Need bit advice on broke 5yr old horse

[Sierra pachie bars]

Shes broke but young so. We just bought her, getting to know her. Shes my hubbies horse. I wont ride her because well shes five. Lol i can not take a fall with my health. So I stick to our broke bomb proof quarter horse only. I am trying bits on her, but so far she seems not to like the ones i have. I have two grazing bits , they did seem like enough bit for her. I also have a twisted split snaffle, seemed better the the grazing bits. I was thinking something in a sweet bit ? We are looking for someone to work with her and give hubby some lessons.. Hubby is learning from me for now, but i can not get on the mare. I did get on her when we looked at her to buy her. I am rather shocked at five shes so calm. But boy she takes ALOT of leg.

Hubby wants me to go out and find her a bit , etc. I tried all I have here and they are no goes. Going to try to see what they had used on her.

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

What is she going to be used for? I've always ridden everything in a smooth snaffle, with the exception of using a twisted copper wire on a stubborn gelding that I also had to ride with spurs unless I was outside. He just had no respect in the arena, because that isn't where he wanted to be....unless he was hazing cattle....

 

[michickenwrangler]

I would start with a regular smooth jointed snaffle although a lot of horses prefer the 2 joint French Snaffle or Dr. Bristil snaffle more (more comfort in mouth, no "nutcracker" hitting them on the roof).

If she takes a lot of leg, I would put spurs on to try and sensitize her in that regard.

 

[welsummerchicks]

When you say she 'does not like a bit' what does she do when she does not 'like' it?

Shake or toss her head a lot?

Not turn?

Not stop?

Pull hard against the bit when the rider tries to use the reins?

And...She takes a lot of leg.

It sounds like you are talking about Western style bits that you have, and so maybe you are talking about riding Western on a 5 year old horse.

Honestly she just sounds like she does not have a lot of training in general.

Either that or she has figured out your husband does not ride in a way that she knows (or respects) and is just not responding.

I think the key is to have someone there look at the horse and him riding and see what exactly is going on.

 

[Celtic Hill]

I dont care what breed, Just about every five year old horse is trained in a snaffle of sorts.

are her teeth good?

 

[chickenzoo]

Most times it is not the bit, but the horses training, bits don't fix problems, training does. Use the least aggressive bit you can on her. Grazing bits are garbage in my opinion. I start all mine in a snaffle and advance a bit with more training and the task I'm asking....

 

[patandchickens]

"Not enough bit" is usually IME a synonym for either "horse is uncomfortable, e.g. with saddle fit or with the bit itself", or "horse has never actually been taught how he's SUPPOSED to respond to bit pressure" (the latter is extremely, extremely common, as specific education on that point is usually lacking in most 'broke' horses' backgrounds)

So I would suggest putting something plain, simple, and not obviously ill-fitting into the horse's mouth, and approaching it from the above two angles. Please don't tell me "oh, I know the saddle fits fine", nobody can EVER tell that for *certain*, go check it out some more; and I would suggest simply starting the horse over again from square one as if it were unbroke. DO NOT skip steps b/c the horse seems compliant and quiet, that is how you get high-mileage-but-clueless horses in the *first* place. A certain amount of this can be done from the ground if you are familiar with the methods e.g. ground driving, but frankly a lot of it needs to be done by someone in the saddle.

It may be real, real hard to address the training issue without getting a professional (well, my point isn't whether they make money, my point is 'someone who is very experienced in riding greenies and training them effectively). It may be out of the sphere of what your husband is ready to do, or what you are familiar with coaching a less-experienced rider through from the ground.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[jettgirl24]

I would recommend getting a trainer. I have been riding and competing for 25 years and I would still not consider starting or training a young horse without regular guidance from a skilled trainer. A trainer would be able to help you locate any tack issues and would get you started correctly. IMHO if you don't have professional guidance you will end up struggling with this horse for years and will likely end up selling her when things have gotten to a point where you can no longer work with her. Not only does it do a disservice to the horse but it can be extremely dangerous for you and anyone else who has to deal with her.

I was contacted to come work with two horses by a girl in my area. It was somewhat similar - she had two young-ish horses that were backed but totally untrained. By untrained I mean worse than inexperienced... More like anti-trained. The owner was somewhat experienced but clearly not a trainer, and her BF (who of course had the greener of the two horses) was totally inexperienced. These were THE most difficult horses I have ever encountered in my life. It was not their fault in any way - they were being horses and reacting in the way they had been taught by these two people to react. They had essentially been ruined by two people who had no idea how to start a horse properly. I'm a very experienced rider but I have no hesitation in saying that these horses were stunted far beyond my capability to deal with them. One of them tried to LAY DOWN with me on him rather than move away from my leg

I made some progress with them during the ride but there was no way I was going to deal with them ever again. They weren't hot horses but they had been made dangerous by bad training. Fast forward a couple of months and they were both on Craigslist for a couple hundred bucks because the owner couldn't deal with them and no one wanted to help them by that point. I don't know what happened to the horses but I hope they went somewhere that will restart them rather than to the auction or killpen. They were good horses - not really show quality but could've been really great trail or pleasure mounts for someone had they been started correctly.

Moral of the story: Trainers are worth their weight in gold when you have a young horse!

 

[Terri O]

Excellent response Jettgirl! My sentiments exactly! Terri O

 

[Sierra pachie bars]

I am doing my helping from ground. I wont get on her. I have been on her, but shes not my horse so was not my call to buy her. She is indeed broke but young. I think they had her in a split snaffle. We went today got a smaller head stall because shes on the small side and everything I have here was to big for her or I didn't like the way it fit her. She is western. We have her for a trail horse. Mainly pleasure riding. I no longer show , don't miss it and mainly would only show halter if i ever did go back.
We are currently looking for a trainer. She wad in training but i want some fine tuning done and want her to be street safe and I do not want hubby to do it. So we plan to send her off to training. For now we are taking care of shots , feet trimming and teeth. Vet will check soon , as we just got her. My hubby did ride her today, he lunged her and rode her around. She was fine. We are taking it slow, not pushing anything . Getting to know her, my hubby loves her. I am not to sure of her although will admit she has impressed me. A motorcycle scared her but she hops up and stops and that seem to be it. I do agree she needs more time , and my hubby wants to take lessons too. He listens to me when I direct him. He seems to have found his calling he enjoys his mare. And if he wants to go to the bar , he just gets on our older horse for now that is rather bomb proof.