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Bit Information (Snaffle and English-Type Bits)

133K views 286 replies 97 participants last post by  Horsebitsgalore 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
English/Snaffle-Type Bit Information

Non-Port Mouthpieces

Mullen Mouth

This bit is especially mild, as it has no breaking points within the mouth. It is great for a horse with a low palate that cannot accommodate excessive bulk within the mouth. Its disadvantage is that it can have a very unrefined signal to the horse, as there are no independent sides to work off of.

Single Joint

A fairly mild mouthpiece with very slight independent action. Usually horses with low or shallow palates are going to be irritated by this mouthpiece. When put in action, the mouthpiece breaks at the single joint, flexing upwards into the palate and downwards onto the horse’s lips. Some horses do not like this type of contact, as it is quite sharp and can pinch at the horse’s tongue.

French Link

A very mild bit that has two joints. Having two joints eliminates the crackerjack action on the tongue, eliminates upward flexion, and has a more “full mouth” feel to it. This type of bit works well on horses with all varieties of palate heights. A favourite of many horses.

Berry/Oval/etc Mouth

Same “full mouth” feel that so many horses like so much. The shape and size of the link influences the breakover point on the tongue; the shorter the link, the more “single joint feel” you are going to have. Some horses prefer a longer breakover point/link, some a shorter link.

Sprenger mouthpiece

A very nice mild mouthpiece. This is a double joint bit, similar to an oval link, except that the center piece is rotated 45 degrees to the rest of the mouthpiece. Sprenger claims that this gives the bit a more anatomical bend to the bit so it sits nicer in the horse’s mouth.

Myler/ Billy Allen

Very nice mild mouthpiece. The barrel serves two functions: an anatomical curve without allowing the bit to collapse inwards, and independent side action. This bit cannot have a crackerjack action, as it does not collapse. The independent side action is common to all double joint bits, bit seems to be more refined in this mouthpiece. Really a nice, nice mouthpiece.

Dr. Bristol

Long, flat, angled double joint bit. A true Dr. Bristol will have the center link at a 45 degree angle to the rest of the mouthpiece. This angle and length of center piece makes the bit slightly more harsh than other double joint bits. It is designed for lots of tongue contact and pressure. I would recommend this only be used by an experienced rider.

Waterford

The ultimate in “full mouth feel.” This bit collapses at every link so you get direct contact on the horse’s entire mouth. Since it has so many links, horses with a shallow palate shouldn’t have a problem carrying this bit. The bit collapses at each link, so the idea is that the horse cannot grab onto the bit and take it too much in its mouth, as the side will just collapse under pressure. A con to this bit is that some horses really dislike a “full mouth” feel.

Icky Mouthpieces
(mouthpieces I think should require a test in skill before being sold to anyone)

Slow Twist

All the lovely advantages of a single joint (nutcracker action, palate protrusion) with the added bonus of a twist to the mouthpiece. The twist makes this bit more harsh, as the raised edges are rough on the horse’s lips.

Corkscrew

Like the slow twist, but with more raised edges, this bit is quite harsh. The raised edges irritate and hurt the horse’s lips.

Single Twisted Wire

Even harsher than the slow twist, it uses pain to get the horse to “pay attention.” The single joint crackerjacks on the tongue, the twist irritates and hurts the lips.

“I will hunt you down and torture you if you use these” Mouthpieces

Chain

This bit acts much like the Waterford in action, but the slim chain and roughness of the links makes it a harsh bit. Mostly seen in western events.

Double Twisted Offset Wire

This bit is very very harsh. You have two different mouthpieces protruding up into the palate at once, they both crackerjack on the tongue in different places, then two wires irritate and hurt the horse’s lips to “make it listen.”

Woodscrew

Very very very harsh, it utilizes pain to get the horse to yield to the rider’s will. If you have ever gripped a screw tight with your hand, you can appreciate the pain; imagine that against your lips.

Bike Chain/ Mule bit

Works off of nothing but pain for the horse. I had to mention this bit to make sure nobody mistakes it for a nice bit, ever.
 
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15
#2 ·
Cheek Pieces

Loose Ring

This cheekpiece is a very mild, unobtrusive cheekpiece. The ring slides through the mouthpiece, so the horse cannot brace against the bit; the ring will just slide through. A disadvantage to this mouthpiece is that the horse’s lips can get caught while the ring is sliding, and pinch. Bit guards can help with this problem.

Eggbutt

The eggbutt uses light lateral pressure to help aid in rein aids; i.e. if you pull on the right rein, the left cheekpiece will come in contact with the horse’s cheek and lips. Still a very mild cheekpiece, it can reinforce a rider’s rein aid for the horse to follow a certain rein. There is no possibility of this cheekpiece pinching. A disadvantage is some people claim this mouthpiece can sit strangely in the horse’s mouth.

