I never really knew why my mare was in a full cheek, but she works fine in it.
My question is: I know the full cheek can have an attachment to the bridle, keeping the bit upright in place. What is the purpose of that? My mare doesn't have hers like that, so then should I put her in a regular D ring? I'm new to learning the importance of tack, and I just want my ponies to be comfy. Posted via Mobile Device
Sorry if this is a small derail, but SR is this what you use??
I bought this from another poster on here and I tried it on Bert today and she seems to be very happy in it, cross fingers and hope that it works for her.
I don't think "placement" is the correct word - but Angle is. The bit was designed to sit in the horses mouth. With the keepers, the bit rests in the mouth at the angle it was designed to sit.
I use keepers, because I want the bit to be placed properly in my horses mouth as it is designed to rest.
I asked this question in another thread, and still have not received a satisfactory answer, so here goes again:
What do you mean by "rotated correctly in the mouth?" I saw in the opening post that you mentioned the correct orientation of the mouthpiece, but it seems to me that tilting it back with a keeper would actually negatively affect the position of the joint. Of the full cheek snaffles I've seen (which, admittedly, is only a handful), the mouthpiece is always perpendicular to the cheeks, just like in an eggbutt or D-ring. You don't rotate those for everyday use....and if you rotate the full cheek using keepers, aren't you going to bring the joint down so that it breaks over the tongue rather than straight back? It seems that this would also influence the ability to do any sort of lateral reining, as, unless your horse is carrying a perfectly vertical headset, you'll be pulling across the joint rather than breaking it.... (this all makes sense in the picture in my head, but I'm afraid it's not coming out in words very clearly)
The safety thing I understand, so I always try to be hyper-aware when using my keeper-less full cheek.
I guess I don't really understand either. I get the safety aspect of the whole thing to keep them from getting hung up on something, but the orientation of the mouthpiece in that second picture seems no different to me than that of your typical D-ring, Eggbutt, or loose ring.
Now, I'm not trying to be snooty or anything, I'm just trying to understand because I honestly don't see the difference between the orientation of the mouth on these 3 bits and the one posted above with no keepers or why these 3 are okay but that one isn't.
The way I see it is that horses like different things. The keepers keep the bit still in the mouth in a certain position - much like the baucher/hanging cheek snaffle. Some horses prefer a stiller bit. The rotation in the mouth also isn't necessarily better/worse - just different, another option for horses who may need one.
The safety aspect is separate - to stop the cheeks getting caught on anything. Posted via Mobile Device
When the Dr Bristol was invented, it was only offered in a full cheek, because the uniqueness of the bit came from the angle of the center plate. It was intended to lie at a 45* angle to the tongue, so it would dig into the tongue when pressure was applied to the reins.
The bit was intended to sit in the horses mouth in a particular position - that is why you use the keepers. We now see the Full Cheek mainly in the single jointed mouthpiece. If the keepers are not used, that single joint puts pressure on the tongue *as any single jointed mouthpiece does*.
Also, the mouthpiece of the Fullcheek with the keepers, is positioned in a more "up" position and keeps the bit more stable and solidified in the horses mouth.
So in sense, the keepers keep the bit angled correctly in the horses mouth, and keeps the bit stabalized/fixed, and balanced.
The Full Cheek, without the keepers, will act more like a D Ring or an eggbutt - no stability, no keeping the bit fixed/balanced in the horses mouth. If you are going to use a full cheek without the keepers, you may as well use the D Ring or the Eggbutt.
Wild spot and MI have it right. That is what makes a full cheek different, not just the cheek pieces. The bit keepers stabilize the bit and hold it at a consistent angle. The safety reasons are very valid. I have seen the cheeks of a full cheek get tangled in a number of things causing bad wrecks. I have been stabbed by a student's unkept bit when her horse tried to rub on me. OUCH!
Okay, so basically it's not so much that the lay of the mouth is wrong, it's just a different type of bit that's designed to be used in a particular way to give a different action and feel.
How would that work? I used a full cheek with & without keepers, made no difference that I noticed other than the fact that it keep things from getting caught up on it.
This is a little redneck, but until I found a tack shop that carried bit keepers, I used a piece of string to make my own bit keepers for my Appaloosa mare, Fancy. Bale string, actually. Looked crappy, but it worked.
Yep! Back in Pony Club, I remember loosing one of my keepers when I was swapping bits from my dressage bit to my XC bit - I used a rubber band that you use for braiding manes - did the job.
The Full cheek is NOT supposed to be used with keepers. This is why the cheeks are shorter than the Fulmer. It's purpose is to stop the horse from being able to slide the bit through its mouth. Because of the short length they do dig into the side of the face often trapping part of the cheek between the top teeth and the bit cheek.
A FULMER is however supposed to have the keepers. The bit is shaped at the top to prevent the cheeks from digging in and to keep the keepers from sliding off. They keep the bit very static and the loose rings give a finer tuning then with a Full Cheek. The Spanish Riding school use the Fulmer at all stages of training from the young horse to Advanced work In-hand.
It is my understanding that Dr Bristol full cheek snaffles are designed specifically to be used with keepers, due to the way they are angled in the mouth. Without the keepers, they lose a lot of their proper action. Posted via Mobile Device
No - the Dr Bristol needs the mouthpiece to drop in the mouth to have the plate at the correct angle. If you fix the mouthpiece you alter the angle of the plate and make the bit extremely severe.
Then mine must be much different, because the plate lays flat on my mare's tongue when the keepers are on and angles when they are not and the bit moves. Posted via Mobile Device
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