Combination Bits?

[Hawks_Nest]

So I am in a bit of a conundrum thanks to my overly sensitive boy. He flats beautifully in a fat kk ultra loose ring with no flash but when jumping he gets quite excited. I can school small stuff in my snaffle but coach agrees that it is safer for all for me to jump in something else.

Last summer we went through some of this and we quickly found out that if it scares him in the slightest bit, XC is not fun at all (he’ll go but he was super backed off all the fences which was quite unlike him). Over the winter we discovered that he loves the mickmar curved low port combination bit which two reins, one on the nose rope and one on the ‘snaffle’ loop. All it takes is shortening my hold on the nose rope if he is a little keen and then I can ride him softly to the fences.

The problem is the port. It has me, and my coach worried for out on XC. If I make a mistake and really catch him, I run the risk of really jamming the port up into him. We want to find something else that will work for him, the catch is that we want to stay with the nose pressure action since he responds so well to it.

How are the various combination bits? is the nose pressure controllable at all? How stable are they? I can try a myler combo but I have a bad feeling about how he will respond to the mouth piece in general. The Beris butterfly mouth piece looks like something Pizz would like (and they have a tandem combo bit that might work but it is super expensive). The happy mouth combo is more affordable and if I could get my hands on one I would love to try it.

[jawa]

Can you make your own? Get a bradoon hanger for your bridle and use the KK bit he likes. On the regular headstall, put some sort of hackamore that would apply nose pressure.

Another option, use the micklem bridle with the clips in place on the bit. This applies nose pressure whenever you activate the bit. My pocket rocket 14’1 pony really liked this.

Another option, use a kineton noseband. This worked for the mentioned pocket rocket, but on a 4-5 hour foxhunt it would cause pinching on his lips, which is why I switched to the micklem bridle.

[Beam_Me_Up]

I have used the myler low port combo and also the D-I-Y (hackamore + bit, separately). The latter was better for true separation of aids. With the myler there are a lot of adjustments and you can make the lower rein me more or less nose-heavy but it is still attached to the bit.

[Highflyer]

I used a DIY version of the combination bit for a while. Basically a leather strap across his nose, attached to the D rings of the Dr. Bristol: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10204429640768757&l=fa05606a5e

You can also buy a rope one like this: http://www.jefferspet.com/products/reinsman-11-interchangeable-rope-nose?via=5338848b9fa2600f00000196%2F5338848b9fa2600f00000197%2F5338848c9fa2600f0000019d

[CindyCRNA]

@Highflyer;8146939

I used a DIY version of the combination bit for a while. Basically a leather strap across his nose, attached to the D rings of the Dr. Bristol: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10204429640768757&l=fa05606a5e

Wow, Eliza, that is a great idea!! I’ve got a strong puller I have been lamenting over on CC and this just might work.

[Candle]

Thanks Eliza! I have one that likes combo bits but not the available mouthpieces and this looks perfect! Where did you find your leather strap? Is it just a wither strap or a reversed leather curb?

[Highflyer]

It was a wither/ grab strap but a leather curb strap would probably work too. I did attach it to the figure eight with velcro (just bought a small roll of black velcro from the sewing section of Walmart and cut two small loops) to prevent it from potentially sliding down, although this was never really an issue.

[gnu]

I did as highflyer did, w/ one slight change. Make a half wrap around the center of your noseband - that will prevent the strap from dropping low on the nose. Worked great on a prelim. horse. fyi I used a hunt breastplate strap. You could also use a dog collar.

[Hawks_Nest]

thank you guys for the suggestions (and sorry for the slow reply). The micklem bridle is definitely something we have on our list to try but I had not considered making my own nose rope thing.

[Beam_Me_Up]

I did mine as completely separate–attached 1 set of reins to a hackamore like this https://www.horseloverz.com/product/bridleparts/190910-toryleatherjumpinghackamore.html?sku=5-170460&gdftrk=gdfV27555_a_7c1161_a_7c2883_a_7c5_d_170460&ev_pid=5-170460&ev_ppid=51320962143&ev_adtype=pla&ev_cmpg=Shopping&gclid=CIeb_MC0xsUCFUgXHwodLA0Atw (you have to add a crown piece so it sits like a caveson) and then another set of reins to the bit on the cheekpieces. That way you can use either independently.

[enjoytheride]

What about moving down a level until he’s confident?

[Hawks_Nest]

well things have been tried and for now we are going to try the myler combo bit for XC and keep the mikmar for sj. The micklem bridle was a big no from him, he was so focused on the bit/bridle that I couldn’t get him to move ahead of my leg and focus on the jump. The myler was not quite as good as the mikmar (he wanted to bring his neck up and back instead of stretch out) but we had a super jump school in it and I’ll be able to use it for a few events (and gallops) to really test it out.

Interestingly enough, having a shadow roll is actually making a difference in how he goes as well. I wasn’t sure it was until putting it on the myler after first testing the myler without it.

[Outyougo]

Worcester Noseband? Like a flash but attacjes to bit rings