Does anyone use Myler bits? The Lucy saga continues..

[Cara]

In particular have you tried the combination bits?

http://mylerbitsusa.com/bit_combo2.shtml

Some might recall I have a work in progress otherwise known as Lucy. She's a 5yr old QH mare with a fiesty temperament, particularly when it comes to reining/bitting. She is extremely light/sensitive. The biggest issue was turning left. If she didn't want to she would run sideways or backwards, toss her head, and sometimes buck and rear. I was torn as to whether to sell her or try to fix it. In the end, with a lot of input from the DH, the decision was made to keep her as she does have some redeeming qualities

We made several changes. Firstly, no more dry arena work period. My husband often takes her to brand and move cattle, I mostly trail ride her. I give him a hard time that he's spoiled my horse, all she wants to do is work and she has little time for my trivial activities

We forgot about bits entirely and got her a Jim Warner hackamore. She has not had one of her episodes in it (about three months now). We had her teeth floated in April/May. According to the vet they were not good. She also has unusual teeth in that she has canines, which he'd never seen in a mare before.

I gave her two months to get used to her 'new' teeth, then tried her in a D-ring fixed snaffle that she had previously got along with best. I stayed in the arena which may have caused a lot of the problems. She was very fresh that day, and had no 'whoa' whatsoever, which had never been a problem before. She kept trying to run off with me to the 'out' gate (not back to the barn!). The more I tried to stop her the faster she would go. A one rein stop almost got me dumped. She would not back up but ran sideways throwing her head instead. I switched out bridles and she was just as bad in the Jim Warner. Maybe that's a good thing - she was in a fiesty mood, not mad at the bit? Logic told me that I should have thrown the gate open and gone somewhere; fear/self preservation told me to get off.

Since that day we've stuck to the hackamore, and she's been good. It seems to help her (and I!) if I give her something to think about when she gets tense. She can get high headed and a little too alert on the trail, but if I find an obstacle for us to tackle she immediately drops her head and relaxes. I helped my husband practice roping by holding the herd and i'd never felt her more relaxed. A calf flipped over end and landed right next to us, and she didn't even blink.

Next month Lucy and I are going to a ranch horse versatility clinic. I'm excited, but very anxious too as it's her first time away from home. My old trusty horse will be coming as backup. We have hit a bump in the road though... the NVRHA do not allow mechanical hackamores. I can ride her in a snaffle bit until January, then she has to be in a curb bit.

So back to the original question! It seems that the combination Myler bits use nose pressure. I'm wondering if that might be more acceptable to her and whether they have worked for anyone on their horses. The pricing is horrible!

 

[Bantamlover23]

I have tried Myler bits but only the simple French Link snaffle and a D-ring snaffle with the hooks on them. I was wondering have you ever tried using some of the methods by like Clinton Anderson, Chris Cox, and others use? I am not saying this will fix the problem but they do give methods to correct the problem and be safe about it.

 

[CountryMom]

I am going to give you some unpopular advice here... but only because I feel you have a disaster waiting to happen.

Get a new horse for yourself.

Seriously, it sounds like this one is beyond what you are ready for and not safe for you. I have seen it time and again that a horse will prefer one person over another. And as ticked off as I get being a woman, I know many horses that don't like woman and only men. I suspect part of that to be your problem. Only part.

The main reason I say get a new one is because this horse has absolutely NO respect for you. You also do not have the skills at this time in your ability to make her respect you. Your description of your arena episode with her wanting to run off with you told me you are not ready and potientially could be put in a situation where you can get seriously hurt. That mare should have been taken down if that is where you were. And that mare should have been forced to stop and back. You don't have the skills for such a rank mare. Most don't.

Bigger bits don't fix training problems.

I understand you will be competing on this mare and need a curb not a hack. However, from your description this mare is far from ready to take to a show and compete. She needs to be solid before the show and could take months if she really has had the episode you describe. You don't want her running off with you or tossing you at a show. If she has trouble with an arena then your show atmosphere is not for her.

There is nothing better than when you have a horse you enjoy and can go and do. You will learn and gain so much more confidence. Sometimes horses just don't work out for you and you have to make hard decisions. I have one right now...$30,000 cutting horse...that I feel like killing. I half dumped him (back side completely down) just a couple of days ago for trying to run off and buck. He knows way better than that and I know we have respect issues. After that ride he is doing better. His situation is a bit different than yours though. But the important thing is I didn't allow it and took drastic action which proved to him he did not have the upper hand. My jury is still out whether he stays or goes, but I am realistic and know if I make the decision it will be the right one.

I say all of this because I know how bad it can be to have a serious accident. I have the scars to prove it. Please, keep yourself safe and find something you can enjoy instead of be frustrated and scared over. Don't let anyone else tell you that you must or can work it out with a horse you get scared of.

 

[Redyre Rotties]

Quote:
YES YES YES.

Great advice.

And your mare needs ground work, lots of patient ground work, to teach her to yield to the bit, bend her neck, and not fight.

You will never teach this from the saddle.

 

[bkreugar]

All good advice and I beleive you said you were not as good a rider as your husband. Do you guys use the same saddle? is it possible your saddle bothers here?

Also I always ride in a loose ring snaffle or a full cheek if I have any turning issues.More bit generally does NOT help. It would be nice if most issues were fixed by a different bit but it generally just ain't so.

 

[astylishgirl]

Take her back to the round pen and start her over. Don't progress until she is doing the basics well. And go slow. There are lots of books and videos about starting colts and the steps to go through if you have not done it.

I realize that she is NOT a colt that you are starting out. But it seems like she has missed some of her basics.

The person who gave the advice to sell her was not off base either. I have had my share of wrecks and it is not pleasant. You can be seriously hurt if not killed. That is no exaggeration.

