Loose ring snaffle issue

[DappleGreyDaydreamer]

Both my boy and my sister's pony are in loose ring snaffles with a lozenge link, as that's what they were in when we bought them. Recently I've been wondering if my sister's mare isn't very happy in hers; she got rubs in the corners of her mouth so we put bit guards on and it fixed the problem for months, but now she's getting rubs again and she seems to be tossing her head a lot and snatching/biting at the bit. She isn't salivating much either, but she doesn't do very hard work as my sister's is quite novice so I wouldn't expect a lot anyway.

Dentist is due in a fortnight for both of them so I'll ask him if he can see anything wrong with her teeth, but does anyone know what could be the matter? I was advised to try her in an eggbutt instead but I'm not entirely sure what the difference is haha Also I much prefer the lozenge/double link to the single link kinds and I haven't found an eggbutt with anything but single link so far.
I just want to give my sister correct advise, so any help is much appreciated, thanks!

 

[Firefly9410]

How old is your sister's horse? I am wondering if the head has grown and the cheek pieces are too tight now or the bit too small? Or it could be the riding. How are your sister's hands? If they move about a lot that could cause the rubs. An eggbutt bit would definitely help minimize movement from the riders hands. If your sister's horse is not salivating it is probably because the horse is tense which could be because of bad riding with the hands or unhappiness with the bit or pain from the rubs. You can get French link eggbutt bits. Hanging cheek snaffles, D-ring snaffles and full cheek snaffles are also fixed ring bits similar to eggbutt.

Edit: Loose ring encourages movement to stop the horse fixing against the bit, eggbutt holds the bit still encouraging horses who drop behind the contact to accept it instead.

 

[Goldenstar]

Many perfectly happy horses show no signs of salivation while working.
Neue schule make a egg butt with a lozenge as do sprenger.
Is the bit the correct width ?

 

[Shay]

There are loads of lozenge link eggbutt or other snaffle types available. Along with the suggestions above - might the bit guards have worn? Part of the problem with loose ring bits, especially if the rider hands are not quite still, is that they can catch the corners of the mouth as the mouthpiece moves through the ring. That causes a small amount of swelling which makes the chance of catching greater and you get into a vicious circle. Bit guards work to a certain extent but they wear over time and become less effective.

You are absolutely right to ask the dentist to check as well but then either replace the bit guards or the bit. Bear in mind that fitting bit guards also makes the bit slightly smaller by taking up a little of the space at the end of the mouthpiece!