[RC] Advice for Horse with Hard Mouth - Tamara Murray
Hello!
I need some advice regarding a 5 year old unregistered Arab gelding we picked
up in May for $500 (don't worry - he's not a jalopy. All of the horse prices
here are unbelievably low due to drought). He is super sweet, quiet and well
built. We couldn't be happier with his temperment (in general) and health. He
has great bone and beautiful big feet.
The problem is that he has the hardest mouth. He braces his jaw against the bit
and steering him is a nightmare. Attempting to pick up contact just makes him
go faster. I suspect he was trained rather harshly with a terribly severe bit.
All the 'cowboys' in our area say to bit him with an even MORE SEVER bit to
work this through, but I tend to think the opposite. I would like to retrain
him to soften to a mild snaffle and get him accepting the bit rather than
freezing against it.
Any tips for techniques or bits I should try? Has anyone successfully
rehabilitated a hard mouthed horse before? My 'unofficial game plan' includes
lots of lunging with sidereins and surcingle work in a mild bit to start
working towards acceptance. Then I would graduate to lots of arena work to be
sure his steering was ok before heading out on the trail. I suppose another
approach would be using a bitless bridle or hackmore. Any tips on this approach?
I would love to use this guy for endurance and dressage as he has the mind and
conformation for it.
Thanks in advance,
Tamara
P.S. BTW, his teeth are not the problem. Just thought I should mention that was
the first thing I checked.
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