what bit to use for a mare that doesnt really need a bit :-/ very sensitive mouth

china

china

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 November 2008
Messages
5,193
Visit site
I am racking my brains as to what to use in my mares mouth! shes doesnt really need a bit tbh! she has perfect breaks, incredibly soft mouth and goes fine in a bitless but i need one for showing and dressage ;-)

she doesnt particularly like big metal bits. It needs to be something soft and light.
iv tried
happy mouth loose ring snaffle (single joint) - she was ok in this but chewed through it rather quickly ;-)

Full cheek french link and centre revolver - fairly unsettled in this.

sweet iron loose ring frech link- leans on one side in this, not ideal as its a tad bit small, i prefer my loose rings to have abit more room either side.

a nathe would have been good but at £90 odd, thats alot of money for her to chew through ;-)

i think i am going to go to work and raid the bit bucket and try some different ones untill i hit the jack pot!

is there anything you guys can recomend that has worked for you.
 
What is her mouth confo like?

My girl has a pretty standard confo, but a v sensitive tongue and slightly fleshy bars. She goes beautifuly in a NS verbindent (sp!) loose ring. I found it lighter than the sprenger I tried and she didn't get on with the angle of the lozenge in the sprenger. I have it on the lower side of normal and she goes beautifully in it.

If she doesn't have much of a tonge then you could try a starter or a trans - nicely gently shaped mouthpieces and mine seems to like the metal they use. I actually use a 12mm one but with the larger size rings so it sounds like it would be harsh, but because she is lovely and soft in it I can use it very gently and we go along nicely!! She finds the smaller one much more comfortable in her mouth so although it should be more harsh it actually works better for her as she is the most comfortabe in it.
I found NS mega helpful on the phone so worth giving them a call as they are really informative even if in the end you decide against one.

I would be slightly wary of the non metal bits as they can be rather bulky and will develop sharp points in time, they can also be a little dry in the mouth if your horse doesn't mouth it well. I would call NS and a few bit banks to get a range of opinions and then get a couple on loan, otherwise the amount you spend can be horrifying!!
 
sprenger or neue schule, pricey I know but worth the investment, can only put mine in a happy mouth (which he chews through) or a sprenger kk, the sprenger has paid for itself as at 30 odd quid each to replace happy mouths constantly you are soon over the cost of the sprenger! Try to use a bit bank that lets you try before you buy, the one they sent me to try was in good enough nick I just kept that one (agreed with them I could) as couldnt be faffed with sending back for a brand new!
I used these people I'm pretty sure- http://www.thehorsebitshop.co.uk/
 
Last edited:
Full cheek would work for a horse that needs help with steering otherwise I wouldn't bother. You also need to go down 1/4 or so as they are fixed i.e my boy has a 6" loose ring but a 5 3/4 fulmer happy mouth. Jeffries offer a happy mouth look a like which is a little cheaper as well. I am a big fan of the loose ring NS bits with a lozenge in it - most horses seem to like it and I always kick off with that and then work around it. You can always trial the NS bits via something like bit bank as well rather than fork out and find it doesn't work. If your mare is that soft in the mouth I would actually just try a cheap and simple plain rubber bar and see if she likes that. You don't say how much room she has in her mouth (i.e fat tongue, narrow chin etc) as that will obviously have a big impact on what she likes..
 
By the sounds of it she seems to like the french link mouthpiece and the loosering cheeks... why not try a bog standard frenchlink loosering? You can get different thicknesses of mouthpiece so it might just be a case of working out which thickness suits her. also get a bit a little too big then you can put bit guards on to prevent the loosering pinching ;) Some people like losenges but others feel they take up too much of the mouth where as a standard french link sits flater on the tongue.

Have you had her teeth checked recently as that may be a reason for her leaning on one rein in a certain bit?
 
she is having her teeth done by vic hammond in 4 weeks time. she has said she will give me some bitting advice also!
 
CBFan said:
By the sounds of it she seems to like the french link mouthpiece and the loosering cheeks... why not try a bog standard frenchlink loosering? You can get different thicknesses of mouthpiece so it might just be a case of working out which thickness suits her. also get a bit a little too big then you can put bit guards on to prevent the loosering pinching ;) Some people like losenges but others feel they take up too much of the mouth where as a standard french link sits flater on the tongue.

Have you had her teeth checked recently as that may be a reason for her leaning on one rein in a certain bit?
Click to expand...


Interesting comment about the lozenge - its what worked best for my previous horse who had the fattest tongue I have ever seen on a horse. In fact, when I bought him, as the previous owner used to really strap his mouth, he had learnt to draw his tongue back to give him some room and ended up with a doorstep shape to it (no honestly, never seen anything like it). I played around with numerous bits and thicknesses to try to find one that he was comfortable with. I did keep the flash on but enough to stop him opening his mouth and leaning on (he was quite on the forehand). Schooling really helped but fundamentally, he was a horse built to be downhill. The flash was loose enough that he could actually stick his tongue down if needed but not to open his mouth and lean. Equally I ended up with a happy mouth fulmer gag for jumping (lozenge) as that really helped him - took an awfully long time of playing around though to find bits that he liked and sometimes, its not always the obvious solutions!
 
I found my mare hated the flat french link as it gives more of a positive tongue pressure - she was almost unridable in it!! A shaped lozenge is about a million times better for her so I wouldn't discount a lozenge!

Bizzarly the protecting bit rings actually rubbed her - esp in warmer weather or in a schooling session when she had a nice wet mouth. Def worth fiddling with the size (or trying an eggbutt perhaps) to get it just right rather than adding to a bit. You can't use bit rings in dressage anyway.
 
What about a french link loose ring with a copper type mouthpiece.
I have one of the cottage craft ones if you want to try it? And a plastic bit with a roller in the middle, again a loose ring. You are welcome to try them if you want. Just PM me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top