Horse sticking his tongue out while riding??

[Bugs_s_Mom]

I had my first ride on my new horse at home yesterday and all went well minus his tongue. I did a quick search and there seems to be some theory that if a bit is too thick they will stick their tongue out in discomfort, is this true?

I had him in the korsteel copper roller eggbutt snaffle bit
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The seller used the Centaur Blue Steel Double Jointed Loose Ring with Brass Rollers
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From what I can tell and remember they are the same diameter and both double jointed with copper rollers for him to play with. He did chomp a lot with the Korsteel but I don’t remember him doing that with the Centaur. He would bring his tongue back in when trotting but as soon as we walked it went back out. He accepted the bit fine and when unbridling he held on to it for a few seconds after I had pulled the bridle over his head. Both bits are the same width of 5" which fit him well with very little bit visible on either side of his face.

Any ideas as to why he is doing this and what I can do to prevent it? Should I just buy the Centaur bit and be done with it?

The reason I went with an eggbutt is I wanted a gentle bit that wouldn’t put pressure on his cheeks or lips.

Thanks!

[skydy]

Is your horse a TB?

[Bugs_s_Mom]

@skydy

Is your horse a TB?

Yes, OTTB. Forgot to include that part.

[skydy]

That can be an difficult issue to solve. It is not necessarily related to the bit. Some racing TB’s just stick their tongues out.
I’ve never worked with TBs that are off the track, but there are plenty of folks here who do, so hopefully they will have some answers for you on how to correct the problem.

[Bugs_s_Mom]

@skydy

That can be an difficult issue to solve. It is not necessarily related to the bit. Some racing TB’s just stick their tongues out.
I’ve never worked with TBs that are off the track, but there are plenty of folks here who do, so hopefully they will have some answers for you on how to correct the problem.

Thank you!

[skydy]

Here is an article https://www.equisearch.com/articles/eqtongue625 and a (2011) discussion about the topic; https://retiredracehorseblog.wordpre…nging-tongues/

[Equisis]

Does he stick it out the front, or the side of his mouth?

[skydy]

There are several people here that will have had experience with this, so they will be able to give you more advice.

[Bugs_s_Mom]

@skydy

Here is an article https://www.equisearch.com/articles/eqtongue625 and a (2011) discussion about the topic; https://retiredracehorseblog.wordpre…nging-tongues/

Thank you

[Bugs_s_Mom]

@Equisis

Does he stick it out the front, or the side of his mouth?

The side

[GraceLikeRain]

He had a quiet mouth in one bit and not in the other. I’d go buy the bit he likes. If you want to change the bit in a few months, then you can better determine what he likes or doesn’t like. Help him adjust by keeping as many things consistent as you can right now.

[skydy]

@Bugs's Mom

Thank you

You may also have luck posting this on the Eventing forum. It is frequented by many people that train TBs that are off the racetrack.

[Nezzy]

i had a Standardbred that was previously raced and he did it a lot until i went bitless. He enjoyed the bitless and he never stuck his tongue out with it. I used a sidepull. but i imagine any type of bitless would work.

[NC001]

We went to look at an OTTB and brought a bitless bridle with us (we ride bitless). The horse stuck its tongue out when in a bit but when we changed to try bitless her tongue didnt hang out.

[beowulf]

Habitual tongue poking and/or wringing in work is usually a sign of tension, evasion, or discomfort… with discomfort commonly being the root of the issue, and the tongue-wringing being a symptom. Any tongue visibility is penalized in dressage for the above reasons.

My experience has not shown there is any correlation between being tongue-tied on the track, and then poking their tongue out in a post-track career. Their tongues aren’t tied to prevent their tongues from poking out of their mouth - they’re tied to prevent intermittent dorsal displacement of the soft palate, flipping of the tongue, and improve airway in the horse.

Many of my TBs ran with tongue ties (but not all) during their race career, and not a single one of them had an issue with their tongues once transferred to an eventing and/or dressage career.

The tongue is extremely vascular, and very quick/successful to heal and true nerve damage is rare - there are not often long-term injuries to tongues, although I am sure somewhere, there are horses with nerve damage to their tongues.

