expensive bits , are they really worth it or just a fad ?

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angelish

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hi all

i have been having a few contact issues and have been looking at different bits ,some of them are so expensive :eek:
i borrowed a neu skuel (sp :o ) of a friend and it made him worse so have decided its my riding that needs the money spent on it ;) :D

so was wondering are they really worth the money or just a fad ?
also i was thinking some of the dressage legal ones look as though they would make the steward question if they are legal , all you need when warming up ,has any one had any problems ?
 
depends. the design (eg shape and angle of lozenge) of some bits are only available in the Neue Schule or Sprenger ranges, and if your horses mouth only suits that particular style then clearly it would be worth buying one.

IMO the NS are better value than the sprenger, and iv yet to find a horse that doesnt go better in one of those than in a normal snaffle, normal french link etc.
 
Prince33Sp4rkle said:
depends. the design (eg shape and angle of lozenge) of some bits are only available in the Neue Schule or Sprenger ranges, and if your horses mouth only suits that particular style then clearly it would be worth buying one.

IMO the NS are better value than the sprenger, and iv yet to find a horse that doesnt go better in one of those than in a normal snaffle, normal french link etc.
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oh interesting that makes sense , but mine does seem to like his normal french link rather than the one i tried , maybe it was the wrong shape for his mouth, will try and find some were that hires them around here and try some other shapes
(have checked his teeth etc )
 
I've often wondered the same.... my lad has a cottage craft lozenge full cheek snaffle. It's got copper in it apparently too. It's got a lozenge..... how different can one lozenge be from another?

I'm curious what dressage legal 'suspicious' looking bits you've come across though, how 'different' can a snaffle look??
 
Personally I like some of the mylers, never tried a neue schule but had a KK sprenger universal for my old showjumoer and it was awful! £175 for a bit which just I don't feel does anything and most my horses were acting like they were getting mixed messages in it. However, I don't know what the normal dressag elegal bits are like, but if its the material you are interested in, probably better getting a copper or sweet iron bit.
 
sol , some of them have curved mouth pieces or different links in middle of them , im just curious weather or not any one has been questioned at a competition as i would hate to be warming up and be questioned about the bit

schneeko , yes i have opened the mouth of a horse when helping at a RC comp to find a doc bristol hiding in there once , the poor girl didn't know and thought it was a normal snaffle or she was a very good lier ;)
 
how different can one lozenge be from another

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very!!!!! CS will only go in his neue schule team up, any other bit, any other lozenge and he refuses to go forward,eventually grinds to a halt, then threatens to go up.

there are def some horses that dont care-Bruce goes the same in everything from a rubber straight bar to the thinnest lozenge snaffle, he literally couldnt give a toss, but he has a roomy mouth, and a very average palate and tongue so is relatively unaffected by the width of the bit or the way the lozenge sits. CS on the other hand has a dinky mouth, very thin gummed, with a lower than average palate and is very sensetive about his tongue.

if you can hold of one , id advise you to try a neue schule team up in the 16mm, it really has helped every horse that has come to me with a mouth/contact problem. around £30 so really not that bad if you buy one.
 
I am another fan of Neue Schule bits and so are most of our horses, except for one, she will only work properly in an eggbutt French link.

Just wondering what nose band you use. The above mentioned mare has been ridden in a plain cavesson and a flash, she isn't over fond of either, but this week I have tried an drop with the french link, it has made a huge difference to the ladyships happiness and way of going:)
 
hi will see if i can find a team up worth a try ta

he is in a flash noseband with a loose ring french link for dressage and a plain cavesson with a pelham for jumping (doesn't need it for breaks really but he can nap really badly so need extra help sometimes)

i was just curious weather they were worth the money really but maybe you may have some ideas to try

the main problem is that he leans on the bit and i find him really difficult to hold together ,he is quite a big laid back irish type and i am used to riding fissy forward ponies or sensitive TB's
iv'e had him since a baby and couldn't part with him but he is really not my type if you know what i mean but i really want to sort this out
i did try a warterford and he went really well in this , light ,forward, settled etc but obviously not dressage legal
 
In two minds about this, realy does depend on the pony. I have one who goes so much better in a Neau Schule (NS), just hates the french link. Then another who goes spot on in a french link. Another who has a happy mouth in with a roller in the centre. I do rate NS. Dislike mylers. Not tried any other expensive ones.
 
They can make a lot of difference as said. My old boy was notouriously hard to bit for jumping (although would school advanced medium in a snaffle!) it was a NS western bit that ultimate turned out to be 'the' bit for him. It granted only cost me £12 but they are a lot more new ;)

Snaffle wise as well I have a 'wonder' bit, not sure of the brand but its effectively just like a sprenger lozenge snaffle (copper mix) but it isn't an NS bit. I got it from badders few years back from one of the dressage specialist shops who had a 'bargins' bin. It was still £30 but best £30 I've spent. Every horse I ride it in loves it.
 
Hmm i guess some horses are most comforrtable in one, so i guess its ok for some
but the price is stupid if the horse is just a cowbag like mine just do school and go back to cheap bits :rolleyes: but if there most comfortable in them, why not?
 
Worth it, but try before you buy so you know for sure. I bought a sprenger kk snaffle on ebay for much less than rrp and it has been brilliant, really pleased with it.
 
My horse was in a myler low port eggbutt comfort and he used to feel quite heavy in it but accepted it and never evaded the contact.

