At 19:36:43 on 14.06.09, plodalong wrote:
can anyone offer me some advice, Bo is once again getting his tongue over his bit then messing about when hes trying to get it back again.I ride him in a low port comfort snaffle and have tried 3 bits with the low port getting wider,i think that he is wearing the widest one its a myler.i ride with quiet hands and the only advice that keeps coming to me is to use a flash and shut his mouth.Bo doesnt wear a nose band on his bridle,he doesnt appear to like a nose band as he shakes his head when he has one on and doesnt when he isnt wearing one,so i thought the sesible thing to do was to take it off.bo was a driving pony before i got him and he was very much on the forehand with his head down. the head carraige has improved but the bit problem hasnt.when i first began riding him he was in a pelam,ive tried a waterford,and variouse snaffles, when he had a french link snaffle he appeared to jump at times im not sure if he had bitten his tounge or the bit had nipped him.Bo has a large tongue and thats why i ride him in a low port snaffle so he has some tongue space. any advice will be welcome. he has had the dentist two weeks ago and his back and tack have been checked. he is ridden in a treeless saddle which fits him well.

At 19:40:57 on 14.06.09, plodalong wrote:
i forgot to say that i understand about micro managing and i want to fix this problem as intelligently as possible i do have riding lessons but it could be a rider problem if anyone can advise me id be very gratefull.

At 21:44:43 on 14.06.09, Lharken wrote:
Don't know if this will help but I've got a similar problem, backed my horse using a Parelli style halter partly because he had huge lump on his jaw. He hacks out walk, trot canter etc in the halter no prob but now I have had lump removed (teeth have been reg checked)and want to do a few dressage comps he has to have a bit which he just opens his mouth and sticks his tounge over so at present have gone back to basics and am doing lots a long-reining in bit with side reins.

At 22:08:10 on 14.06.09, plodalong wrote:
thanks for telling me.Bo does ride well in a parelli halter. but i dont ride out of the menage in the halter.he also rides well in the dually ,but im not sure if we had an accident out on the road if the insurance would cover us.ive been told that even riding in a bitless bridle on the road may be seen as not having proper control over the horse.A bitless bridle may be my next thing to try, has anyone used one and what was the outcome?

At 17:03:54 on 15.06.09, bmc06239 wrote:
One of our trainers has a horse at her barn that will put it's tongue over the bit...she ties the tongue down first with a ribbon...seems to work just fine...except for a little extra saliva.

At 21:37:03 on 16.06.09, plodalong wrote:
im gratefull ,thank you for trying to help me,but i dont really like the idea of tying my best friends tongue down with a ribbon.I havnt ever heard of this before,i wonder if anyone else has.

At 22:42:22 on 16.06.09, hoponahorse wrote:
No, never heard of tying a horse's tongue down with ribbon, and that certainly isn't how I'd go about it, but if that's what your instructor does, who am I to tell her try something else. My horse used to to this, and I was also told to put a nose band on him, but I haven't and no longer have that problem. I started teaching my horse that he had to listen to the reins and therefore the bit, by doing simple circles with my hands. A small backward circle meant stop, or back up (move hands forward, up, back, down, forward) and the opposite meant walk, trot or canter, depending on what pace he was at. He soon learnt that putting his tongue over his bit just got him in trouble, because then he wouldn't know what to do, and would go ahead and put it right back where it belonged! Try to use your legs as little as possible while teaching this to your horse! instead follow the rythm of their body with yours, and ask for the transitions in time with them. I hope this helps you a bit more, and good luck! Gabi
http://www.hoponahorse.com

At 10:13:10 on 17.06.09, plodalong wrote:
thank you Gabi, i will certainly give that a go, i will let you know how we get on with that method,Bo learns very quickly and he is smart,so it may only take a couple of weeks to get a result.why didnt i think of that?

At 14:27:09 on 19.06.09, bmc06239 wrote:
I can see where it sounds harsh to tie up the tongue, but if you saw it done you'd realize it is not cruel and most importantly for her it provides peace of mind, it keeps the rider safe. If you look closely at my video (1:40) you'll see that I always ride with just a halter and reins, this works fine for me. My wife prefers a mild snaffle because you can not compete here with out it. plodalong: you wrote "but i don't really like the idea of tying my best friends tongue down with a ribbon" ... I love my horses and I too consider them friends, but I draw the line when it comes to the safety of my riders.

At 15:19:49 on 19.06.09, bmc06239 wrote:
I forgot....The ribbon ties the tongue to the bottom jaw and is legal in competition here...any nose band that ties in-front of the bit is considered cruel and is not allowed in competition.