So…you and the horse seem to be having a good conversation. You try different things and he gives you feedback.
Fortunately for your horse, you seem to be a good listener.
Keep trying different things. Listen to what he says and I’m sure that you will sort it out. Go slowly. The horse is not interested in a timeline of “test levels” or competition. Be clear about what you are asking. Ask a question, and reward “the try.”
That’s good, I just thought I would mention it just in case you or others weren’t aware.
I’ve had great luck with NS bits myself.
Can you add a hole to your bridle? Either with a hole punch, a hammer and nail or a small drill.
Do you have 2 wrinkles on both sides of his mouth?
Riding at your level I can not believe an Instructor has not picked up the bit is too low and this has not been tried before with someone else’s bridle.
The bridle cannot go higher - there’s no space for another hole. I’m a pretty small place and no bridles for borrow. I don’t ride in lessons super frequently, but no, no one has ever commented on his bit. He rarely does this so it doesn’t come up often and I don’t think of it. I think it’s low ish - closer to one wrinkle. I’m not sure why that’s a difficult scenario to believe but you’ll have to take my word on it? 
That’s why I bought a new bridle.
well, not all are blessed with visual imagination.
I get it thogh, sometimes there just is no room for another hole.
In this vein, I wonder how a pad under the crownpiece would work in lieu of another hole…thinking out loud, not suggesting it)
I think it’s simplest to just a cob and I’ll sell this one. I don’t want to add poll pressure either - I’m ok with just admitting this bridle is too long.
Not to belabor the point, but I have asked three separate coach/clinicians about this and they all advised tightening the nose and/flash. They have some exceptional talent and wisdom, but I refuse to strap my horse’s face with the force of a tourniquet. Two fingers under the bridge point of the band is a must.
I applaud your ethics and sticking to your principles on the noseband tightness.
Being “of a certain age”…I learned to ride with old cavalry guys as instructors. The “noseband” was essentially a carry-over from using a halter underneath the bridle…so basically it was very loose. It was only since the 1980-90’s when nosebands got cranked.
With the caveat that I am a tack hoarder and look for any excuse to buy an interesting piece of tack, you don’t need to spend a fortune on an experimental bridle.
A simple nylon racing bridle is available for less than $20 at Big-D Tack
Remember you can always have your cheek pieces shortened.
I agree with taking the bit up in the horses mouth, which is one of the reasons I love my KK loose ring french snaffles- they are really forgiving in that way.
My “tongue” horse goes the best in this bit. I tried her in a NS turtle Tactio and she seemed to like it. Then I tried this one and her mouth got even quieter.
I also refuse to crank my horse’s mouth shut. Best of luck in your journey and report back on your findings.
Depending on your bridle brand, they may sell the cheek pieces for your bridle separately in each size/length which would be less expensive if you like the current bridle besides the cheekpiece length. If not, have fun bridle shopping!
Yes, or just get shorter cheeks. I have cob cheeks on an oversize bridle of 2 different brands but the length, width and buckles were the closest match.
If you want to test if the higher bit helps before ordering new cheeks or a new bridle, I think the idea of adding padding under the crown behind the ears to take up more space would work. Maybe even just an ear bonnet under the bridle would be a test to see if raising the bit higher in the mouth changes things.
@endlessclimb I’m so glad you posted that updated Annex. The last time I looked that Bomber UC lock up single joint snaffle was not on the list of unapproved bits. So now I need to find something similar with bar relief and “locking” for my young horse. I have a KK dynamic single joint that I’ll try him in again, but it may not have enough arch over the bars…
I’ve got a 4 year old that has never been a fan of the bit and is always itchy around the mouth and face who started sticking his tongue out as soon as we introduced the lightest contact. For the insecure + mouthy horse, I think tongue issues can become self-soothing, even after you fix the cause of the tongue issue. For my horse, we added a flash, getting him in front of the leg, doing an upwards transition when the head twisting starts (precursor to the tongue out), and ignoring the tongue if it is out. He does it now mostly at the walk with light contact when he’s either fixated on chomping the bit, mentally wearing out, or a little insecure about the environment.
I was not thinking about poll pressure, more like a pad of some sort like a spacer, but when you can simply get a smaller bridle, the better, really.
I swear it was not unapproved when I checked it originally too!
For the “behind the leg” idea, I’ve recently been focusing on about 1000 transitions per ride 
. He is very sensitive and tends to run, so he’s tricky about being still behind the leg in the sense of not carrying himself/ being slow to respond to aids (but in a mature way, without exploding either). I really noticed it with changes - going back to getting very honest, hind-end thinking up and down transitions from all gaits has helped immensely. Now when he’s really with me and relaxed, everything about his contact is better and the changes are a breeze.
After reading this, I got the following thought…
You have a Lusitano. A horse bred for working cattle. So give him a job.
Don’t do transitions mechanistically just for doing a transition.
Do your transitions with a “mission”…eg., put in your mind that you have a bull ready to gore you…or you have lion ready to pounce…So Go!!! …Or you a cliff in front of you…Whoa!!!
Make it a game. Put pylons in the arena and give yourselves an obstacle course. Make it a game.
Focus on YOUR mind…don’t focus on the mechanics of an aid…just THINK that the two of you need to get from Point A to Point B.
That’s a good point - we tend to do them on circles, during lateral (especially shoulder in), down quarter lines, etc. to keep us honest if we’re falling in or out, but I can mix it up even more. I like riding them around a square too - when I focus on swift reactions to the up and lightness, stepping energy under into the downs, it’s so helpful (for both my horses - not easy to do and why I’m doing them more!) Not to get too off topic but I noticed these suggestions in Gary Rockwell / Charlotte videos I’ve seen and man do they pay off.
A dressage test is a rather pointless series of movements. Why not do “the movements” with some practical functionality.
For example…shoulder-in can be that your are moving the horse sideways down a fence line.
Haunches-in…you want to bring the haunches around while facing the long side
Or “the rocker”…walk-halt-reinback-walk…can be considered as you approach a gate…oops, I overshot…backup…walk-on…sidestep to move the gate.
Give the horse a mission…give both of you a job.
Oh…and BTW…I owned one of these horses. Regularly bucked me off as a 4-yr old stallion…he taught me a lot. Until he died at 26.
It hasn’t been mentioned yet, but you might try a bit lifter. It looks sort of like half a flash, and goes from the noseband to the bit ring, lifting the bit off the bars. I doubt it’s legal in the usdf ring (it’s legal in driven dressage), but may be useful to get your horse to a happier place.
My guy is an absolute Houdini with his tongue, although it’s not a problem at home, it’s not a problem while competing, and it’s not a problem warming up. HOWEVER, when I’m in the holding area right before we go in for cones or dressage there’s a mandatory wheel measurement, lameness eval and some general waiting around. If idle hands are the devil’s tool for humans, apparently an idle mouth is the devil’s equivalent for a high energy Fjord. He sucks that tongue back and about 3 second before the bell rings sticks it over the bit, and the sucks his tongue out the side so he can inform the world that HOUSTON THERE IS A PROBLEM. Sigh… You have just not lived until you have two FEI vets and a TD frantically trying to shove a Fjord tongue back in place while you plan your opening line on the test…
If you can’t visualize it, here’s a pic. Zilco and Ideal both make them, they are beta, so not expensive and many driving websites have them.
A similar legal bit is a Myler Comfort Mouths if you’re looking for a bit that locks up to some degree. AJ Bits and Tack also has comfort mouth bits with various metals, they also do custom from what I’ve heard.
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