Hi Gale >Is it possibly the bit is too strong for him and hurt him. Is there >another bit I could purchase that would be a step up from the old one I >used (loose ring french link snaffle) and not a severe as the Monte >Forman bit.
I would say that yes too strong a bit - especially one with leverage could cause the behaviour - it may be causing him to tighten his neck and back. In the past we have used English Tom Thumb pelhams - called a Tom Thumb because the shank is not longer than a thumb. They generally have a mullen mouthpiece (a slight curve to fit the mouth shape with no joints). Personally I only like to use shanked bits with two sets of reins. The top rein has no leverage and gives you a way to balance, turn and steady the horse and the bottom rein give you a bit of leverage which affects the horse's poll and acts as a brake. I have found that just using the bottom rein, or a converter, gives you less choices. Riding with two sets of reins is not so difficult and just takes a bit of practice. Over the years I have found that if you have a very forward horse the Pelham means you will generally ride with a looser rein - and the horse is more relaxed because the two main purposes of the snaffle was originally to raise the horse's head and give lateral flexion. Uto Burger's (was a German veterinarian and event rider) book "The Way To Perfect Horsemanship" describes how he liked to start horses in a short shanked Pelham with no noseband so he could give the horse clearer information and also allow the horse freedom of his mouth to show what the rider's hands were doing. I used to 3-Day Event and found that the Tom Thumb (remember not the western Tom Thumb which has a broken mouthpiece and one I don't care for) provided more relaxed horses that I could ride much lighter. Mylar also makes a Pelham with the rotating mouthpiece as in the comfort mouthpiece - the shanks are slightly longer that the Tom Thumb but when ridden with two reins you have choice. I probably have one I could send you to try if you don't know someone with a Tom Thumb and would like to try one. Hope this helps you. Robyn Icelandic Horse Farm Robyn Hood & Phil Pretty Vernon BC Canada www.icefarm.com
