Discuss these bits

Hi everyone,

I am interested in any opinions / experiences you have with these three bit styles.

What I am most interested in would be,

A) did it stop an unwanted behavior (and what was the behavior)
B) temperment of the horse
C) riding use

Thanks in advance for your answers!

I use the third bit on all my horses when I trail ride. I use it on two tennessee walkers and on my quarter horses. The curved S shanks have kept my tennessee walkers from pulling the shanks into their mouths. It is a very mild bit and is good for horses with soft mouths. The temperments of the horses that I use it on range from complete dead head to raging firecracker. I love this bit and I keep buying them for each of my horses. I love how there is a lot of independed movement of the shanks and the mouthpiece swivels to allow a lot of control of the horse. I would def recommend this bit!

I would think the third bit the best of the lot. It can not collapse inward due to the barrel center part. The other two are the sometimes confusing combination of a broken snaffle, and a shanked curb. Gives so many different points of pressure that it's not as clear as either a plain snaffle or a plain curb.

Agreed re: third bit - it's a myler and i'm a huge fan of their bits

That bit is actually not a Myler, Myler makes a bit very similar to that. The one pictured is actually a different version that you can pick up for about $20. It does the same thing as the Myler without the pricetag.

I'm in agreement with the others. I like the third bit. It has a low port that will give you a bit of tongue relief and you can still move each side of the bit independently if you need to. It's not as showy as the other two but it's a good functional bit.

I am not a fan of the first two bits. The snaffle style jointed mouthpiece on a shanked bit is crappy theory of a transition bit. I don't mind one of those with a dog bone in the middle and short ,swept back shanks. I had a Keith Welling bit built like I just described and I got by with well but eventually traded it off.

Also I noted on the first two bits the mouthpiece placement was a little different. On one bit the mouthpeice was placed a little forward of the shanks than the other...that will change the balance, a long with the curvature of the shanks themselves. Also one appears to have a longer/higher purchase than the other intensifying the leverage.

The third bit is great if you have big thick tongued horses that like the tongue relief. Two out of four of my own horses would not like that bit.(again these are my horses)

I have two that love palate pressure and are very happy packing a bit on their tongue. They get rode in a half breed with a roller and a spade with a roller.
And I have two that have very sensitive palates and prefer bar pressure and less on their tongues. They like a low square port with short shanks.(but even then it doesn't have the amount of tongue relief as the bit pictured above) Or with Stilts I can ride in a 5/8 bosal and not have to worry about his mouth..lol
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Thank you! What purpose does the little roller serve?

That is the deceiving part about this bit. The roller looking thing in the middle is not actually a roller. The port is actually broken inside the roller looking thing and the port can move around independently on each side. This just gives the bit a lot of fluidity (sp?) and ability to really control all parts of your horse.

I am LOVING the responses! Thank you everyone. Cowchick, how do you know if your horse has a thick tongue or not? Does it slur its speech? I hear/read about tongue relief and I have no idea what that means or how to know if my horse is struggling with his tongue.