Bitting A Young Horse.
As with most things in life there are many differences in opinion as to how to bit a young horse.
The traditional approach has often been bridling up with a bit with keys (players in the centre of the mouthpiece that lie on the centre of tongue) and leave the horse stabled to “play” with the bit. The players encourage the horse to play with the bit with his tongue, drawing it back, flicking it out to the side, lifting the keys up etc. Some horses will play more than others and indeed some owners would not think that a horse has accepted the bit until it has started to play. I prefer a different approach. I like to introduce the bit in the same way as any new piece of equipment – in a quiet manner in which the horse is not really encouraged to make a big thing of this new item, just quietly accept it.
For the very first mouthpiece, it is often a good idea to start with a soft plastic type bit, and probably a straight bar. This would serve the purpose of introducing the horse to something in the mouth that doesn’t have too much movement, isn’t harsh if the horse lifts it with its tongue and it touches the teeth or the bars (often very sensitive) and isn’t a cold metal – all of which can cause tension.
Depending on the work and the working environment, you would then move onto a more suitable bit – an ideal time to call me on the advice line!Factors to consider include; cheek type, mouthpiece type, material and thickness.
Cheeks
For a young horse, the most common traditional cheeks would be the loose ring, the eggbutt and the full cheek.
- Loose Ring:
On this cheek the horse is able to lift the mouthpiece by moving its tongue as the mouthpiece isn’t set to a fixed point on the cheek. Often a very good choice as it doesn’t pin the tongue down and the horse should therefore be able to still swallow effectively and shouldn’t feel unnecessarily restricted.
- Full Cheek:
This type of cheek is very good for young horses as it does not pull through the mouth if the horse turns suddenly in a panic. This is especially suitable if there isn’t a safe environment to establish the basic training and can be useful for the potentially more stressful situations, for example, roadwork. As the cheek extends up the face, it can also help emphasise the turning aids.
- Eggbutt:
As with the full cheek, it can help with turning aids and is useful if the horse or rider has found too much movement with the loose ring.
Mouthpiece
As discussed last month, I would tend to recommend a mouthpiece with either a rounded lozenge or a central barrel. The lozenge or barrel should not be too bulky that it will go up into the upper palate or too wide that it should touch the edges of the tongue. Often a good way to test how the mouthpiece feels on the tongue is to wrap the bit around your bicep and pull the rings – any parts that dig in or squeeze the tongue would become evident on your arm – and with all the nerve endings the tongue has it is a lot more sensitive than your arm. 
Thickness
If a bit that uses the pressure points within the mouth is chosen, it is advisable to use a mouthpiece of an average thickness of around 16mm. This can be accommodated comfortably by most mouth conformations and when a rein aid is applied, the pressure should not be too sharp for the young sensitive mouth. Alternatively if a bit that uses external pressure points is chosen (for example the Myler Combination), the thickness of the mouthpiece is not as important a factor as the pressure from the rein aid is dispersed over other areas before the corners of the lips. This combination is especially suitable when the horse has been previously used to pressures from the Dually halter, for example.
Material
Here is a recap from last month where material was discussed. The material is an area that some of the bit manufacturers have continued to research and develop over recent years. Traditionally stainless steel has been used and does indeed continue to be used by some manufacturers. Some years ago Sweet Iron started to be used for bits and is frequently used in some of the Myler bits. Manufacturers’ research has shown that it gives off a sweet taste when it oxidises which most horses seem to like. As part of this process the mouthpiece does rust – some owners do not like this as some designs can be quite expensive. Although it doesn’t affect the performance of the bit and indeed it is an integral part of it, I have had owners report that they no longer want to use it as it doesn’t look good in their opinion.
Copper also gives off a sweet taste and there are many brands of bit on the market which use some sort of copper mixture. Companies which have further researched and developed their own patented mouthpiece materials include Sprenger (Aurigan mouthpieces) and Neue Schule (Salox Gold mouthpieces). These types of metal heat up when in the mouth and also give off a sweet taste.
Plastic is available in the Happy Mouth, Flexi Mouth and also the Nathe brands. One important factor to consider with this type of material is to check if the horse is chewing it – some brands of plastic can become sharp is chewed.
Highly Recommended
One of my favourites from early training is the Neue Schule Team Up (see picture). It is available in two thicknesses but for the young horse, I would tend to suggest the 16mm for the reasons mentioned above. It forms a gentle curve in the mouth and has a central lozenge. It is especially suitable for encouraging the horse to stretch forwards and down which is essential at this stage of training.
My personal preference is to keep the bitting as simple as possible and to get the bit which suits not only the horse’s mouth conformation and the rider’s hands, but also the training environment and takes into consideration the horse’s future career. All aspects should be considered carefully to give the horse the best start it can have.
For more information and advice do not hesitate to contact Gail on 07789 587302 or visit www.horsebithire.com
