Choosing bits for Double Bridle

[TimmyTippyToes2]

I am looking to try my pony in a double bridle, but i am unsure on how to go about choosing the right two bits. Just wondering if anybody could help explain how you go about choosing the right set of bits?

Any help would be much appreciated

 

[Halfstep]

I asked my EDT for an assessment of his mouth conformation and went from there. My horse has a low palette and a fat tongue so on his advice I went for the KK cut back square port weymouth and a thin-ish lozenge bradoon. He's always been very comfortable in them. As an experiment I tried him in a different KK weymouth (the gently curved away one) and he hated it!

 

[CastleMouse]

I intended to 'experiment' with a couple at first, but the thankfully the first combination I tried suited my horse

I use a thin french link bradoon (loose-ring) and ported sliding cheek weymouth.

 

[FrodoBeutlin]

The bradoon is the same as his snaffle, just thinner. The weymouth was chosen because it has very short shanks, it's a "baby" weymouth really
Both are KK / KK ultra (probably spent more on the two bits than on the bridle itself!)
Ah, this may sound obvious but I had no idea - the weymouth is supposed to be one size smaller than the bradoon.

 

[Halfstep]

Sizing clarification: the weymouth needs to be 1/4' or 1/2' smaller than the bradoon depending on the horse. So, if your horse takes a normal 5 1/2' snaffle, use a 5 1/2' bradoon and either a 5 1/4' weymouth or a 5' weymouth depending on how fleshy the horse's cheeks are!

 

[FrodoBeutlin]

Yes, sorry. (I was thinking in cms, 13,5 etc where one size = 0.5 cms)

 

[lauraandjack]

Convention says you should use a fixed cheek weymouth with an eggbutt bridoon (for horses that are fussy in the mouth) and a sliding cheek weymouth with a loose ring bridoon, but not all horses have read the textbook!

According to convention my horse shouldn't like a double bridle at all, because he is a cob with a fleshy mouth and shouldn't have room to cope with 2 bits. He does not go nicely in a pelham so I borrowed a weymouth set from a friend and he loves it!

 

[TimmyTippyToes2]

Thank you all! I will get experimenting