Happy tongue bits (Bombers bits) advice

Wagtail

Wagtail

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Does anyone have one of these? I am thinking of getting one for my mare who is quite fussy in her mouth. I don't know whether to go for the normal loose ring or the eggbutt loose ring. Anyone got one? Also, do you size them the same as a jointed snaffle or as a mullen mouth bit? Thanks
 
i don't know about Bombers bits but i've just started using a Beris ported snaffle (which is similar) with my fussy boy and he loves it. I found it more generous on size than I expected and i went for the loose ring. He does get a little strong on faster hacks in company but we have a lozenge snaffle for that :)
 
Not tried one yet but heard good things about them, someone up my yard has one for her's and says its made a massive difference to him. Think she has a loose ring with the side rollers.
Just a note Beris bits are more like Nathe's but they come in different hardness so can be soft like a Nathe, medium which like a Happy Mouth and hard which is like a vulcanite. I was looking into them for mine but settled on a Nathe as the mouth piece wasnt as thick, that said i did like the look of them with a port.
Bombers do a Blue bit which isnt the metal sweet iron, its similar to the Beris but i would say thinner and not flexi. I think they are fairly true to size.
Might be worth a call to a bit bank as i found myself going round in circles looking at bits :D
 
Thanks. I have ordered a loose ring happy tongue, size 140 cm (5 1/2 inch) which is the size she takes in a snaffle. She has a fleshy tongue and it took me two years to find a bit (demi anky) that she didn't yank at when I first got her. She went happily in it for ten years before she retired three years ago due to injury. But since I brought her back into light work, she has not settled back in the demi anky and has been yanking away at the contact again. I have tried a French link with a ported link in it, but she decided she didn't like that either after initially seeming very happy. I think the happy tongue would suit her. I hope so as it isn't cheap! Fingers crossed...
 
I really don't understand half the BD bit restrictions. They really are behind the times and it's very irritating. :mad:
 
My new bit arrived from Fast tack direct this morning. I am very impressed by the speed of delivery!

Anyway, there was not a huge change in my mare's way of going, though it is hard to tell as we are just walking right now, but did some lateral stuff in walk. She was not as 'yanky' but did lean on it quite a bit.

HOWEVER I decided to try it on one of my livery horses I am schooling. He is very fussy and sensitive in his mouth. All I can say is WOW! He was a completely different horse. He has been ridden for years in a KK ultra, and backs off, comes above the bit and is generally like trying to juggle balls keeping his contact light and consistent. In the happy tongue, he is effortless. I didn't want to get off. His owner will be chuffed to bits (except that she will probably want to buy him his own and will be £70 the poorer).
 
I have been through so many different bits after having similar issues. Used to yank the bit Dow and was very fussy in his mouth. I use the bomber happy tongue Pelham with rollers for hacking which he absurdly loves but have struggled when it came to finding a snaffle to school in. I tried the bomber bit happy tongue loose ring which he was ok in but leant on. We then tried the informed design Mullen mouth which was like ridin with a dead weight in my hands. The best two which I now alternate is the sprenger schooling bit and a stubborn bit which I can't remember the name of. It has a lozenge but it locks so that it doesn't have a nutcracker action but still has a little feel and more movement than the other bits.
 
islandspirit said:
I have been through so many different bits after having similar issues. Used to yank the bit Dow and was very fussy in his mouth. I use the bomber happy tongue Pelham with rollers for hacking which he absurdly loves but have struggled when it came to finding a snaffle to school in. I tried the bomber bit happy tongue loose ring which he was ok in but leant on. We then tried the informed design Mullen mouth which was like ridin with a dead weight in my hands. The best two which I now alternate is the sprenger schooling bit and a stubborn bit which I can't remember the name of. It has a lozenge but it locks so that it doesn't have a nutcracker action but still has a little feel and more movement than the other bits.
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That would be my only worry with this bit. I think it is so comfortable, it is very easy to lean on. Only time will tell.
 
I have a bombers happy tongue snaffle with the sliding cheeks, although I only use it on the normal snaffle setting. My horse has a scar the full width of his tongue from when he was broken in in Argentina, so has always been difficult to bit. He came with a ported western bit, but I didn't like using it on him, and tried different variations of ported mouthpiece bits over the last 3 years, and settled on the thinnest french link snaffle mouthpiece that i could find. I was playing polocrosse on him for a while, and didnt have much in the way of brakes when he got a bit carried away, and the guy from bombers was over here for the nationals so I had a chat to him and bought this bit. We only hack these days due to work commitments and not being able to keep Nico fit enough all year round to be able to play enough.
In regards to his way of going, he is much more settled in his mouth (has always chewed and marked all of his bits quite badly previously with his chewing), I find him more relaxed and slightly more responsive to me in general, (probably as he isnt fussing with his mouth any more), and I don't find that he leans on it any more so than he did with any other bit tbh. But that's about it - as I don't school him, compete him or anything else I don't find it that much of a bother for me.
 
Loving the sound of these!
Wagtail did u hire or buy?can u link me to the exact one please?just so I can have a look at what worked for a fussy sensitive horse. My boy isn't fussy but he is sensitive and soft mouthed and currently in a drop cheek French link but I'd like to give him some tongue relief and see if that would help him relax through his jaw into a more consistent contact
 
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