Im looking to get a snaffle for my mare. I’m torn between getting a loose ring, eggbutt, or hunter dee bit. What is the difference? My mare is mouthy with her bit at times and tends to hold her head high.
Loose ring: the ring slides through the bit so there is no leveragefrom the crown piece or the reins at all. If the bit isn’t fit properly it might pinch the lips.
Eggbutt: not much different from the loosering, but without the pinch point.
D ring: it prevents the rings from being pulled through the mouth in iffy situations.At first it was a race track bit, but has long since been adopted in the hunter ring. Might have a little of a lever action.
howevr the ring isn’t the important part of the bit, to be honest. the bit part is, and that is a whole nother issue.
Mouth shape, training status, presonal preferences of the horse, etc. all of that plays a roll in the selection.
And of course if the selected bit is legal for your purpose.
Well, I already figured out the mouth piece. I’m getting a three piece snaffle with a copper lozenge. It’s just that the brand I’m buying from has these three options and I was trying to figure out which one would suit me best. I don’t do any serious shows besides a fun show here and there. Just trail rides and arena work.
to be honest, I think for most it’s an esthetic choice.
Having said that, of course the horse will have a different opinion.
To me, loose ring is the default, egg butt a close 2nd. I have never had a horse where I would have needed the extra pressure point or safety measure of a D ring to keep a bit from going through the mouth. Somebody explained to me once how the D ring became popular in English riding, but it was never anything that was handy to me. Rubber rings, perhaps, they can take up some space if the bit is a little long, prevent pinching on the sides.
I’m not a big fan of using a true D-ring on a really green horse. It just sits too rigid and fixed in the greenie’s mouth. This is just my opinion and I realize others may have a different view. Hey, it’s the horse world! 
I like some amount of “play” in the bit so the green/young horse can indeed mouth the bit. A good compromise is something like this bit. I use it a lot on the horses I start. It has a 3-piece mouth (a copper roller is in the center instead of a lozenge) but also has a straight bar on the front of the bit ring so it can’t be pulled through the mouth. Like an eggbutt, it won’t pinch the corners of the lips. Myler also makes a comfort snaffle in something similar. I’ve used that one too, but it’s more spendy.
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Ugh! I’ve been trying to find a bit just like this in my mares size! She takes a 4.75 and it’s so hard to find it. A 4.5 is too snug and a 5 is too big. She has a pony mouth lol
A loose ring can encourage a horse to “hold” the bit more in their lips. For some horses it makes their mouth quieter, for other it has the opposite effect…I think you have to try and see.
Hunter Ds aren’t common in western.
I like eggbutt bits for a thin lipped horse.
I like the style Paint_Party posted for thicker lipped horses (as egg butts tend to get fatter as go, while this style has the same thickness.)
