Which bit is best for my horse?

Question

I own a 7 yr old ex - racer TB. I just started jumping him, and he gets strong over the jumps, I have tried everything, sitting back, relaxing, ect... He seems to get way to excited during the approch and evan worse after the landing. I ride him in a Loose ring snaffle. And I was thinking about changeing to a Kimberwick, Jointed. Does anyone have any experiance with Kimberwicks???

Answer 1

It probably isn't your bit.  You need to teach your horse to relax.  Bend him a lot in the warm up.  Flexing and bending will put your OTTB at ease.  Turns on the forehand at the walk will help also small circles with one rein will help.  Turn him tight (at the walk) until he gives, then immediately let him go on a bigger circle.  Same at a trot. When he gets strong, circle him 10m to 15m  until gives and relaxes.   Then open the circle to 20m or more.  Make sure he is relaxed and supple before you hit the jumps.

Answer 2

i wouldn't go straight to a kimberwick, its a harsh bit and hard bits and TBs make BIG MESSES.

If you really have tried sitting deep, relaxing, and staying calm then try a D ring or full cheek single jointed snaffle, a little more "bite" then a loose ring but still easy enough for a TB.

If anything, talk to your trainer and see what she suggests.. I know if i tell my trainer i want to change my bit she immediately asks "why" and if i explain to her, we usually manage to figure out its a rider error that is creating the problem... but i also believe that nearly all of the time it is rider, not horse error.  

Please, don't change bits right away, change snaffles and go back to cross rails and poles untill you have control over them and THEN and only then move up the fence hights.  It may take alot of time, but it will get you to a point where you can ride him through anything in a snaffle.  

Answer 3

Just a note, moving to a bigger bit won't do any good in controlling your horse, it'll work at first, but you'll only make his mouth heavier. Definately, with race horses, when you go up to 2-point, especially ones who get excited jumping, they get strong over jumps. The first thing you need to do is teach the horse to know that "whoa" means whoa. I'd do some serious lounging work to get the horse to understand what whoa means from walk, trot, and canter. Then do some flat work. Until he can immediately (or nearly immediately) stop from a canter by your voice and cues (tightening up your stomach, no longer moving with the horse, and just a TINY bit of rein if you need it), I wouldn't jump him much.

Definately work on that, first off, then do this exercise with him (or ask your trainer about it, if need be :) that's always a good idea). When you move around outside of the jumping area, practice being in two-point. Stand up in the stirrups at a trot, then at a canter. Put some ground poles on the ground and trot and canter over them (canter over only a single pole at a time) until he learns he doesn't need to rush. If he begins rushing, immediately stop him (in a kind way, don't be rough). We did this with one OTTB I was riding for a gal who owns thoroughbreds (my dressage/jumping instructor coached me on it). Then, as we were approaching a jump, I'd stop the horse (not too close you're risking him jumping it, but close enough he's thinking "are we gunna jump this!". If you can't stop him, I'd definately say turning him in a tight little circle and then stopping him. Do not let him rush these jumps. After a jump, immediately sit back and say "Whoa". I do this until the horse understands that we can stop right after a jump, then we go from a jump to a walk, then jump to a trot, then jump to a canter. If the horse runs off when I'm not asking for it, I will (in training) try to slow it down.

Work on the lounge line with saying "easy" meaning to slow down their pace at the trot + canter and clucking means to speed up. Make sure you have these extensions and collections on the lounge first, then under saddle on the flat, then jumping. It makes things LOADS easier, trust me. :).

So, after you get that, if he tries to speed up, say "easy" sit back and close your hands on the reins a bit more (just slightly) if he doesn't slow down then immediately stop him (With a turn if you need to). He needs to learn whoa means whoa. A running horse can be bad.

Note: please, do not turn to harsher bits, they are not the answer. If he absolutely cannot do anything in a loose ring, you can move to something like a D-ring, because horses cannot evade that quite as well as a loose ring. You need to make sure to have ground work first before going to jumps If you get these things down, you'll be amazed how easy the rest gets.

Good luck :) And congrats for taking an ex-racer.

Answer 4

Please don't change the bit until you try to retrain your horse.  To many people rely on bits because they don't know how to get the horse to behave.  They are to lazy to retrain the horse.  I've seen 4-H kids jump without a bit at all.  

