I have an amazing team that will do about anything or go pretty much anywhere I ask. They are geldings, age 6&7, though, so have their playful moments. The older one is mostly professional in harness, but the younger one can be a brat towards the older. If you recall our Belgian that injured his knee severely in the pasture a couple years ago... same one. He is just all play, so when in harness, I have to stay on him constantly. His focus is only about 10 seconds long, then he starts fiddling with things. I tried battery-powered Christmas lights one year to increase our visibility....he bit the cord into pieces. I tried bells, he bit them off. Just general playfulness. Mostly his antics are tolerable, but He has two issues that drive me nuts....
1. He turns his head to the inside and puts his lips on the yoke. This isn't a big deal in itself, but it makes his body arc to the outside, which then causes the team to drift. I have to constantly correct. His check is already on the tightest setting, and I would consider it fairly tight, but he has become a master of arching his neck to get his head where he wants it. His lips just barely reach the yoke, and he can't reach straight down, but he's figured out that inward turn, combined with pushing against the bit, gives just enough reach he can get his lips on the bar. What is the best way to stop this, or is it just something he has to outgrow? He works great in a plain o-ring snaffle, but I have wondered if getting him a "pacifier" or key- style bit would give him enough of a toy to keep him occupied to prevent some playfulness. Has anyone tried these?
2. The other thing...the one potentially dangerous thing, he does, is he LOVES to rest his chin on his teammate's neck when we are stopped. The problem occurs when he occasionally gets his check rein over the other horse's hameball. Thankfully, he never fights, and just waits until we release him, but that requires contortionist feats at their height! Is there some kind of strap or cover that would connect have balls, looks decent that, but would prevent the rein from slipping over the ball? Right now, I'm using duct tape running from ball to ball on the teammate successfully, but it looks pretty cheesy!
As always, thanks for all insight and wisdom!