English Dee Ring

A Dee ring bit is a very mild cheekpiece which uses lateral pressure to help reinforce a rider’s rein aids; i.e. if you pull on the right rein, the left cheekpiece will come in contact with the horse’s left cheek and lips. The dee can be quite helpful in teaching young or green horses to turn and listen to rein aids. The dee can also be helpful to encourage a horse to accept and seek rein contact. There is no chance of this cheekpiece pinching the lips.

Western Dee

Acts like the English Dee Ring with slightly less contact surface on the cheeks. Still a nice bit for schooling the English horse with, just never use it in the English showring.

Full Cheek

The ultimate in lateral pressure, (; i.e. if you pull on the right rein, the left cheekpiece will come in contact with the horse’s left cheek and lips) this mild cheekpice is great for starting young horses in. Used with bit keepers, this bit cannot be pulled through the mouth for its long “arms” and so is ideal to start the young horse that might pull on the bit in. Bit keepers are to keep the “arms” of the bit secure, and the mouthpiece of the bit rotated in the correct position. One disadvantage of this mouthpiece is that the arms can get caught if the horse tries to rub its head on something like a fence, its boots, etc.

Fulmer

A very nice bit that combines the loose ring and full cheek bit together in one harmonious piece. Unfortunately, this cheekpiece is fairly rare.

Pelham

For experienced riders only. Uses curb chain action on the horse’s chin. The bridle attaches to the uppermost ring, the snaffle rein attaches to the big ring, the curb rein attaches to the little loosering. The idea with the Pelham is to ride on the snaffle rein 98% of the time, and just “tweak” the curb rein as needed for a little extra “listen to me” power communicated to the horse. A relatively mild bit when used correctly, by that I mean the rider should stay on the snaffle rein only most of the time; the curb rein should not be used in excess. Many riders misuse this bit and/or have a hard time figuring out 4 reins, which is why I labelled it “experienced riders only.”

Kimberwicke

For experienced riders only. Uses a curb chain on the horse’s chin. The bridle attaches to the small vertical-type ring at the top, then the reins attach to either of the slots. This bit is much less refined than a Pelham, when it comes to discussing English curb bits. The problem with the kimberwicke is that you have no refinement, no snaffle rein, therefore no relief from the curb action of the bit. This can be quite bothersome to horses that don’t need the curb action on a bit. I much prefer a Pelham.

Gag

For experienced riders only, this cheekpiece can be severe. The cheekpiece can be a loose ring, eggbutt or dee, this bit has holes drilled vertically through the rings so a piece of leather or rope or string can be inserted. The idea behind a gag is when the rider pulls, the cheekpiece slides up the rope to exert more pressure on the lips of the horse and pull them backwards. It also exerts poll pressure. The one nice thing about this terminal gag is the piece of leather at the top of the image limits how far the bit can slide upwards. The bridle is attached to the top buckle, the rein attached to the ring at the end of the piece of leather at the bottom of the image.

Draw Gag

For experienced riders only. Same function as the above gag, but has no termination ends. This bit can be pulled up to the horse’s eyeballs if need be. Usually used in conjunction with a harsh mouthpiece, as shown with a single twisted wire. The reins are attached to the loop below the cheekpiece. Mostly seen used by western riders.

Elevator

For experienced riders only. Can have as little as 3 rings (bridle ring, and two rein rings) or as many as … 5? 10? The norm is 2 or 3 rein rings. This bit should be used with two sets of reins; one on the snaffle (biggest) ring, and the second rein on the “gag” action ring (smaller ring) but this has become an uncommon practice; most people just ride on the gag action ring now. This bit reacts much in the same way as a gag in the fact that it uses poll pressure.
 
#6 ·
#9 ·
#7 · (Edited)
Good link KV!
Horse Sport ran an article a few months ago that showed that the single joint does protrude upwards, but the horse's tongue seems to depress downwards to alleviate any palate discomfort. It's trading one discomfort for another, though, and should be viewed as potential pain still; just different.
This is a recent study, so they might find out other things later on, too :)
 
#11 ·
I was just wondering what peoples opinion is of the Myler/Billy Allen bit versus the KK/Sprenger bit?

I've generally always used a KK/Sprenger but i've been looking into bits and have been thinking that perhaps a slightly finer bit may be better, i've heard some recommendations about the Myler but never heard anyone go into it.
 
#12 ·
My horse was really confused with the Myler after I switched her from french link (up to the point she didn't look very happy). So... I ended up returning it to the store and getting Mikmar lorenzo (whatever the spelling is).

I have KK oval mouth for my other horse (just changed recently from the french link), and it does look pretty fine to me. :)
 
#16 ·
That really helped me narrow my selection of bits to try! now if I could only find a 6 inch bit in a tack store instead of only online I'll be good! I'm going between loose ring french link or loose ring anything with more than just one link. right now it looks like french link, it's been highly recommended so far by a few trainers and friends.
 
#18 ·
Is there any way I can get ahold of this article in PDF format and use it for educating some kids I volunteer riding instruction to? I love the info, and the fact that youve done all the work, it would make a great handout!
 
