Controlling Bouncy Yearling

Question
Dear Emma,
I have a sweet-natured 15 month old WB filly who is well-handled, quiet and respectful most of the time. However, she does get excited sometimes when being led, particularly when asked to trot, and tries to rear and buck and get generally very bouncy. She has never actually broken away from me and I usually get her to settle quite quickly but she is a big strong girl and it can be very un-nerving. Although I have bitted her, I have not yet used the bridle for control purposes (I currently use a Monty Roberts Dually on her). I do not want to injure her mouth or risk her reacting adversely to the strong use of a bit but really need to get a grip on this behaviour before I lose my confidence. I have alot of horsey experience - I was a groom for some years and did my BHS AI about 20 years ago but I do not have much experience with yearlings. Any tips would be very welcome.
Many thanks!

Answer
Hi Sarah!

Ohhh..she sounds lovely!  I bet she is a sweetie really and just wants to play with you, unfortunately, as horses are usually a lot bigger than us, we sometimes need to ask them politely not to do things.  

I'd suggest using the dually still, and doing some natural horsemanship with her and get her to respect your personal space and your tone of voice.  Also look at her feed, and maybe cut it down a little, change her to a different feed (winergy equilibrium is fantastic and with it being Fibre based, instead of grain based, it's better for them, I use it for my two arabs, it keeps the condition without the fizz)

If that doesn't work, I would be tempted to bit her, especially if you are planning on showing her, as she is a bit old to be shown in a foal slip!

Hope this helps, and good luck with her.

Emma xx