By Fiona Dearing, Bit Right Equine.
A couple of months ago I wrote about how to bit the off the track thoroughbred. It would be remiss of me to not also write about our off the track standardbred friends.
Did you know the standardbred tolerates the most bar, or lower jaw, pressure of any sport horse? This is because the line of action of the bit finishes in a position which is both behind the horse and lower than that of a ridden horse. Compare a photo of a pacer or trotter with one of a galloper racehorse and note the angles from the bit to the rider or drivers hand. The other factor that impacts the pressures applied is the length of the reins which are much longer than the reins we use for riding. The standardbred has long been of a more solid build than the fine-boned thoroughbreds and as a result they tend to have wider and better covered bars.
Anyone who owns a standardbred will be familiar with what I like to call ‘tongue aerobics’. It seems to be a breed specific quirk. I know my standardbreds will often put their head on the side at feed time and appear to tie their tongue into a knot and make all kinds of hilarious faces at me. They really are the class clown.
All of this means we tend to bit the standardbreds differently to the thoroughbreds after racing. Again, we generally see them want some tongue relief but I usually find they also seek stability in the mouth. Perhaps this is due to the mobility of their tongue? Bits like Mylers, Bombers Happy Tongues, Ultra Comfy Lock Ups and Ported Barrels work super well for these guys. Again I always recommend a fixed cheekpiece like the eggbutt or Dee ring to give additional stability and assist with turning. Remember, the off the track standardbred is both learning to work in a new way but unlike the thoroughbred he also has to learn to carry the weight of a rider rather than pull them behind him.
The other piece of equipment standardbreds often excel in is a bitless bridle. Like any piece of new equipment we need to introduce this in a way where the horse and rider are safe and the horse understands what he’s being asked to do. Our bitting, or not bitting, is one part of a holistic view of re-training an off the track horse from either code so we need to ensure our training is consistent and clear so the messages we give with the bit are interpreted correctly.
Anyone who stands still long enough near me gets the ‘standardbreds are awesome’ speech. I was amazed at the difference in mine as I did my bit fitting training, it really does make a huge difference for them.