#20 ·
Just a note - the slow twist and corkscrew are not necessarily harsh - they are harsher than a plain snaffle but some horses prefer either of these bits to a dr. bristol depending on mouth conformation and tongue skin thickness. When you're talking details like this you're talking far beyond your average bitting, but I've also known horses to prefer a corkscrew to a slow twist and vice versa - all depending on the conformation of the mouth and individual horse.

My one TB jumper is an exception to a lot of bitting rules - hates a single jointed mouthpiece more than anything as he has a low soft palate and it hits the roof of his mouth and causes pain. He's very sensitive mouthed so even a three piece (of nearly any variety) he is resistant to. He prefers a mullen pelham - mullen b/c it's simple and pelham b/c he doesn't mind some leverage and this allows me to fine tune my cues to him (and in all reality the curb primarily acts as an e-brake since the mullen snaffle offers very little control OR communication due to it's simplicity).

I also have a horse that goes in a waterford full time - he's a rescue here that has been adopted and is boarded with us. He's another exception in that he had severe damage done to his tongue on the track and has massive scar tissue. In his case the waterford doesn't have the same jaw-breaker feel it can give other horses b/c his tongue's scar tissue is in the way. While normally a relatively severe bit, in his case it's one of the few bits he can actually FEEL and receive communication from, and he prefers it as otherwise he feels as if he doesn't hear/understand what the rider is saying.

These are just a few examples of horses I've seen over the years, and the uses for these bits. Every horse is an individual and a good rule of thumb to test a bit's harshness is to put it in the crook of your elbow, close your arm, and ask someone to "pull on the reins" which will in essence recreate the feel of the bit in the horses mouth - just imagine that it was much more sensitive tissue than the skin on your arm...

Always remember, what works for one horse may not work for another, although there are ALWAYS some bits imo that are to be avoided for riding at ANY cost such as the bike chain, regular chain, and double twisted offset wire.

ONCE I had a use for a double twisted wire and it was this: OTTB 4 years old, leaning heavily on the bit regardless of what you asked him to do. To test for nerve damage, put the twisted bit on him on the LONGE ONLY for a few minutes. Used side reins set too loose on purpose - not to encourage him down, only to act if he literally reached to the ground as he had a habit of leaning immensely. Well, as soon as he started to walk, and then same at the trot, he rooted (or so it appeared) and actually leaned ON the side reins and bit without being phased at all. We were pretty sure that he had nerve damage from whatever happened to him on the track, and called a chiro and a vet. Turns out he had a compressed vert in his neck that was reducing nerve sensations from that vert forward, which is why he would lean regardless of what you did, what bit, etc. He simply couldn't feel it. As for asking him to move forward and engage, he actually wouldn't respond to leg. We found out tragically a few months later that he had intestinal cancer (yes, at this point he was barely 5 years old) and literally lost feeling in his sides due to the tumors. It was the most bizarre case I've ever encountered but wanted to share as I found it interesting how in this case a bit I had only from confiscating it from a former client actually help start us on the track to diagnose the horse's multitude of medical issues.
 
#26 ·
I have to disagree with you, chain mouth pieces are very soft. They form great to the horses mouth and are great for starting horses. Bits are only as strong as their users. I have seen plenty of people pull their horses faces off with plain snaffle bits.
 
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#27 ·
Thank you for your opinion. I agree that a bit is only as harsh as the hands behind it, but I would never slap a chain bit on a horse with a relatively inexperienced rider; the possibility of something going wrong or hurting the horse is much greater with a chain mouthpiece than a solid mouthpiece.
I'm sure in the right hands, a chain mouthpiece is an okay training tool... though my horse will never see one and I won't encourage people to purchase one for their horses either. If you so much as see-saw a little with your hands, that chain can bite pretty good.
 
#29 ·
First of all, it's Baucher. Second of all the guy who invented the bit also advocated for Rolkur.
The top ring connects to the cheek piece and the bottom ring connects to the rein. A lot of people will try to tell you it's a leverage bit.. I disagree. It's exactly like using a dutch gag on the snaffle ring. Apparently if the horse lifts its head there is some magical leverage action, which I find doubtful. To me, it just seems like it would act almost like a full cheek.
 
#30 ·
Accourding to Dover its Boucher - Happy Mouth Boucher, and AlBaCon Boucher is what they sell, and thats the only way I even know it exists so I was just going on that. Googling Baucher I see that the mans name was spelt Baucher, you'd better tell Dover that!

I had my doubts on it being a leverage bit as it is dressage legal so I was curious on what it actually does do.
http://equestrian.doversaddlery.com...e&view=list&ids=620604718&dmi_offer_code=SITE
 
#31 ·
A Baucher is attached to the headstall. Though some argue it adds poll pressure, but I can't see how that happens. The idea with the boucher is that it's stable, much like a full cheek, so you have less "noise" and the bit sits at a certain angle in the horse's mouth.
Hope that helps!
 
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