This one is for every pony mum who's ever wondered if there's a better way. 👇

🐴 Case Note Friday

"Dolly" | 20yo ¾ Morgan Mare | 15hh | Pony Club

A 20 year old pony club mare. A 13 year old rider with soft hands and a good seat. And a bit that was making both of their lives harder than it needed to be.

This one is for every pony mum who's ever wondered if there's a better way. 👇

What we found in the mouth assessment:

Dolly had never had a bit fitting before — Sarah just wanted to make sure she was in the best possible setup for Mia. That's exactly the kind of owner we love.

The mouth assessment told us a lot. Large, fleshy tongue. Low palate. Short smile with fleshy lips. A very narrow lower jaw — bars so close together my fingers were nearly touching. Not much room in there at all, and zero tolerance for anything that created tongue or bar pressure.

She was going in a single jointed loose ring sweet iron bit — one of the most common culprits we see. The result? Curling behind the vertical, head up, mouth open. Classic signs of a horse trying to escape pressure she couldn't communicate any other way.

Dolly wasn't being difficult. She just had nowhere to put her tongue.

The fitting process:

We worked through a couple of options.

The first bit we tried — A Bombers Happy tongue - designed to give horses like Dolly somewhere for that large tongue to go — was an instant hit. No curling. No head up. No open mouth. She just plodded around the arena quietly and happily. Even when Mia steered her away from the tie up rail she'd been gravitating toward, Dolly went willingly. Soft, responsive, content.

We tried a second option — a different tongue-relief style mouthpiece with joins and a lozenge — and while Dolly was fine initially, she started to lean slightly after a few minutes and Mia felt she wasn't as responsive.

Good bit, just not her bit.

Back to the first option — and the difference was clear.

The bit that changed everything?

Bomber Happy Tongue in an Eggbutt — the eggbutt adding stability and consistency in the mouth, important with young riders. Same great tongue relief, quieter feel, confidence for horse and rider equally.

The result:

A happy, soft, comfortable, relaxed and responsive mare. A 13 year old who could steer wherever she wanted. And a pony mum who finally had the answer she'd been looking for.

Sometimes the best fitting is the one that was never done before. 🙌

This is why we assess before we guess. 📐

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