Neue Schule bits- worth the extra pennies?

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Sabrina&Stardust

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Hey guys!
I have heard a lot about the Neue Schule range of bits, but never tried one on my pony myself. Could you please tell me your experiences with them, what you liked and disliked etc? And in your opinion, are they worth the extra money over normal bits?
Thanks ever so much:)
 
Depends... do you have problems bitting your horse? Are you having some specific schooling/ mouth issues?

In the past I'd have said no. I tried one at an instructor's recommendation for my last horse, who was in reality perfectly fine in the bit he had, and he hated the NS. I sent it back and stuck with his bog standard FL. Current horse has been very difficult to bit, has some tooth/mouth issues (sees the EDT regularly, teeth were terrible when I got him and he has a deformity in one particular tooth which can make him fussy in his mouth). He didn't want to accept the contact and was v fixed/strong/difficult in standard snaffles. Borrowed a friend's NS Verbindend and he was a different horse almost immediately. I've since bought one and he is lovely in it, I do all activities in it now (DR, SJ, XC, hack). He accepts it, mouths it, is soft, accepts the contact.

So I think it depends on the horse and your reason for trying them. I'd tried loads of bits with my horse (bog standard snaffles/FLs, Happy Mouth bits, straight bars, Myler, all sorts), but the previous horse was easy to bit and didn't need a fancy bit.
 
I like mine. I have 2 - the Tranz for schooling and the Universal for more exciting things, like hacking! I went to a talk by Heather Hyde and was impressed by their reasons for the designs. My mare is a Draft horse and has a very large mouth, NS make larger than average bits in different thicknesses, so that suits her well. She seems to like the taste of 'salox'. The downside of them is that the metal is softer and marks easily.
 
They are fantastic. I am not normally a person to splash the cash (I have bits of horse equipment that are 30+ years old!) but I would always now buy a NS.
I had the tranz lozenge loose ring for a horse with a big fleshy tongue.
 
Yes, I buy it for quality. I am confident the mouthpiece is even and well made. I often see £8 snaffles that are quite clearly not symmetrical.
 
I have decided to bite the bullet and buy one but am considering using the Bit Bank service just in case as I have bought too many bits only to have to sell them after an hours use!
 
Very good for my horse who always used to pull like a tank in his mullen mouth pelham. My EDT came out and said that the bar was pushing down on his mouth because of its action and causing the start of calcifcation. He suggested buying a NS snaffle but I told him I had no means of control in a snaffle and to forget it. When I found out the price I practically laughed him out of the stable saying there was no way I was going to pay £75 for a bit of metal. But then I bought a NS trans angled lozenge pelham from the bit bank, with a view to trying it for a month, and was so happy with his way of jumping, his approach to the fence was totally different, and he was much more comfortable in it so I bought it.

Best £75 I've ever spent!
 
Thanks for your replies! At the moment, my pony is in a loose ring sweet iron with copper lozenge bit, and a sweet iron with copper lozenge gag for xc. He's been going absolutely fine in these, I've only ever had him in a sweet iron with lozenge bit simply because that was what he came to us in and he seemed to go well in it! I have no idea whether a bit without a lozenge would make a difference or how he would go in just a simple steel bit, not sweet iron. Like I say, he's fine in his current bit but I just wondered what everyone had to say about the Neue Schule range because I think they look extremely nice;)
 
No I don't, had one bend on me almost to the point of snapping. After a look on Internet doesn't seem like a one off either! I have used sprenger bits for 10 plus years without any issues and wouldnt hesitate to recommend them.
 
i would definitely get a trial. what may work for one horse might not work for another. Mine hated every single NS snaffle but goes well in a hanging cheek FL or a straight happy mouth. Even the thickest diameter of the mouth piece was too narrow for mine and he just spent the entire time fighting and putting him tongue over them (i tried 6 different ones). i only decided to try them as he constantly chomps and i wanted him to quieten down in the mouth but it didnt work :o but each horse is different :)
 
I just sold mine as my horse didn't really seem to favour the salox over anything else, so I thought no point having it sitting around - so I guess it depends on the horse - however, besides the compound the other positive to them is they are beautifully made and shaped much better than most bits you see on the market, so if my horse was more sensitive in his mouth I'd probably stick with them anyway even if not just for the salox.
 
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