Can anyone suggest a reputable online bit bank with no hidden catches?

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tobysg

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Looking for a reliable, easy to use, no ties bit bank where I can try a few bits and find 'the one'.
Can anyone give me a good site they have used as I am not a fan of handing over my card details and money to a site i've only ever discovered through google!

Plus, while reading possibly throw in a bit of bit advice whilst here...

A Welsh cob mare built like a tank with massive shoulders and a cresty neck with powerful hindquarters to match.
Forward going yet lacks consistency.fast, slow, fast, slow, nice n steady, super fast then back slow etc etc!

Her evasion of working on the bit properly vary from grabbing the bit,leaning, backing off the contact, overbending, head in the sky, spooking, head to one side pretending you're pulling her to the fence. clever pony!

Having said this she will go very nicely when she does go and does so when she is ridden properly yet in her head is constantly trying to find a way out. we can get about a lap of proper work before she finds a good evasion!

She can't be ridden in a joint as when pressure is applied she puts her head up very high and tries to run away from it and gets rather upset.we stay away from joints and this never happens!

She is ridden in a mullen mouth pelham and goes lovely mostly however sometimes it is too much for her and can get behind it/overbend as there is too much curb and poll action for her. not good for jumping as she doesn't look where she's going!!
So I am looking for something with less severity and I need a dressage legal bit!
I ride her in a pelham for times when I feel she needs it and showing but trying to get her out of it for the Winter as her show season has ended.
She goes lovely in a ported kimblewick for everything and doesn't get behind it yet this is not dressage legal!

I have been riding in a simple straight bar rubber loose ring and have good brakes schooling and fast hacking yet it is too thick in her mouth and she sticks her (rather large) tongue out and there is more variety of evasions in this than any curb bits!

I want a cambridge mouth snaffle bit but can't find one without ridiculously tiny bit rings in a 5.5, know of any for sale with normal sized bit rings anywhere please let me know.

I also want to try a myler low port comfort snaffle but they are rather expensive for me to try and potentially not use so looking to rent a few and find one that suits her mouth shape of a large tongue, not alot of space inside.

Any suggestions welcome.
Please note we are a working progress and don't expect a bit to solve any of the evasions, only schooling, however I want to find a bit that she is comfortable in.
 
I'd suggest a slim mullen mouth eggbutt for your dressage legal bit, this should still be comfortable in her mouth but a lot less pressure than your pelham.
Or the same mouth piece with hanging cheeks would raise the mouth piece slightly so it would give her tongue a bit more room.
 
Don't know any good bit banks and I don't want to sell any of my bits but I do have quite a wide selection (including Mylers) which you are welcome to try if you cover postage. PM me if interested
 
Frankly, you must be very naive to imagine that any Bit Bank will allow you to trial their bits without giving your card details, you don't trust them, why should they trust you? To imagine that you can have a succession of bits to try, without giving your personal details, beggars belief, they have a living to make, if it were to be based on trust alone, they wouldn't survive for very long!
 
Not much good with the advice but i use this company ....... http://www.bitworld.co.uk/contactus.html
They are very knowledgable and happy to help however they are obviously not going to send you bits out to try for free, they have a trial service ( or certainly used to ) whereby you pay the full price of the bit and can use it for upto 4 weeks if it works you keep it if not you return it and they either send you something else to try or refund you less a % for the trial.
 
I feel your pain...had similar problems trying to bit my AA. hes very sensitive in the mouth, with a fleshy tongue. I cant use anything with a joint or link in the middle. have a few different types of mylers, without ports, and he does go quite nicely in them but I neeed extra brakes for endurance rides...getting your shoulders pulled out for the whole 50 miles is not reccomended. I was reluctant to try a pelham because I always thought it would be way too much for him, but wish i had sooner. what a difference. so much more relaxed, head carriage lower etc. less tension over his back. i have it with two reins as I think using roundings would be too much and to be honest, have never even used the curb rein..its just there in case. so for dressage I went for a hanging mullen mouth snaffle which is the same as the top part of my pelham.....he doesnt go as nicely as he does in the pelham, but better than the millions of other bits I tried. i also tried the cambridge snaffle....coulnt find one with normal sze rings...i was told its because they are mainly designed for ponies. it didnt look too bad on mine as he only has a little head...but I had trouble taking the bridle off as i think the little port catches on his palate when hes letting it go , which resulted in leaping backwards and trying to fling bridle off but keeping hold of it at same time. so i stopped using it. so maybe try the hanging straight bar snaffle... i think mine was about £15. did have to go up a size for some reason though as my normal size was too small but thats probably just the one manufacturer. good luck..its a minefield!
 
