Horse
Problem - Tongue Over Bit - What to do about horse who
puts tongue over the bit?
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QUESTION: I thought I'd ask you about our 8-year-old Welsh cob pony. He's a great little guy, very athletic and for the most part such a good pony. However, he has a habit of getting his tongue over the bit when the girls are having their Pony Club lessons. When we bought him, he came with a Mikmar bit, but we ride English and with a snaffle or kimberwicke. Unless we use a drop or flash noseband, he will get his tongue over the bit and start yanking the reins out the girls' hands to get out of work. I've had his teeth checked, nothing unusual going on in there. Why does he do this and how can we make him happier with his bit?
Slipping the tongue over the bit is usually caused by using the wrong bit, wrong size, or incorrect adjustment and usage. Or slipping the tongue over the bit is sometimes caused by the rider's hands being too harsh or rigid, and do not give the proper releases when the horse gives a right answer response. Some studies have shown that a horse that tries to put their tongue over the bit frequently is sometimes a way for the horse to protect their palate from painful bit pressure (again, coming back to incorrect use of bit/communication on the rider's part, or a poor-fitting bit).
Also...you need to check: Is the bit high enough in the horse's mouth? If it's not high enough, the horse can easily get his tongue over the top -- a bit hung too low will allow the horse to pull its tongue over the bit. In addition, a horse who tries to get the tongue over the bit is sometimes a nervous or resistance issue horse in general, which should go away with backing up and filling in training foundation holes with the right kind of natural horsemanship training.
Incidentally...the only bit I use is a full-cheek snaffle bit. More about that here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips5.html
But bits don't control horses, the right NH training does (first!).
- Since this particular problem is really hard to diagnose/give solutions for without seeing what's going on in person, I would suggest that this is best left dealt with via an in person natural horsemanship trainer assessment. My best recommendation would be to go to my "Find a Natural Horsemanship Trainer [near you]" section on my web site here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/FindNHTrainers.html -- and find an NH trainer near enough to you that you can have check this problem out in person, and follow their recommendations from there -- might only involve one diagnostic session, but worth your while.
That's my advice there. Hope it helps and good luck to you there!
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