# Step up from a snaffle



## EmmaWay24 (Aug 5, 2012)

I have a 18 year old warmblood gelding who I will be bringing back into light work after a few years off. It will be a bit tight for me both financially and time wise so I hoping to half lease him to an intermediate rider.

He's a well trained horse and very safe but he is quite strong and it can be challenging to get him to soften through his neck and back. In addition, he has a huge trot that is really uncomfortable unless he is somewhat relaxed through his back. I have always ridden him in a French link snaffle except for at the height of his dressage career when I rode him in a double bridle (he was a dream in the double bridle).

I am looking for a bit that if could put him in that would allow an intermediate rider to achieve a degree of suppleness without having to juggle two reins. Any ideas? I don't want anything too harsh but he's a tough old guy with a lot of strength and I know he will take advantage of any intermediate rider in a snaffle.
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## xJumperx (Feb 19, 2012)

Have you tried a Waterford snaffle? I love them.
I'm very anti-leverage when using a direct rein, but for your situation, maybe a very very mild Kimberwick or Elevator bit, if the rider had ultra-forgiving hands.


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## upnover (Jan 17, 2008)

You may need to play around with some bits. Perhaps a snaffle with a slow twist would give you that extra that you need or maybe even a dr bristol. I find that some horses go great in a kimberwicke and some do not. But I'd start with the slow twist or dr bristol. And then teach her to ride with 2 reins.  Not a double bridle, but I'm thinking maybe a pelham. 

And just to add... I often say that a "training issue" cannot be fixed with simply a stronger bit, because if it's a training issue and not a bit issue you will just need to get stronger and stronger bits as you harden your horse's mouth. BUT, being 5"2 and riding a strong 17.3 warmblood jumper... I understand that sometimes you need something more then a snaffle. Just wanted to bring that up.


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## nyancat (Jun 30, 2014)

twists are pretty harsh but a slow twist is just a bit harder than a regular snaffle. I use a "full cheek slow twist" on the 7 year old mare I ride. She is strong and i can barely halt her for more than a few seconds. she loves to run and get faster and faster until i'm beyond control. the full cheek helps to steer which isn't all that much better and the slow twist helps a lot for slowing down and keeping a steady pace. keep in mind she is still pretty strong with it but it is more manageable. it also helps to pull the head up if you have a bucking problem. (i stopped another horse from constantly bucking with it)


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## budley95 (Aug 15, 2014)

What about a loose ring cherry roller snaffle? Massive advocate of this bit. I don't ride in anything else if I can help it! Just that little bit extra without bitting up loads, but then I'd hope an intermediate rider would be getting lessons anyway to learn to ride through their seat so may be fine sticking wih your curent bit and only "bitting up" if they really can't cope and lessons aren't helping!


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## Idrivetrotters (Jan 5, 2013)

Before "bitting up" take a look at why he is bracing and strong, probably some pain or at least a serious hole or two in training.

I would get teeth checked, make sure back and shoulders are good, and feet are healthy and then start working on softening through lots of transitions and suppling work.


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## taharah (Oct 21, 2013)

my all time favorite is the french link snaffle. i find it to be soft, but firm. it doesnt pinch the horses mouth like a normal snaffle, and it conveys more pressure evenly and steadily. 

i also like D-rings because they dont pinch the horses lips like a loose-ring can


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## NBEventer (Sep 15, 2012)

I'm assuming you want to stay dressage legal. What about a Baucher? http://www.doversaddlery.com/stübben-sweet-copper-baucher-bit/p/X1-01135/


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

I'd try a cherry roller, Waterford, kimberwick (not Uxeter type) or a Baucher before I used a twisted snaffle of any sort - if you start pulling on a snaffle it nutcrackers. the horse puts its head up to avoid that and you end up with an even bigger problem


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## EmmaWay24 (Aug 5, 2012)

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to put an update on this thread (I always love it when other posters come back with thier experiances!) Please pardon the spelling, my spell check is not working for whatever reason. 

I did bring George out about two months ago and started slowly getting him back into work, lots of loungeing and walking. I decided to not lease him out until next spring becasue I want him to be in good shape and I want to take the time to find the right person for him. In the meantime, I decided to go back to basics and really see if this bit issue can be solved through good, consistent riding. 