To go dressage legal I was recommended the NS verdinbend as its dressage legal and helps to lift the front. I hired it from Horsebitbank and trialled it and to start with it did help and really lifted his front and lightened in. But he started evading the bit and running through the bridle when I applied any contact and he started evading by putting his head high and mouth up so I had no control. :eek:

Rang NS for advice and they recommended the Team up as the verbindend was the next level up for the stage we were at. He has been going fine in the team up 16mm and its also dressage legal.:)

I like the mylers and the NS both been good but do get a completely different feel and work from my horse in them. Your best trialling a few and finding the one that works well before buying. I seem to have such a collection of bits with this horse whereas my previous horse had one bit all her 19 years with me!!
 
Just a thought is it The Bit Bank that hire out bits, a friend of mine is trying a few different bits atm and is very impressed that they are very reasonable to hire
 
We don't get NS bits here, so can't comment on them. What I will say though, is after I got my ex-racer I was advised to use a Sprenger bit. The KK ultra snaffle to be precise. I used it for a couple years without even considering trying another bit. For some reason it never crossed my mind. He didn't hate it or anything. Anyway, I got hold of a bog standard french link loose ring, popped it in and he's waaaaaay happier. He takes the contact more, seems to be a little wetter in his mouth and just generally more happy, even my instructors noticed straight away.

Next thing is for me to try with an eggbut :P
 
My horse loves the NS loose ring with lozenge. He is warmblood withwuite big tongue and low palate so not much room in there for bit. He is also very sensitive and hated single jointed bits. The eggbut he leant on and he just didnt seem to soften very much in normal stainless steel. So rung NS and they recommended me the bit and I bought and have never looked back. He loves it and gets plenty of white lipstick lol. In fact he likes it so much I
 
Only if thats the only bit your horse is happy in. I have tried the lot with my cob, who leans on your hands and like most cobs, tends to be on the forehand, and we have always come back to our trusty old favourites - a mullen mouth pelham for hunting and going for a canter, as we have braking issues, and a plain old eggbut snaffle for hacking, schooling and the odd dressage test.

Mini TX's eventer is the same - just a plain and simple eggbut snaffle for dressage and a fulmer snaffle for xc and showjumping.

Have wasted shed loads of money trying Myler, NS, sprenger and god knows what else. Reckon the old tried and trusted bits like snaffles, pelhams are definitely the best.
 
My old horse had a sprenger snaffle. However I changed to a bog standard l/w hollowmouth eggbut snaffle... OMG she went SO much better! She was sensitive and she liked the lightness if it with the security, it was the bit for her. I went back to the sprenger for a short while and she went back to being really insecure in the contact.

I put current horse in it but he always tried to go behind the bit and tbh he needed full cheeks as he was young and a bit wobbly. He has a normal full cheek French link snaffle now and he's much better, he seeks the contact forwards in this bit which is something he never did in the sprenger.

I don't know why this is... The only thing I can think of is that the sprenger is SO heavy. It's a bit strange though how I have had 2 horses, both of which didn't like the bit. I wouldn't spend the money on an expensive bit again, my current horse goes beautifully in his £15 bit.
 
I bought a Neue Schule Verbindend snaffle for our 14.2 pony that was very heavy in the hands and liked to lean (when we got him he had very little mouth at all and has progressed via a waterford snaffle) and it seemed to work like a miracle. He loves it and his training has come on leaps and bounds - a few months later he is light in the hands and getting 65% in tests. I tried the same bit on our other connnie pony who has a different problem - he is behind the bit and not enough in the hands as he evades contact, and he just stopped going forwards completely and after I tried to readjust his attitude with my legs and schooling whip he tried to buck me off, he hated it so much! I would trial the verbindend for your horse before purchasing. The connie now has a mylar hanging snaffle with a lozenge and relatively happy in it (doesn't like schooling though).
 
What nobody's mentioned, and I think is possibly very important, is the quality of the metal itself. Cheap metal might leach oxides into the horse's mouth when mixed with saliva. You don't risk that with medical-grade stainless steel (which Hippus bits are made of.)
Also, if we are talking single-joint bits, cheap bits are often VERY asymmetrical, one side short and fat, the other longer and thinner... you can really see this if you hold a single-joint bit up by the joint and compare the two parallel sides (I was shown this by a bit manufacturer).
I use Sprenger, Hippus and Myler bits on my horses, 99% of the time. I won't use NS because I've heard more than one report of one of theirs snapping... just not a risk I am prepared to take.
I can't understand people being stingy when it comes to buying bits - apart from the saddle (and ones own body, aids etc obv!), it is THE most important means of communicating with the horse. I can't type on a crappy useless keyboard and get my meaning across, so why would I try to use a cheap crappy bit to communicate with my horses?
The anecdotes above show that it's 99% trial and error though... what one horse LOVES, another won't go a yard in. C'est la vie.
 
It's horses for courses tbh! My last horse loved his neue schule bits, he had a teeny mouth, and big teeth, so didn;t have much room! A skinny shaped NS bit fitted his mouth well and he was comfortable in it.

My mare has a very expensive KK dynamic eggbut, which she mouths well in, but actually we find she "holds" herself off it slightly... she goes much better in her £12 straight bar happy mouth snaffle ;)

It really does vary :D I do like the quality of the more expensive bits though! :)
 
I mostly use one of a collection of NS bits that I have, however I've had two of the full-cheek Cottage Craft NS look-a-likes recently and have been very pleased with them. Think they were about £18 each.

Every so often I come across a horse which is a bit 'fiddly' in the mouth (like Archie was when he arrived) and I think the trick with these is to give them less to play with. I ditched the lozenge and went for a single-jointed happy mouth (though I might have been tempted by a straight bar if I'd had one small enough!). He's got much less to fiddle with and goes much better in it - he would always have had a single jointed bit in racing anyway. Generally after the contact is better established you can then move them back to a more 'grown-up' bit.
 
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