SilverSkye said:
Not much good with the advice but i use this company ....... http://www.bitworld.co.uk/contactus.html
They are very knowledgable and happy to help however they are obviously not going to send you bits out to try for free, they have a trial service ( or certainly used to ) whereby you pay the full price of the bit and can use it for upto 4 weeks if it works you keep it if not you return it and they either send you something else to try or refund you less a % for the trial.
Click to expand...

I was in Bit World only the this week - they are fab there.
 
boneo said:
Frankly, you must be very naive to imagine that any Bit Bank will allow you to trial their bits without giving your card details, you don't trust them, why should they trust you? To imagine that you can have a succession of bits to try, without giving your personal details, beggars belief, they have a living to make, if it were to be based on trust alone, they wouldn't survive for very long!
Click to expand...

I think I have not worded this correctly or you have got the wrong end of the stick.
What I am getting at is I want to go to a REPUTABLE site. Not a site I've never heard of before and just picked up on google with no feedback from anybody.
Obviously I am willing to pay and do alot of online shopping.
The places I DO give away my card details have a good reputation and are used regularly by people I know and I know they are a running business unlike something I've never heard of.
No, I'm not naive and don't expect people to hand over things for free. Thanks for the assumption anyway, I 'assumed' that readers would not consider me or anyone that stupid to be honest :S
 
Hey thank you.
No I haven't tried any bitless but I do want to as she is very responsive to nose pressure when being led and I like the idea of bitless but I do not own one!
I would like to try a hackamore although I hear mixed feelings about them and some say they are very strong,however I think they wouldn't be any stronger than a pelham just not in her mouth!
Thanks for website suggestions, I'll go have a gander :)
 
tobysg said:
I think I have not worded this correctly or you have got the wrong end of the stick.
What I am getting at is I want to go to a REPUTABLE site. Not a site I've never heard of before and just picked up on google with no feedback from anybody.
Obviously I am willing to pay and do alot of online shopping.
The places I DO give away my card details have a good reputation and are used regularly by people I know and I know they are a running business unlike something I've never heard of.
No, I'm not naive and don't expect people to hand over things for free. Thanks for the assumption anyway, I 'assumed' that readers would not consider me or anyone that stupid to be honest :S
Click to expand...

i got what you meant, i thought it was worded perfectly clearly tbh, so cant imagine where the confusion arose ;)

horse bit bank seem to have a good rep
 
On the actual suggestions front, my instructor recommended a loose ring sprenger duo which is a plastic jointless thing with plenty of room for the tongue - my little mare is going very sweetly in it and they are cheap as chips on ebay (!!), the trick is finding the "old" type with two alternatives, depending on the size of the tongue i.e this http://www.thehorsebitshop.co.uk/product.php?xProd=196&xSec=37
not http://www.bitworld.co.uk/ourshop/prod_787030-Sprenger-Duo.html

I believe there is a similar bit called a nathe if you can't find a sprenger ! Best of luck
 
tobySG have you had her back/neck/poll checked out by a chiropractor? Discomfort in any of these areas will often manifest itself in the horses attitude to the bridle.

If not already done have teeth checked.

A hanging cheek snaffle with a Cambridge mouth may be a good choice - I've had similar problems with my Clyde mare - it's very fustrating.
 
This is where I've used in the past
http://www.thehorsebitshop.co.uk/
you can trial a bit for a month, trials prices starting at £6.50. At the end of the trial, if you want to keep the bit but have a newer one (sometimes they send out 'used' but fully decent bits) as long as you post the trial one back they will send a new one out and debit the balance from your bank card.
No problems with them, and will always go back there. hope that helps!
 
Tobysg, if you're going down the hiring route then get yourself a Myler hanging cheek low port comfort snaffle. My big beast does the same as yours (v clever) I've tried the myler twice now and it's like some sort of miracle. Light, soft, flexible, moves off the leg the moment I ask, paying attention and, most importantly, I can stop ;) I've got mine on hire but I'd rather cut off my own feet than send it back. £70 but well worth it so far. I just hope the effects don't wear off...
 
Just ordered a Rev Loose Ring with Lozenge for my boy off thehorsebitshop.co.uk

I have used them before and never had any problems with them :)
 
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