop it, let us know.:yes:
Myler MB33 snaffle worked for my TB. Gave him a place to put his tongue. Looks severe, but it is really very mild because there is no tongue pressure.
I’ve known a few trainers who stick a carrot with peanut butter in their mouth right before they go in the ring. Works for them.
I had an OTTB gelding that did this as well. He came to me as a pleasure horse because the previous owners had wanted to use him for eventing, and sticking the tongue out in dressage is a major no-no. They never were able to find something that worked for him. Not entirely sure what the root cause was, but he had also learned how to windsuck by sticking his tongue out. He never windsucked under saddle, but that tongue would still be out flapping in the breeze. So, some correlation to having it tied out for racing might be warranted. I used to think about trying one of the spoon bits advertised in Bit Of Britain, but never did before I sold him, and am not sure about their legality in the hunter ring. Good luck!
Can you use a flash? I use to own an OTTB that would stick his tongue out all the time while being ridden. I started riding him in a flash and it fixed the problem.
I have one of those. OTTB mare with many starts. Probably tongue tied. Tongue tying can cause nerve damage sometimes. What works for her is a slow twist Full Cheek with keepers. And it only works 60% of the time. Strapping her mouth shut with a cavesson made her even more nervous, and training and riding became difficult.
You could also try bits with rollers or keys for the tongue to play with.
Does your horse by chance have Roberto in the pedigree? My mare passed her tongue on to her daughter, and I’m speculating that large, fleshy and very visible tongues might one of the Roberto traits. She’s double Roberto.
I’m hoping one of these is the answer for my guy: http://www.worldwidetack.com/happy-tongue-loose-ring-p-417.html He sticks his tongue out or flips it over the bit when he’s being asked for things not already firmly in his repertoire, is nervous or when he’s pushing through a request to stop and I have to remind him with bridle and not just seat (something we’re working o and its improving but not … Waiting to hear whether the one US rep listed actually has one in stock or not… if not, ordering it from the UK next pay day…
What on earth is tongue tying?
[QUOTE=Cindyg;6817044]
What on earth is tongue tying?[/QUOTE]
unfortunately, just what it sounds like. Tie the tongue, usually with a thin shoelace, to the lower jaw.
I have heard horror stories of shady trainers actually piercing the tongue so they can tie it to the bit without being seen. This was in notice to judges that I read on UPHA site, otherwise I would have thought it was urban legend.
Friend of a friend had a GP dressage stallion that stuck out his tongue , kind of sucked n it. After trying everything, checking teeth, etc, they finally just resorted to having a spotter tell rider when he was sticking out tongue, then rider would poke it with dressage whip until he just kept it in.
[QUOTE=Cindyg;6817044]
What on earth is tongue tying?[/QUOTE]
As Hippolyta said, it’s usually done with shoe string like material (the flatter, broader kind). The tongue is pulled out and the tie goes around it once, then the tongue is tied down to the jaw. Don’t quote me on why it’s done, perhaps someone with more experience in the usage of tongue ties could tell you, but I believe it’s to stop some horses from putting their tongue over the bit or “swallowing” their tongue.
Decades ago, at the race track, if a horse stuck it’s tongue out, no one cared.
Tongue tying was done if a horse kept putting the tongue over the bit and so it was very hard to rate it.
First you tried different bits and lowering and raising the bit.
There were very few horses bad enough tongue tying was done to, most learned to run steady without that.
If a very good runner was not running good because it kept putting the tongue over the snaffle, the trainer put about 1" wide length of sheet, doubled, around the tongue and tied under the jaw and if that worked, that is the way the horse went for a bit, a new piece of cloth every time.
That was not done all the time, tried without a tie to breeze and, generally, after a while, the horse could run without the tongue tie.
In our stable, in the many years we trained and raced, we had only one TB claimer, that came to us tongue tied and after a bit we didn’t have to any more.
I don’t think it is that common.
I don’t know how others may have done it then, or how they may do it today.
I know someone who has a show horse who routinely ties his tongue. Every ride. Said horse is the most unhappy looking creature I have ever seen.
[QUOTE=oliverreed;6817502]
I know someone who has a show horse who routinely ties his tongue. Every ride. Said horse is the most unhappy looking creature I have ever seen.[/QUOTE]
If you tie it right, horses seem to just go on with what they are doing.
You put the piece of string around the tongue, twist it a time or two under it, run it around the bottom jaw and tie it there.
It is a bit loose on the tongue, has room for the tongue to move around, just not over the bit and it is a bit tighter under the jaw.
Most race horses, when running, are tied by the trainer in the saddling paddock, as you have to do it just right for that horse, or it will be a hindrance.
The stewards would not like seeing anything that may keep a horse from running to form.
They would consider it one more sneaky way to try to throw a race away and that is frowned upon.:eek:
As I said, it was the very rare horse that ran with his tongue tied, not very common, at least years ago it was not, only those very few horses that trained better with it and only until they learned not to get their tongue over the bit.
