Anyone have favourites/success with any style/shape/brand/material in particular? Bonus points for those that have a horse with a flat palate, little room, AND love to use their regular snaffle as a chew toy and maybe get a bit peeved about having so much crap in their mouth. Mine doesn’t do anything awful, accepts the bits just fine, but doesn’t grab for the bits all “gimme gimme gimme” when being tacked up like with the snaffle bridle. The joy and enthusiasm return once working, but it’s always in the back of my mind that it’s a LOT in this creature’s mouth.
A friend had one of these. She was borrowing bits from me weekly as she tried to sort it out (I’m sure she tried others too). She started with my light weight titanium curb, but that led to more playing. Then she took my mullen happy mouth, but that was too bulky. I think she ended up with the Neue Schule Turtle Tilt.
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My sensitive Arab stallion seems most comfortable in the Neue Schule Slimma curb:
“Gives a good lifting action without upper palate interference. A very unobtrusive design that sits well back in the mouth over the thicker, less sensitive part of the tongue. The “Slimma” mouthpiece incorporates a wide low tongue bridge designed to eliminate any chance of upper palate interference whilst leaving much more space for the bridoon – hence a thicker bridoon is an option for a horse that is tentative into the contact”
He was a little fussy in the 1st curb we tried him in. It was one the trainer had on hand. He went OK in it, but would get a little fussy or backed off from time to time. We used a bit bank to try both the NS Slimma and the NS Starter Weymouths. He had a clear preference for the Slimma so that’s the one we’ve used for several years now.
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The horse in question may actually eat plastic bits. I wish that were not the case because the Sprenger shaped mullen mouths were the absolute bomb, but I couldn’t justify the co$t or potential danger of having them repeatedly eaten.
This looks like an interesting possibility.
Ooo, I think this possibility might be even better! Thanks!
Unfortunately my favorite curb bit is no longer available, the Fager Victoria Mullen mouth curb bit made of titanium. Fager makes other Weymouth curbs now, I tried two of them, and the horses told me that they really did not want them in their mouths (I have MS, I think the horses do not like the side to side movement of my hands.)
I think there are other Mullen mouth Weymouth curbs available in different metals. You could try one, the horses I ride seem to prefer the Mullen mouth mouthpiece on the curb bits to the other mouthpieces. Interestingly the horses have “told” me that they hate snaffles with Mullen mouths when I use them (they may be fine with another rider), it is just the Mullen mouth curb they prefer.
Before that I never had much problem using a regular Cambridge mouthed curb bit on the several different horses, the port is rather low usually.
I ride at two stables. Both ladies told me that they want me to go on using the Fager titanium bits I use now on the double bridle in preference to trying even more miscellaneous snaffle bits. The horses just go better in the double bridle with me.
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The Sprenger novocontact bits are flatter, rather than round, and designed for the low palate, fleshy mouth anatomy. I successfully used that combo for my FEI mare who not only didn’t have room in her mouth, but also didn’t have a lot of room in her jowl. It was a godsend.
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Neue shuele mors l’hotte curb. My Arab had a very fleshy thick palate and narrow mouth. It was thin and had no port. She could not do ports.
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