A common thing we hear is “my thoroughbred has a hard mouth”.. people have different reasoning and excuses as to why; maybe he was hard going or pulling during track work, maybe it became a habit or maybe it was caused by pain associated with their mouth.
Get the last reason out of the way first. Call the dentist (we recommend Catherine Russo- amazing!) and make sure nothing is hurting. So many times this issue is completely forgotten..don’t see the teeth, don’t worry and bad behaviour sorted with gear changes. Not finding the real cause of the problem.
Once that step is out of the way go straight to your bit. I don’t use anything but a WTP Bit. We want the first rides on our horses, on their path in their new careers, to be positive and enjoyable. I ride with very little contact and just allow the horses to relax and carry themselves, rather then leaning on the hand. But the biggest positive I find is comfort in their mouths and their attitudes to it when I do have contact. This is where WTP bits come in. These bits don’t have the joint middle but rather a plate (hence the name). When we do apply contact or pressure to the rein normal jointed bits fold up and can push quite hard on the roof of the mouth. A horses reaction to this can be head tossing, difficulty steering, open mouths and leaning or go as far as rearing.
I have found the WTP bits can stop all of this behaviour. I put these bits on all my horses straight away. First ride, back in work. Because I want us to have a pleasant and enjoyable ride. I want them to respond positively to their new education and if I put this bit on straight away then I can eliminate that question and that issue.
Of course if problems persist (and I must say we haven’t had any..touch wood!) then you can look at other contributing factors such as pain. But I just like to have the mouth rued out.
WTP bits have also help so many racehorses still in training. Quite bad pullers seem to respond very positively to the 2 ring design bit. Works similar to a gag but without the pressure on the roof of the mouth and can use the pressure on the poll to encourage a nice head carriage.
Jump on and have look at the website to find out more but we are well and truely converted!