Hi! I was wondering what cheekpiece situation people use with elevator bits. I was borrowing a friend’s 2-ring elevator bit for my horse for a while and my bridle’s regular cheekpieces were too long, so I just borrowed some shorter ones for the time being. I was wondering if people tend to just add holes to their normal cheekpieces, if they buy shorter cheekpieces intended for elevators, if they get pony cheekpieces or something else. I looked up elevator cheekpieces but the only things that come up are the rope/elastic cheekpieces for gag bits (which isn’t what I’m looking for) and elevator cheekpieces by Ovation but nothing else, so I wasn’t sure if people normally just use something else because there was almost nothing specifically marketed/labeled for it. The only issue I have with shortening my regular cheekpieces is that I feel like mine specifically will have a lot of excess leather because I feel like they’re already kind of long. Thanks for any help!
I buy cob or pony sized. At this point I have a collection of different lengths (since what constitutes cob or pony doesn’t seem to be a consistent length from one brand to the next) and widths, so can accommodate pretty much any elevator bit on any bridle.
I just buy cob or pony sized and swap them out
My cheek pieces are not all the way up on my bridle, so I just put the cheek pieces up a few holes to fit. If the cheek pieces are all the way up on your bridle I’d just suggest ordering cob or pony sized ones to make it work!
I use the elevator cheekpieces.
Some dont come with cheekpieces and the straps alone are not that easy to buy with confidence the buckle will easily fit on your bridle’s crownpiece ends…even if they are labeled as the same width. Learned that the hard way.
Over the years I became a fan of different bridles for specialty bits. Saves time for sure and you dont have to spend on a fancy show, Hunter Derby quality bridle or punch holes in a favorite one to use something just to school.
If you are going to remain involved with the sport, its a good idea to build a collection of proper tools like bits and schooling bridles as you will be encountering similar schooling needs with future rides. Little care and proper storage and they last many, many years.