Also, it is just so much more fun to ride a well trained horse. Horses are supposed to be fun and if you have to deal with this every time you try to ride, your confidence level will just take a beating.

If you are determined to work with this horse, I would try some different bits at the clinic you are going to. I ride barrel horses and I would never ride them with a snaffle unless I was just doing some training with them in the arena and even then probably not. I think you might get better results with a different type of bit. Your husband uses a snaffle when he works her?

It is not that you need a more SEVERE bit... but one that uses a different pressure point. If you do go more severe, your hands need to be lighter.

To answer your specific question... my husband got one of those bits one time... I think he actually WON it! He hated it. I liked it. But he gave it away.

I use a short shank combination on my mare when we run. I use an Argentine snaffle when I am just riding her for pleasure.

 

[Hens_And_Chicks]

That horse has your number and is never going to be your horse.

She will always bully you and your confidence level will never rise to the level you need to conquer your fear and her bad habits.

I second the advice to let your husband have the horse and you get a new one. No matter how much you want that horse to be yours, it will never happen and you will never truly be happy.

There are awesome horses out there and you will find the right match but this mare is not it.

Learn from the experience of others - don't become a statistic (and I do hope you ride with helmet)

 

[ninny]

I know you didn't want to hear all of this when you just asked for bit advice.

Please please please sit down with yourself and really think about what the horse means to you and if you really want to keep a horse your scared of.

It took me three years to decide that the horse i had was never going to be broken and sell him.

I will never walk with out pain again because of this horse.

If you are scared at any point its just not worth it. and if you don't have a helmet my only questions is why not? Get ONE!

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Countrymom knows what she's talking about when it comes to horses and I've been in a similar situation as you, so I know how frustrating (and scary it can be). I do agree that if she is acting that dangerously around you, it may not be a bad idea to try and sell her so you can start over with a nice calm horse. And that horse doesn't have to be completely trained. I consider myself an intermediate rider and we were recently given a five year old mare. She's definitely green, but that doesn't always have to mean dangerous. I consider her green because she isn't finished, but I feel very safe riding her. She's yet to buck, spook, or do anything stupid under saddle. My point is that there are definitely very cheap or free horses out there that would be perfect for you.

I would also like to suggest working in a round pen. Get yourself a good whip (My dad purchased a Clinton Anderson whip with the removable tip) and do some research on proper round penning techniques. I had a very disrespectful gelding who was just impossible. Just a few times in the round pen and he was a different horse. The whip is an amazing tool. We never had to touch him with it, but it taught him that WE have the upper hand. In the round pen you can teach whoah, follow, back up, stand, etc. The possibilities are endless and you can do all this from the ground. I find I am always much more confident on my own two feet than I am in the saddle! Now I'm not saying round penning is an instant fix, but it may help if you are determined to keep this horse. Right now it seems like her mind is not on you and round penning will definitely help with that. You want all her attention on you, and the punishment for wrongdoing is making her work.

I've never ground driven myself, but if you can find someone knowledgeable with that, it may help you with the turning issue. That way you can work her on the ground as if you were in the saddle.

I usually round pen or lunge my horse before I ride. Not so they can get their "buck" out before I ride, but I do find that the exercise helps to calm them and to get them in the frame of mind I need to work and teach them. It also allows me to asses how their behavior is that day and whether or not they are "off" at all.

I know a lot of people don't like the round pen, but when used correctly it can be an amazing tool. The trick is not to let your horse run around in mindless circles, but rather to get their respect and their brains working. I really liked Clinton Anderson's videos on round penning. If you can get ahold of those or you can talk to someone knowledgeable with round penning, that would be a great start. You may also want to practice with a horse who is a little more manageable first. Round penning can be a bit tricky when you are starting out.

Please let me know if you have other questions. I am learning myself, but my dad and I have been through a similiar situation recently and we were about to sell that horse. Luckily we were able to fix him and he's been great since.

 

[Cara]

I hear what you're all saying. I can't say the thought of changing horses hasn't crossed my mind most days since we bought her, to the point of keeping an eye on the local classifieds. Well it did before we even bought her, I told my husband while I was trying her out that I did not like her.

I'm not showing her, we're going to a clinic to train, in particular to work on reining. Curly, my old horse, is coming as backup in case she decides to be a female dog that day.

In her defence she has made a marked improvement. Her ground manners are like night and day and the tantrums have diminished considerably. Problem is, I have a 'using horse' but I want a pleasure horse. She might be a good horse for my husband, but she's not suited to me. I just want a laid back, willing, quiet horse. He thinks she has potential, but I want something solid and dependable. I want to have a good idea of how my horse is going to act from one day to the next.

My horse situation is pretty much a mess. It became apparent fairly quickly that Lucy was more than I could handle. My FIL brought me a horse home to try (without asking), we thought he was being lent to us, the owner meant for us to try him out and buy him if we liked him. So when we called her to thank her, she asked when we could pay her. My reaction was that I did not want to buy an old horse. FIL thought he was worth it if he rebuilt my confidence, so he bought him for me. However, he is 22 and wind broke. There is only so much he can do, and I want to progress.

My husband has been quite the PITA about the mare. I had a buyer lined up, and she was someone that I felt happy about Lucy going home with. She offered more than I paid for her, and had the experience to handle her. He basically told me if I sold her we wouldn't be getting me another horse.

We have a 2yr old filly and he wants me to send her away to get started and ride her instead if I sell Lucy. I have absolutely no intention of riding a 2yr old horse. I just don't know enough to handle her if something goes wrong.

The whole situation aggravates me. I've waited my whole life to have a horse of my own, have the facilities to own one and more than enough space to ride, but a certain road block in the way.