Get a good horse trainer to help you.  It's mostly riding slow and riding patterns that require the horse to slow down.  Don't jump your horse until he learns to listen to you.  That's where the patterns come in.  Change them and let him learn to depend on you to tell him what to do next.

Answer 5

i would say not to use a kimberwick first, my horse used to run on an O-ring snaffle, but he would never stop when i asked him to stop and he ran me into trees and wouldnt stop until we came to a hill, so i changed his bit to a full cheek snaffle and he stops so easily now. he also doesnt play with his head as much. my horse is very headstrong, so i found that his bit helped me alot, he still is a little strong but not near as strong as he was before.

I hope i helped!!! good luck with your horse!!!

Answer 6

You can try a Kimberwick and see how he responds.  I've used the type with the solid mouthpiece with a port.  Also be aware that there are two slots in the bit.  The upper slot allows the bit to act as a snaffle.  The lower slot gives you leverage and acts as a curb.

If he still is too strong with that you can also try a snaffle with a slow twist or learn to use a pelham like a friend of mine did because her horse also got strong over fences.

Answer 7

I completely agree with Karen Z. I'm sure it's not what you want to her but my instructors had me on ex-race horses that she's been training (most have been green) and the first thing she does before she moves on with training is makes sure they stop when asked to and they're able to stand still. She drills this into me everytime I ride one her ex-racers that are in training. For race horses pullling on the reins means go faster. The way she teaches is heels, bum, hands. First you drop your heels down a bit further, then sit back deep in the saddle, then ask them to stop with pressure on the bit and mean while say 'whoa', when he stops pat him, tell him he's a good boy.

When he gets that whoa means stop them move on. When trying to make him stand still sit deep back in the saddle, be calm, gentle and patient with him. If he keeps fidgeting turn him in a small circle, waiting for him to stand still meanwhile all the time saying 'whoa' or 'steady'. If he pulls on the reins and moves his head around give him a small tug on the reins and say no or stop it. When he does good and stands still, pat him, tell him he's a good boy.

My instructor's ex-racers/sale horses get to the point in training where they immediately calm down/slow down/stop when 'whoa' or 'steady' is spoken. It really does work.

Also after a jump if he rushes, circle him, not in a tight circle, in quite a large circle, it gives you a bit more control then say having him bolt in a straight line down the arena, it also gives you more room to stop and horses tend to slow down when going in a circle. It works.

My friend had this problem with a large ex-racer TB. She uses a loose ring snaffle and after a bit of back to basics with slowing/stopping it was all fine.

Answer 8

since he is an ex-racer he is bred to run. Thats all he knows is to run. Its already in his blood then he was trained for it. So you're going to have to take time to retrain him. Try before you begin working on anything do some listening lessons. Like walk the arena and width wise and turn him and do that all the way down the arena. Or randomly trot then stop and back up. Or canter and stop and back up. That way the horse will know you are in control. I have a quarter horse who was trained to race so I have to do that everytime i get on her. But the kimberwick might work. Its more for like getting your horse to set his head, but it all depends on the horse. Its worth a shot. I use a kimberwick and it works for me. =]

Answer 9

I would experiment with your bit a little more before moving straight to the kimberwicke. You can try a corkscrew snaffle...if you need more bit than that try a split rubber pelham. Is he in a schooling program and receiving professional rides from your instructor? That might be something to consider. Also, maybe you can lunge him for a while before you lesson or ride. I would also get him on the lunge or riding every day. Thoroughbreds are the type of horse that need to keep on a strict schedule or else you have to deal with a ball of nervous energy...the type of bit you are using may not be the answer to the problems you are experiencing with your horse.  

Answer 10

Your problems are pretty typical of a ottb from my experience.  My recommendation would be to stay in the o ring, or like snaffle and give him time to adjust.  Go back to poles on the ground and do alot of serpentines and figure eights.  The more unsure of where your destination will be, the less likely it is that he will rush.  Once he can do the poles quietly and keep his mind together, then you can put in cross rails.  Think about a figure eight right in front of your little jump.  After he completes a quiet figure eight, then quietly put him over the jump and into another figure eight.  

If you use a harder bit to try to correct his speed, then you are trying to cover up the real issue, that you don't have any throttle control.  My experience with TBs is that they will lean on whatever bit you try, and if it is too painful they will blow up.