Chewing on the bit while driving

[roxy's_mom]

Hey all. My filly that I've been driving has been constantly chewing on the bit. Every once and a while she'll really chomp down on it and make it loud enough I can hear it. The judges at the Keystone Classic told me to get a caveson and that would stop the chewing on the bit. They also told me to have her teeth checked to make sure that her wolf teeth didn't need pulled out. I'm trying to wait on her teeth until after show season b/c if I do it now I won't be able to show her the rest of the season. Well I went ahead and bought a new side check bridle and it came with a caveson. So tonight when I drove her I put her new bridle on and made sure the caveson was tight hoping it would keep her from chomping on the bit but it didn't work. She's still chomping on it. I've tried to correct her and all she does is raise her head higher to avoid it.

The bit is a snaffle with six copper inlay slits on the back side of the snaffle. I did notice that when she goes to chomp on the bit she rolls her tongue back and forth and sort of pulls the bit back to her first set of back teeth. Should I get a different bit for her? Is there something I can do to correct this behavior?

Thanks for all the help!

Becky M

 

[disneyhorse]

That's a tough one, particularly without being able to see her and also without having a dentist look at her teeth.

I would hurry and get a dentist out to check her teeth ASAP, because otherwise it will become a habit which you then won't be able to fix!

Also, it's hard to tell if there is "space" in her mouth, lots of minis have big tongues or small bars, and this will definitely affect their ability to carry a bit.

Or, she's just bored and needs a roller in there.

Who knows?

Get a dentist out, to start, and that will help BIG TIME. It will give you answers about the physiological issues, so that you can then work on any behavioral issues.

You won't "lose" the rest of the show season. If dental work is done, you are only out a few days. If teeth are pulled, well you will lose a couple of weeks but it's better than possibly ruining a horse for a whole season?

Also, how old is she? Is it possible that caps are bothering her (my three-year-old mare has been "off work" for a little while with bits in her mouth, because her teeth were bothering her.) or something of that nature?

Good luck,

Andrea

 

[ruffian]

I agree with Andrea, but you could also check the fit of her bridle. Is it too long and she's getting the bit in her teeth? Just a suggestion.

 

[Sanny]

Andrea is right about getting a dentist out to look at her first. After that what I'd do is get a trainer I've worked with in the past to watch her drive and see if they saw any other adjustment to consider or if they would recommend trying some other sort of bit.

I had a horse doing the same thing yours was and it was really loud and annoying -- also had his teeth done and I switched him to a myler bit of a different size and he stopped.

I have another horse new to driving this year that was messing with his bit a lot but he'd already had his teeth checked and done and I felt the bit we were using was right for him and I tried something called "licketybits" which is for horse bits. They look like a fruit rollup and wrap around the middle of the bit. I thought he would play with the bit more, but he drove great with it and instead of chewing on the bit and messing around with it he kept his mouth closed and was much more quiet and attentive although you could tell by his cheeks he was sucking on it until it was gone. It seemed like sort of a pacifier for him. I used it a few times and ran out of them and driving without it now he has been ok.

I'd only try that though if you've ruled everything else out. They have a website Lickity Bits

 

[hobbyhorse23]

When a horse is chomping on the bit like that, they are trying to tell you something. It drives me crazy when a trainer's first suggestion is to strap the mouth shut!

That is treating the symptoms, not addressing the underlying problem. If the horse is being pinched or poked by the bit or it doesn't fit right or it's uncomfortable for them or the driver has awful hands (not saying you do), then the appropriate reaction is to fix those things so the horse is no longer in discomfort. Voila! A quiet mouth, AND a happy horse.

Only if it's become a habit (and only a habit at that point) is strapping the mouth shut effective and even then you ought to be able to loosen the cavesson again once the habit is broken.

A horse who has his jaws squished together with a super-tight cavesson cannot softly chew and work the bit as he should in order to take proper contact. The jaw must be able to relax so that the horse can work in harmony with his driver, pushing forward to the bit from tail to nose. If his jaw is tense, his neck will be, and with a stiff neck and back he cannot round up and get his hindquarters under him in order to elevate his forehand. Hence the tight, flashy, toe-flicking movement you see so often in checked-up horses.

Anyway, the point is that I would get your mare to a dentist straight off and then I'd be looking at a lot of other factors before I went to a tight cavesson. As Andrea said, you won't lose much of your show season if any and you'll be reassured that you're not punishing a horse who's already in discomfort for trying to tell you about it. See the dentist, maybe post a picture of your bit and your mare wearing it so we can spot any obvious problems, then try the Lickity Bits or something like them and see how she does. It could just be that she's still not comfortable having metal in her mouth if she's new to driving, or something about the way you two are communicating is reinforcing her fussiness.

I've tried to correct her and all she does is raise her head higher to avoid it.

This line worries me a little. You cannot correct a habit like this by jerking on the same bit that is causing her mistrust in the first place. That only reinforces her impression that the bit is an uncomfortable, untrust-worthy object she should be trying to spit out.

You can distract her by asking for many gentle, flowing figures and see if - in her concentration - she forgets to fuss on the bit, but that's about all you can do from the back besides make sure your contact is elastic and friendly. All the fixes for bit fussing are either mental, dental, or done at the equipment-change level.

Good luck, and please keep us up to date!

Leia

 

[pinck43]

My driving horse also chomps on the bit. It is so loud, it sounds like he is breaking his teeth. He only does this when he's waiting around for a class. When he is driving he doesn't chomp. dionne

 

[shorthorsemom]

When my boy was chomping, my trainer had me change the bit, check the teeth, then re-train to the bit by putting it in his mouth and feeding him tiny bits of treats and carrotts, so he learned to eat with the bit in his mouth, and then I took it out, rebuilding the wearing time. He never chomps now and holds the bit steady and opens his mouth for putting it in. I am so glad I took the time, worth it now. hope you figure it out.

 

[Jessica_06]

Defiantly get an equine dentist out ASAP! I bought a driving horse years back with great potential to do great things, little did we know, he was trained and driven for a couple years without dental work.... long story short the horse was permanently ruined for driving, it developed more mouth problems then ever, even after finally getting his teeth done his problems were never resolved

he developed a habit of rolling his tongue over the bit which you then lost complete control, head turned one way, chewing on the bit and I'm sure there was more,,, such a shame he was a fine animal.

 

[roxy's_mom]

Thanks everyone! I'll probably try and get the dentist out but they may not be willing to work on minis. There's alot of vets/dentists that won't work on minis around here because the have encountered the ones where people have treated the horses like dogs and the can't even work on the horses because they are spoiled and uncontrollable. But I'm going to give it a shot and see what happens, maybe they will come and look at her. I'll try and maybe get pics of her with her bridle on and see if anyone sees a problem. I've adjusted it so that the bit has only one wrinkle at the corner of her mouth but maybe I've over looked something that someone else might see wrong.

Becky M.

P.S. Forgot to mention that my filly just turned 4 years old the beginning of June and she's still losing baby teeth because a couple of her front ones have fallen out or are in the processes of coming out.

 

[Keri]

Yep. Take everyone's suggestions. The teeth is the #1 thing. I won't drive a horse unless I know their teeth are fine. Its only about a week of healing time and she'd be able to drive. And you may have to buy different bits until you find one she likes (can always resell the others). I've had to do that with my shetland in order to find one he likes. Also check where the bit sits. It may be sitting too low or too high. And if she's green, they do chomp on the bit until they get comfortable with it. Took my gelding I started this year a couple months before held the bit nicely without chomping. And if she's nervous, its a chomping habit. I switched my shetland over to a mullen with a tongue roller. He had something to do to help calm his nerves without chomping. But just restating what everyone said. Good luck!

 

[shorthorsemom]

On my bit changes we had to go to a straight bit with my boy rather than the snaffle, my trainer also had me put some latex wrap on the part of the bit where it sat on his bars during the training. It is off now. We check teeth yearly. If we skip on the yearly because they are ok we re-check in 6 months. I have heard that horses that graze vs horses that eat hay all the time wear their teeth differently, not sure if anybody else has seen this. I also lowered the feed tubs because I heard that eating with their heads down like grazing is better for dental wear. Anybody else hear this on the hay vs grass and lowered buckets? Not sure if it is a myth or not. My guys really love and respond to the bit training now, I am not driving yet so not sure if the straight bit will be my driving bit in the future. I have many more miles to put in on my feet before we are driving rather than line driving. My trainer was very picky about the bit, the fit and the training and taking our time to get it right.....best wishes that you find an good dental person. PS..We did sedate for our dental and got the idea for the person doing the floating to sit on a plastic mounting block while doing the dentals so they were able to look right in the mouth on eye level.

 

[Taylor Jo]

I was having trouble with my boy and he didn't have a dental issue but a bit issue, if you find that it's a bit issue I reccomened the Myler Comfort Snaffle Bit EPB-04 I got mine from Estate Horse Supply. I think it was Leia who told me about the Comfort Bit. BEST decision I ever made. It also has a roller on it too. The $20 bit that I had before he DID not like. Good luck to you. TJ

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I also lowered the feed tubs because I heard that eating with their heads down like grazing is better for dental wear. Anybody else hear this on the hay vs grass and lowered buckets?

I haven't heard about the dental wear thing but eating from ground-level is certainly far more natural and healthy for a horse. It helps keep all that nasty dust and hay chaff out of their airways and stretches their topline, which is good for the spine and performance work. Obviously if you've got major sand or nasty mud it's better to feed on a mat or something, but ground-level is still best.

Leia