# Bit advice for a young, unbalanced fairly big Hunter



## spotty_pony (31 August 2017)

Question in title. Said horse is a 16.2 5 year old Irish Draught type who I have recently started riding. He has Hunted two seasons in Ireland and I am going to be Hunting him this Season for his new owner. 

He still has a lot of maturing to do and is weak across his back which we are working on with schooling and Hillwork. He is still finding his feet and is unbalanced and has a tendency to fall onto the forehand and then become strong. Most of the time I can correct this by using plenty of leg and halfback halts to encourage him to sit back and work from behind except for when he comes excited and becomes stronger and then I have a bit of a battle on my hands. 

I've taken him out on three Hunt rides and he has behaved fantastically, just getting a bit keen during longer spells of canter (where I will admit I have momentarily lost brakes, more due to the fact I let him bowl on a bit too much and he ended up running onto the forehand.) On the last ride we jumped a few fences and he was keen but was really taking me into the fences boldly which was a good thing, until the excitement became a little too much and we ended up loosing brakes and having to miss out the next few fences as I struggled to get him back together (and avoid running into people!  ) He did settle again once everyone pulled up, but part of the problem is because he is so big and I am having to work quite hard to keep him together, I inevitably get tired after we have been on the move for quite a while which doesn't help the loss of brakes. 

Horse is currently ridden in a D ring single jointed snaffle with copper rollers and does seem to like this bit. Owner is reluctant to try anything stronger because it is more of a balance issue and doesn't want him to drop behind the contact and stop going forwards and I do agree in some ways because the way he jumped was fantastic and I don't want to change that. It's just some of the in between bits which are a bit hairy so I guess what I'm really asking is should I just carry on as we are and as he develops the correct muscle to carry himself clare rectory through schooling, he should hopefully be more manageable aned just accept that this is going to take time or should I go down the different bit route? I was thinking of something with two reins if I did just so I could have a bit of extra control if needed but not sure if this would just encourage him to lean further onto the forehand? 

Advice please!


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## FemelleReynard (31 August 2017)

I found a waterford really useful for my big ID because he couldn't lean on it to tank off and it also meant he had to balance himself. I use a waterford for day to day riding.

I hunt him in a pelham with 2 reins because he gets strong on fast runs, so I can just tug the second rein lightly to remind him of his manners when he's getting carried away, otherwise I work off the snaffle rein.

That combination works for me but I'm afraid I think it's trial and error to see what suits you and the horse, but a waterford may be a good place to start?


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## Apercrumbie (31 August 2017)

To be fair, the hunting issue isn't just a balance thing, he's understandably getting excited and strong so I think you would be justified in trying a stronger bit in that context. I would also try a Waterford and see how you get on.


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