Not sure if this is going to rub you the wrong way or not, but have you tried a bitless bridle of any kind? My little paint mare had a severely uneducated and sensitive mouth, so she was pretty balky with a bit and would root and back up a lot. So, I got a Dr. Cook's Bitless Bridle on eBay and it works like a charm. It "hugs" the whole head so your mare wouldn't be able to evade it. I taught my pony "whoa" with it, so now I can ride her with a bit using my body and voice commands to control her pace and use the bridle to achieve poll/neck/jaw flexion.

Read all about it! http://www.bitlessbridle.com/


Proud member of FiSH's most INCLUSIVE clique (Formerly known as the "people who are dabbling in dressage and eventing (or promise to read about it) with issues finding saddles that fit, whose hip flexors are sore all the time and get all pumped up when they get to take lessons, and own or like looking at pintos, palominos and buckskins" clique)
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