What bit should i use?

Question

i have a 7 year old twh who has a very light mouth but loves to run and refuses to stop, he is gaited and when i tryed a snaffle tom thumb on him it made things worse....

currently i have tennessee walking bit on but i dont have a saddle seat to ride him with so i need a less harsh bit my friend told me...what should i do

i also ride western

Answer 1

Jeff is right, as usual : ).  Listen to him.  The owners where I currently ride (I ride 2-3 of their 18 horses for them) have 2 TWH, and I have friends with 3.  Again, Jeff is right, they need that heavier bit.  I can't imagine a TWH in a hackmore.  he would get more out of wack.  I would take him for some training at a TWH barn in your area if you find him unmanageable.  You might even need a harsher bit.  However, you must be careful how you use the bit. Don't constantly pull unecessarily.  Contact is good/necessary, but keep your hands steady and be sure that you are not pulling on his mouth.

Of course, it is really hard to judge without seeing.  So, I really reccommend a week for the horse AND you at a TWH barn.

Best.

Answer 2

A hackamore may work, but it depends on the horse since it applies pressure to different areas then a bit does. Some horses work well in them, some  horses take complete advantage of them... my horse loves it.

I personally would try to work with a soft bit and get him used to it again. I don't use anything harder then a fat snaffle.  But maybe a jointed kimberwick could help or a myler with a port?

Answer 3

well, i can't give you advice for western,  but i have an idea for English..

you could try him in a running martingale and flash nose band.  Both give you control when he runs and wont stop (i work OTTB's so i know what that's like)

the running martingale will bring his head down through a pulley action when/if he raises his head and RUNS, and the flash will keep his mouth closed so that he can't evade the bit.. IF you were to use these two things, then i would suggest a regular snaffle (not french link, as it wouldn't have enough "bite" for when he runs)  

but neither of these are very western-y, and i wouldn't suggest a tie-down since that will place hies head too low, especially for a twh.  

running martingale: https://ssl5.lon.gb.securedata.net/topta...

flash nose band:

http://www.countrysupplies.com/pix/1/pro...

hope i helped a little,

good luck!

Answer 4

agreed!

had the same problem with one of our horses.

and he uses the hackmore now and is better than ever.

currently in first in the central west trilluim child/adult jumpers:)

Answer 5

What do you think a saddle seat has to do with what bit you use.  If he loves to run and is hard to stop you do not go lighter with bits.  He needs to be retrained before that happens.

And the reason that TWH are ridden in a wlking horse bit is because the bit is used to check them up and keep them in the proper gait.  Otherwise they tend to speed up and loose the rhythm of their gait.  This happens when the front and back foot begin to move in time  with each other instead of back foot first and then front foot.  It then becomes a pace instead of a running walk and can be very choppy.  The bit is used to check the horse up and make it change to the rhythm of a slower gait (one less lateral) and at the same time leg cues are given to speed the animal up to the speed of the running walk the horse is famous for.  In this way the gait is maintained as the smooth gait it should be.

Yes I have used mechanical hackmores on gaited horsees and for some they work well.  However a pacy horse it becomes a huge hindrance on fast.

As for the bitless bridle....That is a NO on the trail.   There bitless bridles will kill you.

As for the lightest bit being used outside the show arena because everything else is training....Are you kidding?  where I come from the arena is training.  The only real riding that counts is on the trail.  I see those show horses come out and they simply can not perform at the level any of the horses our group rides with can.  Show people on show horses tend to get very angry at us because our horses (any 3 or 4 costing less than the one horse they are riding) goes off and leaves them.  All after they get pounded half to death from trying to keep up with us for the first part of the ride.  And the entire time our horses are staying smooth as silk, not spooking at anything.  One husband and wife kept trying to keep ahead of me, my wife, and my little girl.  We were just riding ahead but they kept cutting Savannah off (she was in front of me and my wife was behind) and speeding to close an opening.  But eventually we did get by.   By the end of the 10 mile ride our horses were still fresh and came in about 15 or 20 minures ahead of them after having stopped 2 times on the trail to let them catch up and to rest our horses.  In fact that was true for our entire group.  The show people are repeatedly last and most often have the roughest riding horses.  Again it is arena riding that is training for me.  Trail riding and everything else is real riding.  As for bits, use the appropriate bit for the horse at all times.  And for almost all TWHs the appropriate bit is a walking horse bit, and a non curb bit has no place on the trail, ever!

Thank you Jessica!

Answer 6

The only time a shanked bit is used is in a show arena.  Any other forum is considered training, and the lightest bit (or no bit) is used.  You can try the Dr. Cook bitless bridle, which is very effective, or switch to a simple full cheek snaffle bit.

The Tom Thumb is not a true snaffle bit...it is a shanked torture device that is advertised as mild, and it is anything but that.

The problem with stopping your horse is not going to be solved with any bit.  The brakes on a horse come from the seat and legs, and the proper training of the horse.  Any horse can be re-trained, in my experience, but the rider has to understand that the bit is a guide....not brakes. You'll be on the right path when you transition down from using shanks...but then you need to work on lateral body movements like two tracking (half passing), shoulder in/out, and collection to get to where your horse responds to leg and seat, with the bit being the last thing you access.

Answer 7

maybe a mechanical hackamore will work, or a hackamore/ bit combo. a jr. cowhorse bit might work fine too. you can still use that tw bit without a saddleseat saddle i'm sure, as long as the bit works for you and your horse.

Answer 8

Have you tried a hackmore? Since your horse has a nice soft mouth, this might help you train him how to stop and still keep his mouth soft in the process.

Answer 9

Use a hackmore