Bitting Advice Edition Part 2

As part two of a three part series The Saddlery Shop takes a look at bitting and presents a Q & A featuring bitting enquiries and bespoke answers from bitting expert and owner of The Saddlery Shop, Lucy Nicholas. Question "I have a 4yo welsh cob mare who will be 5 in May. I have owned her for 18 months since she was backed. At first she had a rubber eggbutt snaffle but was inclined to chew off the rubber which I thought was going to make it uncomfortable for her. I started looking into sweet iron bits and have been trying a sweet iron copper roller D-ring snaffle. She doesn't seem any different in either bit. We have been lightly schooling and had a few hacks over the winter and we are hoping to build up in the summer to doing a couple of pleasure rides and maybe some fun dressage classes and jumping at home. I'd like to keep her in a fairly mild bit as for the moment she doesn't need anything stronger (touch wood!). I'd like some advice on what might be best for my pony rather than buying something standard for the sake of it. I was thinking she might be best off in a sweet iron snaffle with a lozenge? I'd like her to stay in a D-ring or eggbutt. Would be grateful for help, Thanks Aimee Marsh" Answer "It is important to have a good progressive schooling plan in place, ideally with the help of a good instructor, and keep taking it slowly as you are doing. Young horses will tend to get tired easily and thats when problems become apparent, so you sound like you are taking it nice and slowly as your horse is not objecting at the moment! The copper roller is actually a fairly harsh bit, so I wouldn't suggest that it is an ideal bit to use. A double jointed bit, with a lozenge and a sweet metal would be ideal. The sweet iron copper lozenge snaffle would be a good bit to try, the ideal being a Sprenger Dynamic as they are anatomically designed and are one of the nicest bits you can bit a youngster in. Steer away from anything too thick, and do consider a loose ring if you have steady hands- they are very nice for communication, but an eggbutt is better if you are worried you may send too many comflicting signals as they deaden the feeling to the horse. A D cheek bit is actually quite a strong cheek and if you don't need help with steering consider an eggbutt bit or a loose ring. Kind Regards, Lucy www.thesaddleryshop.co.uk"

Bitting Advice Edition Part 1

As part of a three part series The Saddlery Shop takes a look at bitting and presents a Q & A featuring bitting enquiries and bespoke answers from bitting expert and owner of The Saddlery Shop, Lucy Nicholas. Question Dear The Saddlery Shop, I am desperate to find an answer to my young horses bitting problems! He is a 15.2hh Warmblood gelding who is rising 5 years old.I have owned him since he was a foal and he is a big confident character who does like to be in charge of situations and be the boss! I don't have any huge ambitions for him but he is very correct with a huge jump and fantastic movement and I have a background in Eventing so I probably ought to! His main problem is taking any sort of pressure from the rider, and though he is happy to hack out when schooling after warming up as soon as you ask for more flexion, bend or self carriage he gets his tongue over the bit, pokes his tongue out and evades the contact. He can become quite nappy and I feel like I have hit a brick wall having tried half moon bits; both happy mouth and snaffle, a french link, a shaped snaffle and a hanging cheek. His teeth are checked regularly and he has had his wolf teeth removed and has no trouble eating. Answer Lucy says "This is a difficult problem, and horses that put their tongue out can not always be cured- even in a bitless bridle the tension caused by just being ridden can be enough for it to manifest itself! There are two main ways to approach the sitaution. Firstly using a high ported bit to help prevent him doing it or hopefully finding a bit (or lack of bit) that he feels happy and confident in. The problem is, he may not feel happy in anything, and if you try to prevent him doing it, it could cause more problems as you have found. My suggestion would be the Short Shank Combination. The theory behind it being it will take the pressure away from his mouth, but still give you good control. It has a small port to allow tongue room, but will not make him feel uncomfortable as the bit is anatomically designed to follow the contours of the horses mouth."

Cool Therapy for Equines!

At the end of a long, activity-filled day such as a charity fun ride, cross country session or competing in any discipline your horse's sensitive limbs will benefit from some cold therapy. Cold therapy is universally used to minimize damage following injury and in order to help equine athletes heal faster during injury rehabilitation. Cold has a local anesthetic effect which can help to reduce pain and inhibit reflexive muscle spasms. Using cold therapy during the early stages post exercise can reduce primary bleeding through vasoconstrictive effects which involves the constriction and narrowing of blood vessels acting to limit swelling. Cold therapy also reduces tissue temperature, lowering the metabolic rate of the cells in the affected area, in turn reducing their demand for oxygen making the body's task of healing easier. Cold therapy for equines such as the Aerborn Hock Boot can minimise the effects of a soft tissue injury and provides a good maintenance tool for those horses with chronic, recurring or long term problems. The Aerborn Cool Sport Hock boot is ideal to be used on tired and warm legs or to help reduce swelling. Moulded to the shape of the equine hock the Aerborn Cool Sport Hock boot is easy to apply with simple to fasten velcro tabs providing a great addition to the first aid kit of any horse. Available from The Saddlery Shop in priced at £20.49. Aerborn Cool Sport Knee Boots are also available!