As a bitting specialist with over 20 years of experience, one of the most common questions we're asked is "I’ve bought a new horse what bit do I use?". Most people think that when buying a horse they would automatically continue to be ridden in the bit that it was previously ridden in or was tried in, however, this is not always the case. What is important is to give your new four-legged friend time to settle in and adjust to its new routine and surroundings and get to know their new stable mates before we can start to look at creating, improving or establishing the contact.
On many lecture demos, I often ask "Where does the horse engage from first?" and I could pretty much bet my house, career, and chocolate daxie Daisy that the answer would be the hind end. This is not the case though because it is the brain that always engages first and if it is distracted by new surroundings, other horses or unsettled routines we are unlikely to be able to see a true picture of what we need to do to achieve our goal.
What assessments should a new horse have before starting ridden work?
Dental checkup
Next on the list of things we must look at is the teeth. We need to ensure that we have a good set of well-kept teeth that are balanced and with no sharp edges. It is impossible to expect a horse to be able to ride in a nice relaxed outline if the jaw is unable to move smoothly with additional pressures in the TMJ, etc, created by ramps or out-of-balance cheek teeth. It is always advisable to ensure that you have your new horse checked by a qualified Equine Dental Technician and these can be found at baedt.com.
A physical checkup
Once you know the mouth is in good order and we have a clean bill of health, the next step is to look at the back and the overall musculoskeletal system. The horse must be comfortable and trouble-free through its back, neck, and hind before starting any ridden work. We often see horses evading the bit by sticking the tongue out or trying to get the bit over the top due to too much pressure in the mouth, which after further investigation, is actually related to hind end issues. A typical injury that shows up in this fashion is back suspensory damage. It would be very unfair of us to attempt to re-bit a horse to correct a tongue issue that is actually secondary to a bigger health issue. Not to mention that it would obviously be impossible for a change of bit to fix any issue, it would only mask the problem or make it less obvious, which would again be unfair to your horse.
A saddle fitting
Once we are happy the horse is sound, fit, and ready to crack on, the final step is to check that we have a correctly fitting saddle. Like a sprinter with their running shoes, if they don’t fit properly, we are not going to be able to achieve the best results. Your horse needs freedom of movement under saddle to perform and give good feedback. Again, it is always advisable to ensure that you have your new horse checked by a professional, you can find a list of master saddlers can be found at mastersaddlers.co.uk.
With all the pre-bitting checks done we can now start to look at finding the bit for the job. So on that cliffhanger… my next instalment we will look at the whys and wherefores of changing bits in a new horse and why its previous bit may not be the right solution.
