Do you have a horse that frequently opens its mouth, sticks out its tongue, or presses it out? It’s a challenging issue that still occurs quite often. What can you do about it?

A horse that opens its mouth or even sticks its tongue out is not a pleasant sight. But that’s not the worst part! It mainly means that your horse is trying to tell you something. Unless a horse has no front teeth, it’s primarily a sign of discomfort or pain. So, an open mouth or a protruding tongue is very undesirable; it means the horse is uncomfortable somewhere in its body. It’s not what you want, and you must take this problem seriously.

Where is the discomfort?

Although an open mouth or a protruding tongue is a sign of discomfort, it doesn’t mean that you should always look for this discomfort or pain in the tongue or mouth itself! And… there are also horses that show discomfort in other ways. These expressions are sometimes not penalized harshly in your test, while the cause may be just as severe. In both cases, you need to find the cause and solve the problem. You simply don’t want this.

Start at the Beginning

When I get a rider in class who says that their horse sometimes walks with an open mouth or a hanging tongue, I always start at the beginning. Is a medical cause ruled out? Discomfort in the body or poorly fitting tack can be the cause. A mismatched bit can also be a reason for your horse to open its mouth. So, you must first exclude these possibilities by having your horse checked and potentially having a bit fitter come. But above all, look at the entire horse first, unless you have a very special bit. Most often, all sorts of trendy bits from complicated brands are not the solution. Moreover, many modern sport horses have a small mouth. That’s why it’s very convenient that nowadays, you can ride nationally at all levels with a snaffle. A curb bit is not necessary for Dutch competitions up to the highest level. Not everyone knows that.

Horse has an open mouth and is crooked

When medical causes are ruled out, the teeth are healthy, and the bit and the rest of the tack fit well, you almost always end up with a combination of stress and crookedness of the horse as the cause of an open mouth. Sometimes the proportions between stress and crookedness are 50/50, but it can also be, for example, 20/80. If a horse is very crooked but still relaxed, it can still open its mouth in certain exercises. So, you need to address both stress and crookedness.

Riding from Back-to-Front 

The basics must be in order, all the movements starts with the hind legs. At the moment a horse undercuts with its hind leg, can arch its back, walks carried under you, and accepts the rein, it will probably walk to your hand with a closed mouth. If that doesn’t work, something in the basics is not right.

And there is one other possible cause, and that is habit. When the horse started to open its mouth as a sign of discomfort, crookedness, or stress, and when this lasted a long time, it can become a habit. Even then, it remains important to tackle and resolve this.

Stress as a cause? 

Therefore, teach your horse to move itself under you. Stress, crookedness, and an open mouth essentially need to be ridden away. You can eliminate stress by being clear, giving direction, and giving your horse a thorough education while being patient.

Solving crookedness, make your horse straight. 

If the open mouth or hanging tongue is caused by crookedness in the horse’s body, the horse will always have its tongue out on the same side. It stems from the asymmetry in your horse. In that case, make sure to straighten your horse, with the guidance of a good instructor who can watch from the ground. Crookedness also needs to be solved from back to front; not from front to back!

Close that Mouth!

Note: Tightening the noseband excessively is not a solution for an open horse’s mouth. An overly tight noseband can hinder jaw relaxation. The bit should rest calmly in the mouth, not overly tightened, but also not too loose. Be sure that the bit is not flopping loosely in your horse’s mouth.

Too loose Isn’t good either

If you ride your horse too round and deep, they’ll drop their lower jaw. So, that’s not good either. If you want them to be loose on your hand, and you let them ‘nod’ as round and low as possible, horses sometimes let their lower jaw loose. This, too, can cause the mouth to open.

Sometimes a horse has an open mouth because they no longer make a connection, but they are too loose. This again has everything to do with the connection from the loins and over the back. When a horse does this, many riders tend to avoid it altogether under the motto: ‘as soon as I do something, his mouth opens’. That’s not the solution. These riders ‘compromise ride’, which is unclear to the horse. Do you have this problem? Then try not to nervously stay away from it because it won’t go away. You must be willing to confront the problem and then resolve it by calmly and clearly riding from the leg to the hand.

Conclusion: Five tips for an open mouth:

– Ensure proper tack

– A different bit is not always the solution; a simple snaffle often turns out to be the best

– The problem is not always in the mouth but often further down in the body

– The better the horse is carried from the back, the better the mouth stays closed

– Don’t compromise in riding, but keep training and ride it away

Always have your instructor at hand?

Working on the basics and continuous riding is easier when you always have your instructor ‘at hand.’ That’s why I’ve added many audio files to the ‘Riding with Rider Feel’ Online Training. Put the audio on your phone, so you always have guidance while riding.

Read more about the online training here.

“Now that I ride with the audios, I notice that this works great. I have you as an instructor in my ear, so I can focus on what I need to feel and do.” – Wanda

Happy training!

Hester