I had been riding him in the good-ole French link from our dressage days and as he quickly gained muscle and stamina his old "nasty" habits crept up. I should mention that I have been so fortunante to ride all sorts of horses and with some amazing trainers! Draft crosses, three-day eventing warmbloods, hunter-jumper ponies, barrell racers, OTTBs, you name it I've played on it . George has remained the most difficult horse to soften that I have ever met! I look back on our show carrear and I realize that we never really were able to preform the lower level movements truely correct. Once he transistioned to the double bridle I felt that we more or less were cheating (by passing over the basics). But he was so darn athletic that he took to the upper level movments really well (althogh now I truely wonder if the double bridle just made sense to him in a way the snaffle did not?)

Anyway, this time around, he was back at it in no time - grabbing the bit and running the second I shifted my leg pressure (say the change from down the wall to across the diagonal), getting short choppy strides when I half halted (I assure you I do not hang on my horses's mouths which we all know is 99% of the time the culprit of the dreded shortened stride). He pulls his neck up and braces against the bit, when I drop my riens to not allow him this bracing he might give a few strides of nice trot and immedialy fall into the rushing, diving in around the corners off balance trot until I again half-halt which brings about the ugly short stride... I just mention these behaviors in case someone else can learn from this. So our rides turn into these dreadful events where I essentially ride him foreward with a ton of leg and halfhalt until he is so tired that he softens and then I immediatly give him rein and pats and encourge long and low and finally get off completely wiped out.

So I finally sat down and really tought about it - I hate to use bigger bits on horses, I always insist on a french link or some sort of snaffle when I ride other peoples horses. But I know I am a competent rider, I take weekly lessons on my other horse so I am consitantly working to improve myself and I have never had a horse as difficult as him. Most importantly, we can not continue this terrible way of going without causing him improper musceling and likely injury. So I pulled out an old Pelham I had from years back. I was nervous to work in this bit - in the double bridle he was always so collected and powerful but now my goal is very different; the basics - long, low swinging trot work. But i figured we needed to try something and I do know how to ride with two riens. 

After a few rides in this bit I am so mad at myself for going so many years without using this tool to help him learn the basics. I am convinced that the action of the shank/chain is a much more efficient way to communicate with him. I am riding 90% off the snaffle with the second rien looped and simply preform the tiniest half halt on my outside rien (a flick of a finger) when he gets braced and rushed. The overall effect on his month must be so much more pleasent than in the snaffle - before I had to do big half halts and constant half halts - now I keep him forward and through his back entirely with my leg with just a tiny remider here and there with that outside rien. His trot is freerer, his stride is longer, he is stretching long and low. He is able to canter and return to trot work without going insane and trying to canter every three strides. By the end of the workout I work entirely off the snaffle and am able to be extreamly light in my aids. This horse is not a "jerk" "bully" or "A**hole" like so many trainers and friends have called him after a ride. I think that he just didn't understand the ques of the snaffle the way 90% of horses seem to. 

Anyway I am thrilled. I think I will be able to go back to the french link once he understands that all he needs to do is maintain a swinging trot with rythum and regularity. I am hopful that eventually I can just "tune him up" here and there with the Pelham and that the lessee will have no problem in the french link or loose ring snaffle. 

I learn from my hroses every single day and from this experiance I have re-learned that not all of them think/feel/understand in the same way and that in some (rare?) cases, using "harsher" tools, provided you are a competent rider, can actually allow for better understanding and be gentler in the long run. I know this is a concept all horse-people are well aware of but it is always nice to see theory translate to reality.

Our rides are much shorter now (no fights to win) but way more productive. We have started on cavelettis for fun and may do some jumping down the road. He's a happy guy, munching on the bit and glued to my side when I dismont -and I am (for maybe the first time?) truely enjoying our work togehter. 

Sorry this doesn't totally address many of the posts you all so graciously left. I have not yet tried a waterford or a happy mouth or the Baucher - but I have learned a lot looking them up and as I have been transistioning from dressage to jumping I suspect I will encouter these bits more and more. I also know the Pelham is not dressage-legal but I think it will really just be a training tool and not an everyday bit for him in the long run.


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