By Fiona Dearing, Bit Right Equine Bit Fitting.
One of the questions I ask when I’m presenting at Pony Clubs is how often should a horse and rider combination have a bit fitting. The most common answer I receive is every twelve months, which really isn’t the case at all. You can see how members would come to that conclusion—having it in line with your annual dental work certainly makes sense—however, it simply isn’t necessary.
How Often Do You Need a Bit Fitting?
For many horses, one fitting is likely to see them through their ridden life. If the horse and rider combination are working at around the same level or one level above or below, then generally there won’t be a need to adjust the bitting. If the horse is in a comfortable bit appropriate for the level of horse and rider, there may be no need for change.
Horse and rider combinations who are moving through training levels by more than one level are likely to need more than one fitting during the horse’s career. This doesn’t need to occur at regular intervals but rather when you feel your current bit may not be communicating accurately enough in your training.
When Should You Consider Changing Your Bit?
The reason for this is the work you are doing at grade 1, compared to grade 3, is more challenging. The questions we’re asking of our horse are both more complex and more specific. Your skill level as a rider has increased, as well as the education level of your horse. At this point, regardless of the discipline you’re participating in, you may need a bitting change to be able to communicate more effectively at this higher level.
How might this feel to you as a rider? You may feel the response to your aid isn’t quick or clear enough. You may feel the horse is heavy or dull in your hands. You may feel you’re having to use more of an aid than you’d like and receiving less of a response from your horse. These are all signs you may need to adjust your bitting for your new level.
This is sometimes as simple as changing from a fixed cheekpiece like an eggbutt to a loose ring to give your mouthpiece a quicker action. Some combinations could need to consider changing the mouthpiece to adjust the pressures in the mouth to communicate the aid more effectively. It is not about simply putting a stronger bit in your horse’s mouth!
The Most Important Consideration
The most important part of this article is to understand that changing your bitting should NEVER be about using a stronger or faster-acting bit to fix a training gap. It should also never be used to help you if you’re feeling nervous about jumping new heights or changing to a larger, more athletic horse. Using a stronger bit to ‘band-aid’ over something will not fix the training gap—the gap remains and will at some point come back to bite you.
You’ll have noted how many times I used the word ‘may’ in this article. This is because we don’t need to change our bitting choices at specific points in a horse and rider’s training. It really is about what you’re feeling in your ‘conversation’ with your horse. You’re always welcome to reach out with any questions you may have.
