First Ride With the New Bit

On Wednesday I tried my new (hopeful) miracle bit aka. the Bombers Bit Happy Tongue Loose Ring.

Did it work a miracle and turn Cisco into a majikal fancy prancing horse?

Not so much.

Do I think it made a bit of a difference and he was more comfortable?

I do.

I'll be sad when the blue oxidizes and changes colour.

When we initially picked up the trot I liked the feeling I had in my hand. He felt a bit softer through his body.

And then I had to kick him forward because he was gawking at the other horse in the arena. Which became the theme through most of the ride.

We had moments like this.

He was still quite busy with his mouth, but I don't think that's going to disappear overnight. He's pretty mouthy in general, and it appears that that's where his tension is going to come out. it has to come out somewhere, and I would rather it come out there than silly shenanigans that involve feet coming off the ground.

And this.

Towards the end of the ride I put a bit of pressure on him in asking for some flexion on a circle at a trot. I haven't really done much of this with him yet, so not surprisingly, didn't really get much results.

There were a couple of fleeting moments during the ride when he did reach forward and down for a couple of strides. I got all excited inside and the angels started singing and I started planning our dressage show schedule for next year. And then he turned into a giraffe again. Was he reaching for the contact? Or was he just sticking his head down? No idea.

But still mostly like this.

I am definitely going to keep using the bit. It will be interesting to see what his reaction will be over the next few rides.