Straight bar bits?

[VioletStripe]

Hello all! I have a bit of a query.

Can someone explain to me the action of a straight bar mouthpiece and why you would use it?

I've heard many differing accounts of it, and I've always wanted to understand it!

I've done all sorts of reading on other bits of lorinery, and I feel like I have a good understanding of various other mouthpieces and bit rings, I've just never found a clear explanation of the straight mullen mouthpiece. Could you knowledgable lot enlighten me, or link me to some useful reading?

Odd request I know, but I'm stuck in bed with the flu today and my university reading has become rather dull thanks muchly for reading, and for anyone who can educate me a bit today!

 

[Casey76]

A straight bar is quite an unforgiving, if simple, bit. Tongue, bar and lip pressure. Those with fleshy tongus may find a straight bar a bit much, and may prefer either a Cambridge (ported) mouthpiece or a mullen (curved) mouthpiece.

 

[Birker2020]

I stopped using my mullen mouth straight bar Pelham which has a tiny port with my horse as the EDT felt that the pressure of the bit when a contact was taken was coming down onto the bars of his mouth too much and there was very slight evidence of what he termed as calcification. I moved to a jointed snaffle until I could borrow and then buy a Neue Schule tranz angled lozenge with a thinner mouthpiece from the bit bank - he is dutch bred and has quite a large tongue.

 

[Kylara]

Can be good for training horses who don't like any sort of action in the mouth (nutcracker or lozenge) but prefer a solid stable mouthpiece.

Veyr very common in driving and much milder than any jointed bit when driven in. Can be surprisingly subtle too, but you need to train well. Our driving ponies have straight bars, one has a mullen curved one, however goes better ridden in a snaffle.

It is very easy to be overly strong with a straight bar because they feel a bit different in the hand, but they can be helpful for various reasons. I am looking for a small second hand one to try on an overly chompy pony to see if it will help settle him down. He just really really like playing with the links in his lozenge bit (less so with the NS pony lozenge but they are £70 and trying a few other options before shelling out!).

I have also found them to be helpful retraining horses that don't like jointed mouthpieces, but aren't very strong or heavy in the hand.

 

[Micky]

My ex driver loves his Mullen mouth Pelham and goes very nicely in, no tension, huge pressure and he is very relaxed in it, I alternate between that and a neue Schule verbindend, as I occasionally have a go at dressage tests..saying that, the bit is only as harsh as the hands that hold it....

 

[planete]

My Lipi/Arab was only happy in a ported unjointed bit. He was a great teacher from the day he was backed and never allowed his rider to take a strong contact. You did it at your peril! Your balance and all your other aids had to come before your hands with him. Put a jointed bit in his mouth and he spent his time trying to spit it out or leaning on it if you managed to get him going. I just trusted him to know best and never worried about the reasons why the unjointed bits worked for him, so not much help, sorry. Probably mouth conformation.

 

[Goldenstar]

They give the horse a very steady solid feel especially if eggbutt .
If loose ring the horse can move the mouthpiece and they are a favorite of mine for big tongued horses .
Good to ride in to less easy to wiggle on with the hand and bring the head down that way they help you learn to feel the contact and ride forward to it and maintain it as it's less easy to fix from the front .
I use various unjointed straight bar snaffle bits all the time .
They are underrated IMO.

 

[PorkChop]

I use them alot, only rubber/plastic though, like Nathe or Beris.

I have hanging cheek, eggbutt and loose ring versions - they really encourage the horse to stretch into the contact imo