Joined
·
7,470 Posts
I'll start off by saying I have a solid plan approved by my coach, and my horse and I are both educated enough to begin using a double. I have used double reins before and will only need to regain muscle memory (as it has been over 10 years since I stopped using them on my last horse - and I've owned my current mare for 7 years). The professionals involved with us as a combination are all supportive of this decision, which was not made lightly, and I am fully aware of the purpose and appropriate use of the tack.
And now that I've established that we are qualified to use it, my reason for posting, I have a few questions:
Most horses are neophobic. How do I know if her initial discomfort is because it's different and new, or if she is always going to be uncomfortable with the tack? How do I know if I need to play around with different mouthpieces for both the bridoon and the weymouth?
My gut says it might just be a waiting game, but my head disagrees because she will ABSOLUTELY do things that hurt her if she knows it will make me happy (in the past she has injured herself jumping a vertical she had every opportunity and right to refuse, and she did it because she knew I wanted her to clear it) and how do I know if she's just tolerating it because she thinks I want her to? Further complicating this question, she's a seasonal headshaker (pollen) and makes a squinty pain face in bright sunlight, so even in a bit she likes, she can seem uncomfortable.
She has and likes a loose ring bombers happy tongue snaffle, and the weymouth I've ordered (which hasn't arrived yet) is a fixed shank bombers happy tongue for that reason. Unfortunately I can't use the same mouthpiece for the bridoon because I can't get it in a bridoon cheek, probably due to dressage bitting rules stating a bridoon must have one or two joints. The closest I've found in shape is the bombers ported barrel, but a bit fitter I've been talking to expressed concern about its forward curve potentially interfering with the mouthpiece on the weymouth. She suggested the straight version of the ported barrel, but of course I can't find the blasted thing within Australia.
Bits I have tried that she's said no to include: single jointed snaffle (HARD no), lozenge snaffle (tolerable, but not preferred), curved but not ported mullen snaffle (wouldn't even stop chomping it long enough to assess whether it was the right size), Myler (level 1 and 2), a knockoff loose ring bombers elliptical (hard no, even though she will tolerate a normal lozenge) and a couple of others. I do not think she would tolerate a neue schule verbindend or a turtle top/turtle tactio and I'm not interested in spending nearly $300 (each!) to confirm that suspicion.
Has anyone here had a horse dislike or begrudgingly tolerate a bit as a snaffle, then decide it was ok as a bridoon?
And last but not least, what issues (if any) am I likely to encounter as a normal part of my horse learning to carry and take cues from a double bridle?
To thank you for making it through the above wall of text, here's a photo of my girl working:
![Horse Vertebrate Helmet Sky Working animal]()
And a photo of her in her dressage snaffle:
![Horse Working animal Horse tack Liver Horse supplies]()
And now that I've established that we are qualified to use it, my reason for posting, I have a few questions:
Most horses are neophobic. How do I know if her initial discomfort is because it's different and new, or if she is always going to be uncomfortable with the tack? How do I know if I need to play around with different mouthpieces for both the bridoon and the weymouth?
My gut says it might just be a waiting game, but my head disagrees because she will ABSOLUTELY do things that hurt her if she knows it will make me happy (in the past she has injured herself jumping a vertical she had every opportunity and right to refuse, and she did it because she knew I wanted her to clear it) and how do I know if she's just tolerating it because she thinks I want her to? Further complicating this question, she's a seasonal headshaker (pollen) and makes a squinty pain face in bright sunlight, so even in a bit she likes, she can seem uncomfortable.
She has and likes a loose ring bombers happy tongue snaffle, and the weymouth I've ordered (which hasn't arrived yet) is a fixed shank bombers happy tongue for that reason. Unfortunately I can't use the same mouthpiece for the bridoon because I can't get it in a bridoon cheek, probably due to dressage bitting rules stating a bridoon must have one or two joints. The closest I've found in shape is the bombers ported barrel, but a bit fitter I've been talking to expressed concern about its forward curve potentially interfering with the mouthpiece on the weymouth. She suggested the straight version of the ported barrel, but of course I can't find the blasted thing within Australia.
Bits I have tried that she's said no to include: single jointed snaffle (HARD no), lozenge snaffle (tolerable, but not preferred), curved but not ported mullen snaffle (wouldn't even stop chomping it long enough to assess whether it was the right size), Myler (level 1 and 2), a knockoff loose ring bombers elliptical (hard no, even though she will tolerate a normal lozenge) and a couple of others. I do not think she would tolerate a neue schule verbindend or a turtle top/turtle tactio and I'm not interested in spending nearly $300 (each!) to confirm that suspicion.
Has anyone here had a horse dislike or begrudgingly tolerate a bit as a snaffle, then decide it was ok as a bridoon?
And last but not least, what issues (if any) am I likely to encounter as a normal part of my horse learning to carry and take cues from a double bridle?
To thank you for making it through the above wall of text, here's a photo of my girl working:
And a photo of her in her dressage snaffle:
