Friday 7th of August saw the loss of my champion horse, HBH Woody.  He reached the grand old age of 38 and I like to think he loved every one of the days that he had here with us;  I know I certainly did.  He was incredibly well loved and a very valued member of my herd who became the herd leader after the very sad loss of Sixty Johnson back in 2019.  The kindest, gentlest horse I had ever had the privilege to meet and super lucky to become his person.  Always loved, will always be missed; reunited with his bestie, Sixty, and now being looked after at a no doubt absolutely amazing yard by his nanna & grandad.  Gallop freely champ x x 

When I go out and fit a bit, many aspects are taken into account including full bitting and dental history, horse and riders ages, experience and levels of training, any particular issues that they are working on at the present time and then I carry out a mouth assessment.  On this, I am looking in particular at the communication points the bit and bridle can use:  Poll, upper palate, nose, upper & lower bars, corners of the lips, chin groove and of course the tongue.  Although these are the points that can be used, obviously not every bit and bridle combination uses these points and some bits use a combination of them. 

Often people think of a stronger mouthpiece if having control issues but I often find that by bringing some of the other pressure points into use, we can avoid the use of an overly strong mouthpiece and spread the rein signal through other areas.  Examples of this type of bitting would be the Neue Schule Universal (choice of mouthpieces;  Tranz , Verbindend, Turtle Top or Waterford) with its leather curb strap and also the Myler Combination. 

As with any piece of tack, a new bit should be introduced in a methodical manner in a safe environment after seeking advice from a bitting specialist as to the most suitable bit.  For advice specific to your horse/pony, please contact Gail: gail@horsebithire.com or 07789 587 302.