Looking for a very gentle metal bit for a horse with a short smile, small face, and quite a wide tongue

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Jazy

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Currently considering the Nene Schule turtle tactio or turtle top bit but I've seen varied reviews and they are both so expensive! He is currently in a Nene Schule team up bit, but it is a bit short and the rings are too big, and he will often have his tongue visible through his teeth. Any recommendations appreciated.
 
i was told by a bit fitter that horses with a low palette/big tongue actually aren’t best suited to a bit with a high port/lots of tongue room, as it ends up being pushed forward and catching their teeth - just something to keep in mind when looking at them all, because i know a lot of the posh ones pride themselves on that!

my mare has quite an average mouth & tongue but a “pretty” head and a bit of a low palette - she’s in an expert bits titanium loose ring, but the comfy barrel suited her mouth conformation too, and they do “pony” sized loose rings which looked much better than the rings on her sprenger duo!

both bits are very kind but my mare preferred the titanium, after having her not like metal bits previously! i think because it’s so light.
 
I’m not normally one to jump on the “get a bit fitter” for any bitting issue as it’s fine to just play around with what works for your own horse, however in your dilemma I think I would. I had one out to my horse as the advantage is you can try as many bits as you like and find what works without the initial outlay of investing in lots of expensive bits to find they don’t like them. The one I used also offered a weeks trial in his bit I landed on and if he didn’t settle in it I could return it FOC.

Mine has a teeny 5” mouth with very fleshy lips and a big tongue, he’s in a Bomber Happy Tongue.
 
I bought what I thought was a Turtle Top for Ozzy but it turned out to be a Turtle Tactio.
The mouthpiecee was huge - extremely chunky! He didn't like it at all. I tried it on AJ and he hated it.
Based on advice from various people on here, I bought the Expert Bits comfy barrel. It was great value and Ozzy really likes it.
I've bought NS bits for years now but I'd definitely consider Expert Bits for any future purchases - it was a really good service and so much cheaper than NS (even on Ebay!)
 
I had mine in a loose ring verbindend which he backed off of but was small and light. I then switched to the american dee lite - it is quite a thin bit and while he generally went well and was happier to walk out, he was still backing off a lot. I have recently gone with a sprenger dynamic rs eggbutt (we need steering help). It is quite thick and heavy and was thinking he really wouldnt like that as he has large tongue but it seems to work. I didnt have very good steering at first nor brakes but adding a flash I think has solved that (at least I felt safer on a hack Christmas Eve)
 
Rockin S Raised Sweet Iron 3 Piece Snaffle
Mark Rashid is a fan of these bits. http://www.markrashid.com/about/rockin-s-snaffle

This bit became available in UK shortly before my old share retired. "TWS has been selling these bits for years, and has also had many positive comments and reviews from customers over the years."

I have never used it in the UK (since I didnt need it on either of my shares) but I rode in one at a Rashid clinic in USA and gave one to my friend in USA who needed brakes.
 
I would try a bit fitter because they often work out as more cost effective on the long run, you can try out multiple bits in a couple of hours. I ended up with a low/mid-range priced for my mare because she absolutely loved it (and still does). However, the bit fitter had everything from £12 bits to £160 to try.

Edited because Twixtmas has ruined my grammar.
 
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After years of trying a multitude of bits at vast expense, I found mine liked the winderen gel bit but only once he’d bent it slightly so it was curved forward. However when it got to the point that he was chewing through it in a matter of months, I had to look again. (They’re good bits compared to other non metal options, he’d just worked out how to get it just right for chewing) This led me to the expert bits comfy barrel with some bit wrap over the barrel. I basically discovered that he likes that shape but anything with any movable part is a no. So we’ve now got the right shape and moving parts cannot be uncomfortable s they are wrapped. If you wiggle any bit with a moving part on your thumb it does slightly pinch. He has a small mouth and short smile. (Goat face 😂🥰)

There are a few expert bits on eBay. It’s where I got mine from and similar price to trialling a bit by the time you take postage and trial fees into account.
 
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