Bit help

[reachforthestars]

There is a horse that I sometimes ride, and he used to be in some form of snaffle but would go around with his head in the air and be very strong. It got changed to a Waterford which he hated, and then a rubber Pelham which worked for a while until he realised that if he overheat he could evade the contact and become very strong. Then he was put in a elevator bit which helped slightly but still not enough, when trying to stop him his head would go to his chest and stay there and no matter how hard you tried he wouldn't lift it. We then thought maybe he doesn't like the bit, he always wanted to play with it more than listen to it, so we put him in an English hackamore which was better but still hard for brakes. They finally tried him in one of the ones with the metal bar that goes under the chin and he was perfect... until he realised that he could get the sides in his mouth and the actual bar to chew on.

I just wanted to know if anyone has had any similar experiences with horses and what they did about it. I get schooling will play a big part but it's very hard as he is sort of used in a riding school for the more experienced riders.
he goes so much better in the hackamore but almost needs something like a dummy for when he is being ridden.

[catkin]

Most horses seem to have favoured bits and many benefit from changing fairly frequently. You haven't mentioned nosebands and martingales, both of which could help and perhaps lunging with loose side reins to help the horse learn to take a consistent contact.

[bigmama]

Try some bit wrap on a snaffle to start with, give him something soft to mouth on and accept?