Tack Changes – Moving to a Myler bit

Copper used to have a really simple set up gear-wise, but recently I have made a few rather expensive purchases to change his tack arrangement.

 

- Myler bit upgrade -

 

While I do feel a little silly about this, I think this is a good thing, and I’ll explain why.

First off – I have a “Simplicity and solid training is the foundation to all effective horsemanship” kind of view.  I don’t like following tack trends, or using certain pieces of equipment just because such-and-such famous horseperson said I need too.  *coughParellicough*

So ‘upgrading’ Copper’s tack can sort of feel like I’m buying into the “My pony is sooo shuper shpeciallll! He needz all the fahancey matchy tack and polos or he can’t jumps/dressage/hacks, etc…” thing that seems to happen a lot out in internet land. 

But there’s another part of me that recognizes that the cheapest isn’t always the best kind of simple, and sometimes you get what you pay for.

For instance – Copper’s bit. There was nothing inherently wrong with it, but it was not the best bit for my horse.

 

- Copper’s old bit; Loose Ring French Link Snaffle with a thick middle link -

I used to ride him in a basic Loose Ring French Link Snaffle – (Joey used to ride in a French Link Eggbutt Snaffle, but when I tried that on Copper he hated it) and I can’t remember why I got the idea that I should try a different bit, but I did.  I think somewhere along the way it finally clicked that Copper has a super thick tongue – lift up his lips and his tongue is bulging over his bars type thick – it completely fills his mouth. I was reading that in that kind of situation, a thinner bit is often more comfortable for the horse than a thicker bit. 

This was a new idea for me – I’ve always thought that thicker bits were softer and gentler that thinner ones – which is true, if your horse doesn’t have a thick tongue!

And what’s more, a shaped mouthpiece is even better for conforming to the shape of the horse’s mouth and not causing undue pressure across the roof of the mouth, tongue or bars. So that’s how I ended up looking at a Myler bit. 

I read a lot of stories about how good a Myler bit was for so-and-so’s horse, and I was drawn to the thinness and shaping of the mouthpiece initially. Then I was talking to the tack shop assistant and found out that purpose of the Wide Barrel Loose Ring Comfort Level 1 Myler Snaffle design sounded like just the thing for Copper. The shifting of the loose ring combined with the rolling action of the barrel joint is engineered to help to ‘destabilize’ the bit, making it harder for your horse to lock his jaw against the mouthpiece and lean on it.

Since Copper has a strong tendency to either lean, or curl up above or behind the vertical (which locks up his neck, his shoulders, his back, and you get the picture!) I was hopeful that the new bit would help soften him enough to get his listening to my aids rather than just ignoring me. (More of the trials and tribulations of retraining an ex-trotter…)

Wonderfully enough, this has been the case.

Copper liked the feel of the new bit in his mouth from the very start and was a lot softer through his mouth, jaw and poll when I picked up contact. I also quickly discovered that when he did start boring down on my hands in a trot, I could wiggle one rein to get his attention and stop him from trying to lock his jaw around the bit and take charge.

It took a few repetitions, but he soon figured out that leaning wasn’t going to work any more. From then on, our trot work has continued to improve consistantly.

I’m able to take up a steady contact with his mouth that he is much more receptive to – probably because he is much more comfortable in his mouth now. The bit has stopped becoming a point of battle for us – he can’t use it to take charge any more, so he’s stopped arguing over it with me and has become much more accepting of my rein aids.

I’m glad I’ve found a bit that is more comfortable for him, and I know for us, the Wide Barrel Loose Ring Comfort Level 1 Myler Snaffle has certainly helped to dispel tension and leaning problems.

 

- Copper’s new bit; The Wide Barrel Loose Ring Comfort Myler Snaffle -

 

I can finally focus on riding the back of the horse, and leave his face alone! (Which I was trying to do before, but it was really hard when Copper would make our rides into a discussion of who was controlling the speed of our gaits, and which gait we were going at - all through locking his jaw either on the bit, or against the straps of a Dr. Cook’s bitless bridle!)

While I could go into all the ins and outs and discuss why I continue to ride with a bit when Copper obviously didn’t like it in the past - even if he is more accepting of it today - I think that’s really another topic for a different post all together.

So that’s the conclusion to Part 1 of my posts reviewing Copper’s tack changes, and the biggest part too. Part 2 will be looking at his new girth and breastplate. And that’s really it for now. So maybe it’s not all the fancy like I was thinking.  Certainly not by tack-ho standards.  ;D

See ya,

bonita

Disclosure: I am not affiliated with the Myler Bit company – I bought this product and chose to review it because I like it. All opinions expressed about the product are my own.

I want to try this with Joey

Excerpt from “Ooh La La" by Karen of Bakersfield Dressage.

