Bit people of the forum

[mollymoon]

My horse is a big, heavy puller who’s very well-educated, but seems to ignore the brakes when we get to jumping. He’s been going really well in a happy mouth 3-ring (jointed or Mullen) gag with a converter between the snaffle ring and the last ring. The problem is, he’s a hunter, and that gag is not a hunter-legal bit.

Pelhams (rubber, plain snaffle, Mullen mouth, slow-twist, corkscrew) seem to give us marginally-better brakes, but at the cost of making him overall heavier in the bridle. Regular snaffles (dee, full cheek, plain, slow-twist, corkscrew) are all about the same, with very slightly better breaks with the corkscrew. My trainer rides him in a single twisted wire snaffle in her training rides, which keeps him light in the bridle, but that’s not something she’d let anyone else use (and I wouldn’t be comfortable using it either, anyway).

So bit nerds of the forum: what bit would you try that’s allowed in the hunter ring?

(Let’s skip past the “it’s a training issue not an equipment issue” discussion. We know. We’re doing the training at home. We need a bit for shows.)

[173north]

Hmm… ported Myler with hooks?

[Renn_aissance]

Does he pull down and lean, or grab the bit and run?

Door #1: Waterford (nothing to lean on)
Door #2: Dr. Bristol with slow twist shanks (a step up from the slow twist but down from the twisted wire, and an intermediate before you go to a ported snaffle)

And all the flatwork at home, as you say. I hope you’re doing a lot of it. If the horse is well educated but only acts broke in a single twisted wire or a leverage bit I don’t know that I would consider it broke enough for an amateur to horse show- or at least not educated enough to its responsibilities in life, which include acting broke away from home! It’s frustrating with these big moose type horses who don’t always know where all their parts are but do know it’s a lot easier to lean down on the front end than it is to sit up on their hocks. That takes time and patience and a lot of education.

[mollymoon]

He doesn’t grab the bit and run away, he just leans and pulls and basically just doesn’t take me seriously when I say, “hey, why don’t you use that large hind end you have instead of taking a luxury cruise on my biceps.” We’re working on some position and aid timing things for me to help with that—he absolutely has all the buttons, he’s just a benevolent doofus whose ego and size gets in the way sometimes.

We do ALL the flatwork, sometimes exclusively for weeks at a time. Even when we have a jumping lesson, we warm up with lots of transitions within and between gates, some shoulder-ins, haunches-ins, turns on the haunches, bending, counter-bending, etc. We just need a bit I can use that says “hello, I’m here, and I am saying something that you do have to listen to”

[OnDeck]

If a single twisted wire is what works but you aren’t comfortable using it then you may be a little stuck. A corkscrew would be the step down, which you’re already using. A Waterford would be “nicer” than the twisted wire but I suspect it won’t be enough. I immediately thought of a Segunda but that can be considered pretty harsh as well.

[mollymoon]

Oh to clarify, a single twisted wire is really too much… he doesn’t NEED a severe bit to go nicely, my trainer just always uses that bit as a tuning bit with a very light hand when she rides once every week or two so that he gets in the habit of carrying his own front end. He goes nice for the trainers no matter what bit they use, but they are trainers, and I am… not.

[OnDeck]

Ah, I see. In that case I would give the Waterford a try. It might be worth a shot to alternate between that and the corkscrew to keep him fresh to both.

[anon510129]

My horse sounds very similar and goes beautifully in a waterford. She’s a jumper so I do use a waterford gag while jump schooling and to show, but a regular full cheek waterford at home/over small jumps.

If I were to show my horse in a derby, I’d personally use a segunda. I loathe that bit for daily riding, but showing & for certain horses and educated riders (which you sound like you are), I think it’s appropriate.

Best of luck!

[Tha_Ridge]

@OnDeck

I immediately thought of a Segunda but that can be considered pretty harsh as well.

Was going to say a segunda as well. One bit that I’ve had surprisingly good luck with over the years is a slow twist copper Dr. Bristol full cheek. I don’t know why, but it just works on almost everything.

Also, OP, be prepared for the hordes to come tell you that you shouldn’t be dreaming of taking this horse to a show until you can jump around in a rubber loose ring and God forbid you ever bit him in anything stronger.

[lintesia]

Pricey, but you might consider the Pletcher. I used this on occasion with my horse who was well-schooled on the flat but sometimes needed a reminder to not haul on the arms of his ammy mom when jumping. Ideally, someone in your barn might have one that you could try before making the investment.

Figure 8 Mouth (The Pletcher Bit) D Ring | EquuSport Custom Saddlery

[Justice]

Segunda or Pletcher, but segundas tend to work better for me on this type. Have the points filed off the segunda and always put sealtex in the corners of the Pletcher… no bit will work if they get cuts in the corners of their mouth. Good luck!

[iJump]

I had a trainer that would use a single twisted wire that was wrapped so it was essentially fat except the corners where the twist was still showing, the horses seemed to like it, you could ride light but had something to get the corners of their mouth and slow down runaways. This was for schooling, not sure what the rule is on wrapping bits for actual hunter showing.

[TatteredDaydreamer]

I had a big, heavy, former prelim level eventer mare as a confidence builder that went great in a Waterford. She loved to lean and pull and get on her forehand and with this bit, there’s nothing to lean on. Highly recommend it!

[mroades]

Waterford or Pletcher

[Posting_Trot]

I’ll say it 'cause no one else has said it, but you should feel free to ignore!

Sometimes a horse, particularly a horse that has training and years under its belt, will be heavy on the front end because the hind end or the back hurts.

Check your saddle fit, check for back soreness, look for subtle cues of discomfort in the hocks.

[scislandsprite]

Myler makes a triple barrel snaffle, very similar to a waterford but the pieces also roll. I’ve found that roller mouthpieces make it hard for them to pull on you so I’d imagine having 3 would really help.

[Small_Change]

Your OP addressed pelhams set up conventionally, but you might have luck tweaking the set up if you like the three ring Dutch gag. Are you able to ride with two reins? If so, a pelham with a very loose curb chain or no curb chain at all will give you a very similar action to a three ring. The only thing you will be missing will be the rotation of the top ring through the mouthpiece. If you’re able to find a pelham to borrow that has a similar mouthpiece to your three ring, it could be worth a try.

[Moneypitt]

Try a short shank hard rubber Mullen mouth Pelham used conventional with two reins. Go up 1/4” in mouthpiece size.

There are also a number of custom bit makers that put all sorts of various custom mouthpieces inside conventional dee rings ect. They seem to be priced at $300+. Kind of a lot of $$$ if you don’t try it first.

[BlackTieOptional]

If he likes a double jointed bit you could try a Dr. Bristol with a twist - they come in D rings and full cheeks. My horse can lean a bit when he gets strong or fresh and the Dr. Bristol does wonders for him and I can be soft with my hand while still getting a response. He does not like the nutcracker action of a single jointed bit and can get a bit heavy to jump for the copper oval mouth bit we had him in and a Dr. Bristol did the trick!

[blondewithchrome]

My horse that gets heavy and long (and after jumping the downward transitions hard) goes wonderfully in a D ring Waterford. It is the perfect bit for him! Another vote for the Waterford.