I have been riding my mare for many years now with a curb
bit. It has a medium length shank and is a broken bit, not solid. I
hope I have described it OK. Also, I use a leather strap, not a
chain. I am not too into knowing what all the different types of bits are,
but think I am about to learn more.
OK, here is the deal. She is doing much more head
flipping lately and I am tired of it. It has been suggested that I put a
martingale on her. But I was told that I shouldn't use one with the type
of bit I use. A friend suggested going to a full cheek snaffle. This
horse is mostly controllable. She can trot like a freight train
sometimes but is normally not a handful. But it seems like the better
in shape she gets the more head flipping we go through as she is ready to go,
go, go.
If I were to change from my current set up to a full cheek
snaffle with martingale, what type of problems might I have to deal with?
Should I first try this in an arena rather than out on the trail? This is
a 16 yo mare, so is not some youngster I am dealing with here. Although
don't tell her that. ;-)