“…I planted my knuckles near my knees as Dr. Schacht had instructed me to do with Speedy G. At the time, I didn't quite understand the purpose. JL later explained that by planting my hands, I was forced to use only my seat and legs (eliminating that whole over-use of the inside rein thing). There was an added benefit, however. Planting my hands also created a sort of low side reins. Sydney responded so well to the exercise that I almost laughed out loud.

As we warm up, he almost always goes through a head bouncing routine which is very difficult to resist. It makes it very hard to establish steady contact because I just can't keep my hands quiet enough as he's bouncing against them. Eventually, I just shorten the reins and push him forward which usually results in a very heavy horse.

Planting my knuckles into my thighs changed all of that. As Sydney "bounced" his head and neck, all he found was an ungiving bit. It took him all of about 2 minutes to find the release. Once he figured it out, he was long and low and clearly happier. JL has had me focus on keeping my hands low and very quiet. Sydney perceives everything as yelling so I am working very hard to make everything be a whisper. Instead of visibly rocking the rein to get him off my hands or to soften his neck, I am just squeezing my fingers to make a request or a correction. Sometimes this takes longer, but there's less drama involved. Planting my knuckles lowered the volume and forced my hands to remain low. Win, win.

Once Sydney was long and low at the walk, I shortened my reins just a bit but kept my knuckles firmly planted into my thighs. We started on a 20-meter circle, but after just a few times around, I took another page from CS's playbook and asked him to lengthen down the long side and then did a change of direction across the diagonal. We repeated this circle, circle, go big routine for a few minutes with my knuckles still pressed into my thighs.

Once I could really feel some activity from behind, I quietly picked up the reins and shortened them as I asked for a canter. Oh my! It was really nice. We did some spiral in and I was shocked at how small of a circle he was able to do. We spiraled back out and returned to the trot work and again went down the long side. I asked for a small half halt at the corner and laughed out loud when I felt him shift his weight back and collect ever so slightly.

Both days that I rode with these exercises, I was able to get him light in my hand while still moving forward in less than 10 minutes…”

And this-

“…I really focused on using my inside leg to outside hand. I had just read one of Courtney King-Dye's articles about over using the inside rein. She said, Keep the inside leg honest. A clue that tells you you're not using your inside leg enough happens when you feel like you want to pull your inside rein to the outside. In essence, the inside rein is trying to do the job of the inside leg.

…When I asked for some more work, he got very resistant and we lost all of the swing from earlier. He was so naughty that I had to go back to planting my inside hand on my thigh so that I could send him out, out, out with the inside leg while slowing him down with the outside rein.

…So as I rode around with a stiff, unbending horse, I heard Christian softly telling me to give him the inside rein. Yes, give it. Give him the rein. Inside rein, give it to him ... And with that, I realized that by changing my understanding of the purpose of the aid, I was giving my horse a chance to soften and bend and carry himself.

It wasn't about taking anything. By rocking the rein and then releasing it, which was giving him the inside rein, I was allowing Sydney the opportunity to find his own balance and bend*.

As we continued working, I rocked the inside rein softly, but as I did it, I could feel myself encouraging Sydney to let go and swing. And then I discovered that I was more effectively working both reins: the inside one was giving Sydney the opportunity to soften while the outside rein was saying not any faster…”

And this -

"...In order for the half halt to be effective, the inside rein had to be steady. OOOOHHHHHH!

With a giving inside rein, my half halt was simply wagging his head from side to side. I stiffened my inside rein, and said HALT with the outside. Oh, hallelujah, I got a halt!..."

*emphasis mine

-*-*-*-

In some ways Sydney sounds a lot like Joey to me – scared of contact, likes to bounce his head around to avoid contact, goes heavy on the forehand when asked to move from behind, etc. 

So I am very interested to see how these techniques would work in Joey’s training.  Inconsistency with contact, and falling on the forehand are very common in Joey’s flatwork at the moment, which does not surprise me in the least bit. 

However, the fact that Sydney and Joey share a similar trait in disliking/fearing contact means that this method Karen’s using of helping Sydney to find his own soft spot and balance maybe the very thing I need to use on Joey to help him find his own soft spot and balance. 

While I would love to try this out asap, I have actually had to give up riding for the time being as at 32 weeks pregnant my center of gravity had shifted too much for my liking and my balance was off to the point where I didn’t feel that it was safe to ride anymore.   T_T  *sadface* 

Hopefully this baby will come soon and I can get back into it!   

See ya,
bonita

P.S. – Just in case anyone was wondering I did have my obstetrician's approval to ride, but as each pregnancy is as individual as each person, I would suggest checking with your doctor before riding whilst pregnant.

P.S. 2 - Excerpts from Give Him the Inside Rein & Making More Connections also included.  : )