Bitting Experimentation

This Saturday, I experimented with a new bit! TC has always had a bit busier of a mouth than I'd like and has struggled to reach for the bridle, so I'm always on the lookout for something new (but cheap) for him. He's currently in a KK Ultra and that works just fine, but he's always a bit backed off of it.

I was intrigued by the bomber happy tongue bit because of the lack of tongue pressure, but they're expensive and I'm pouring all my resources into figuring out remote lessons right now. But, I found a knockoff and figured that if TC loved it, I'd spend the money to try the official one.

Good news! TC went to the bridle. Bad news, TC went to the bridle aggressively. Extra bad news, it pinched his lip on Sunday. This post is about Saturday though.

I realized that while the connection felt great and he was way easier to get up through his back, after years of riding a horse who won't touch the bridle, my ability to hold our collective shit together when he's basically leaning on me was limited. My arms immediately got sore and I found myself way less willing to ride him positively forward, knowing that he'd only get heavier when I did that.

So much better but so impossible to bring into collection

So while the warm up was just fabulous, he never curled, he stayed positively into the bridle, so much more over his back... the moment more collection was involved and he needed more support, I just couldn't give it to him with this bit. And as such, our canter half passes weren't nearly as good, his changes were questionable, and keeping him collected was a full body workout.

Yes, he should be on my seat, but the moment he got that heavy, I had no stability in my position to ride him on my seat. I had to keep yanking my shoulders down and back, resisting the urge to waterski on my stirrups, and generally he became a way more physical ride.

I'm not saying this is a bad thing. I want him that connected! I just can't ride him like this and at the end of the day, I need to be able to ride him. Even if he's better connected, if his changes are shit and I can't get him to half pass, that's not the right bit for us. So we go back to the KK ultra and I go back to brainstorming. Thinking of a myler comfort snaffle next, which gives some tongue relief but is thinner so maybe he'll be happy to go to it, but not as aggressively.

I ran through 3-1 to prove to myself that it's an easy enough test to show in a week and a few days and while the test was easy and clean, I just couldn't keep him together as much as I need to and I couldn't get him as forward as Tanya wants him to be. It was a good test, but it wasn't a great test. The horse can be great.

Even connected okay to the right, which is very difficult

All that being said, I'm keeping the bit, I'm getting bit guards then setting it up on another bridle, and I'll be using it on days where I don't ask for collection. There are tons of days that I ride where all I want to work on is throughness or where it's so hot that I just want to do a stretchy ride or something that isn't pushing for the mid levels all the time. And this bit would be PERFECT for those rides.

And maybe by doing both, I can get to a point where I end up fully swapping him over to an actual bomber happy tongue bit (egg butt style) but it's too expensive to buy if I don't think I'll be using it. I think it's a combination of me not being physically strong enough to get him back on my seat when he inevitably falls off, and him not being strong enough to hold himself together without my assistance at times. We may get there, I mean, hopefully we will.

At the end of the day though, I have to remember that the KK ultra is already a really soft bit. TC doesn't have to go in the world's softest bit. Most people are jumping into double bridles at this stage of their training, if not well before it (meanwhile multiple judges I've spoken to have said that they think Third level horses should be in snaffles). And here I am thinking "can I find a softer bit than a KK ultra?" so I need to relax a bit lol!