Here is an educational article about TBs and tongue-ties:
https://thehorse.com/148951/study-to…it-racehorses/

If your horse’s tongue is poking out when you are riding, it’s time to look into diagnostics beyond simply the bit and/or mouth (although those can be a good place to start). It’s been my experience that a horse that is hanging their tongue out, especially during collection or dressage work, is doing so because of tension or discomfort. Usually behind - hocks and their back being the number one sore area I have seen correlated with tongue hanging.

The only time I have seen the tongue habitually hanging out of a mouth not be a sign of a clinical discomfort was when the horse had no front teeth (EORTH).

[danacat]

@beowulf

My experience has not shown there is any correlation between being tongue-tied on the track, and then poking their tongue out in a post-track career.

Many of my TBs ran with tongue ties (but not all) during their race career, and not a single one of them had an issue with their tongues once transferred to an eventing and/or dressage career.

One of my OTTB’s who’s race career is long over, still sticks his tongue out when being ridden, and one of my retired racemares who also wore a tongue tie, still sticks her tongue out all the time – and she’s been pasture retired for ages. It does happen – but not common.

[Bugs_s_Mom]

@beowulf

Habitual tongue poking and/or wringing in work is usually a sign of tension, evasion, or discomfort… with discomfort commonly being the root of the issue, and the tongue-wringing being a symptom. Any tongue visibility is penalized in dressage for the above reasons.

My experience has not shown there is any correlation between being tongue-tied on the track, and then poking their tongue out in a post-track career. Their tongues aren’t tied to prevent their tongues from poking out of their mouth - they’re tied to prevent intermittent dorsal displacement of the soft palate, flipping of the tongue, and improve airway in the horse.

Many of my TBs ran with tongue ties (but not all) during their race career, and not a single one of them had an issue with their tongues once transferred to an eventing and/or dressage career.

The tongue is extremely vascular, and very quick/successful to heal and true nerve damage is rare - there are not often long-term injuries to tongues, although I am sure somewhere, there are horses with nerve damage to their tongues.

Here is an educational article about TBs and tongue-ties:
https://thehorse.com/148951/study-to…it-racehorses/

If your horse’s tongue is poking out when you are riding, it’s time to look into diagnostics beyond simply the bit and/or mouth (although those can be a good place to start). It’s been my experience that a horse that is hanging their tongue out, especially during collection or dressage work, is doing so because of tension or discomfort. Usually behind - hocks and their back being the number one sore area I have seen correlated with tongue hanging.

The only time I have seen the tongue habitually hanging out of a mouth not be a sign of a clinical discomfort was when the horse had no front teeth (EORTH).

I do have chiro set up in two weeks and have had the farrier out to confirm some front feet angle issues. I do realize it would well be a discomfort issue not related to the bit. He needs muscle in general, weight and topline gains at this time, which we are working on slowly. I just don’t want to make things worse for him at any point.

Thanks for the advice!

[Bugs_s_Mom]

@skydy

You may also have luck posting this on the Eventing forum. It is frequented by many people that train TBs that are off the racetrack.

It is posted there now, thanks.

[beowulf]

@danacat

One of my OTTB’s who’s race career is long over, still sticks his tongue out when being ridden, and one of my retired racemares who also wore a tongue tie, still sticks her tongue out all the time – and she’s been pasture retired for ages. It does happen – but not common.

What is more likely, is that these horses have physical issues related to the track - SI remodeling and stifle discomfort being common injuries that persist long after their race track career is over. The tongue is incredibly vascular and heals far better than the latter two parts of the body. It is really rare for horses to have long term damage to their tongue… especially from tongue ties.

[danacat]

@beowulf

What is more likely, is that these horses have physical issues related to the track - SI remodeling and stifle discomfort being common injuries that persist long after their race track career is over. The tongue is incredibly vascular and heals far better than the latter two parts of the body. It is really rare for horses to have long term damage to their tongue… especially from tongue ties.

I could be misunderstanding you, but if what you mean by 'these horses’ is the 2 in my post, then no – no SI or stifle issues. 100% sound when retired. Both were home breds that I raised, trained, raced and owned…until. In my earlier post I referred to them in the present tense even though both are gone. Makes me sad to refer to them in the past tense.