They were recommended, but I have never heard of them… https://fagerbits.com/ Any thoughts??
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I have one and I love it, but my horse ended up preferring something a little thicker. Because he’s in the 4 1/2” Maria, it’s thinner than than a larger bit. It’s very lightweight, the metal is as smooth as silk, very well made. If you search the forum, last year I asked about Fager bits when I first discovered them, and there is a longer discussion.
I wish the smaller sizes were thicker, I may try another model.
I started with a 5” Bianca, but it was way to big for him. PM me iff you want to try it, I’m not using it.
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Love them! I bought them to start my young horses with. I have a lovely locking fulmer and a loose ring with the same mouthpiece and several of their titanium bits. My youngster loves his bit. They are beautifully made bits.
OK, just realize that I have MS and I have some problems with my hands though my riding teacher does not have problems with my hands. I just listen to the horses who are a little bit more particular than my riding teacher. My hand problems–I have a low grade hand tremor and my hands lack the proprioceptive sense in that my hands don’t always know where they are and sometimes just go drifting off into the cosmos.
When I got into the Fager Bits the site was still dividing the bits into “tongue relief” and “bar relief” bits. The horses I ride greatly prefer the bar relief bits I use, the single-jointed Lilly with the fixed rings, and the fixed ring double-jointed with a roller Bianca were deemed by the horses as the most suitable for my hands. However the horses I ride did not totally like the bar relief bits with a center lozenge, I tried both the Max and the Oscar–it felt like the horses I rode were pushing up against the lozenge and not relaxing their tongues as much as I like, and in particular the horses did not seem to like the Oscar with the “front lock” which limits the bending of the bit joints in the horse’s mouth.
The horses did not seem to like me riding them with the tongue relief bits I tried, the Fanny single-jointed with fixed rings which also has the “front lock” feature, and the Frida double-jointed “sleeved” loose ring bit. If I tried to keep contact head flinging resulted, worse with the Fanny. With the Frida the horses were a little bit better but I got warnings to “watch your hands!!!” from both the horses I tried the Frida on.
The last time I read the Fager site I did not see them divided any more into tongue relief and bar relief bits. The bar relief bits go straight across the mouth like normal bits do, the tongue relief bits look like the center goes up a little bit along the tongue. Look at the pictures of the bits I named and you will see the difference.
I love the Fager Victoria Mullen mouth Weymouth, I’ve tried it on two horses who never had worn a double bridle before with no problems at all. The horses seem to prefer the Madeleine double-jointed bradoon though I did not have many problems with the Madeleine single jointed bradoon. Today I tried one of their newer Weymouth curb models, the Elisabeth low “port” model (the “port” goes up vertically from the line of the curb shanks) and the horse I rode said “I really don’t think so” with gaping and a lot, lot, lot of drooling for him. This horse has had absolutely no problems with their Mullen mouth curb, the Victoria.
So, FOR MY HANDICAPPED HANDS, the horses like just a few of the Fager titanium bits, but they like these bits a lot more than the titanium bits I used before that were the standard types of English bits (Mullen mouth, single jointed and double jointed snaffles). The horses are less fussy with my hand problems, reach out fearlessly for the bit, and when the horses argue with me it is with a lot less vehemence than with standard bits.
As far as the Fager snaffle bits go the Bianca is my favorite and the one that the lesson horses I ride prefer. They loosen their lower jaws, relax their tongues, reach out fearlessly for contact, and they really seem to enjoy playing with the little roller. This is the one Fager snaffle that I am getting in all the sizes, AND on 6-1-2020 I special ordered a 120mm Bianca fixed ring snaffle and another 120mm Bianca with bradoon rings, and I am still waiting. The horse I ordered these for died last month but I am confident I will run into other horses in the future that will like them. I will end up owning Bianca snaffles of 115mm, 120mm, 125mm, 135mm and 145mm widths (4.5", 4.75", 5", 5.25" and 5.75"), that will cover the vast majority of riding school horses I will ride in the future. Maybe I should special order the Bianca in 140 mm width to use on a 5.5" mouthed horse, then I would have a complete set for the future.
The horses I ride are usually in the age range of late teens through early 30 years old. They are lesson horses with enormous gaping holes as far as truly accepting the bit is concerned (hey, I’m picky.) Many have been in use for beginning riders. Most of the horses I ride at the stable have been essentially abandoned by the people who used to own them and they have even more huge gaping holes in their training.
I absolutely LOVE the Fager Bianca snaffle more that any other bit I’ve ridden in before, and the horses I ride seem to agree with me. I also really like their double bridle bits I’ve used, the Mullen mouth Victoria Weymouth curb and the double-jointed Madeleine bradoon.
As for the other Fager bits I own–well I no longer own horses and I am pretty confident that someday, somewhere, I will run into a riding school horse that will think these bits are absolutely wonderful. I don’t know if I should be riding a horse that prefers the tongue relief bits, but I get my lessons at a rather large barn and someday there will be a horse that responds to them favorably and I can lend one to my riding teacher.
I would recommend doing e-mails with Louise Fagerson before you order a bit for your horse. Reading their bit quiz I got the feeling that the horses I ride would prefer the tongue relief bits but I was wrong, wrong, wrong, the horses I ride prefer the bar relief bits especially the Bianca.
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Thank you all! They do sound interesting. I wish there was a way to try them…
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I went onto the Fager site. They have a map of their “resellers” (seems to be tack stores that sell NEW Fager bits, not used ones alas). There is one in FL, https://cuatxtack.com, with several models of Fager bits for sale, but I have no idea if they have a bit rental program.
Except for my Bianca snaffles, my Victoria Weymouths and my Madeleine brandoons I would be amenable to lending you one of the ones I am not using. These are fine bits, well made, most were just used at the most three times, and right now they are residing in my bit box unused. They are all 125mm (5" equivalent.) PM me if you would like to borrow one to try out.
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I got interested in this thread as I’m looking for a new bit. I have a titanium bit from a few years ago - it’s made by Lorenzini, and is the same shape as the Fager double-jointed straight-cannon loose rings. Exactly the same. No sweet iron on this one, and the surface is matte light gray (some of Fager’s are like this only darker gray).
I think I only put it in my mare’s mouth one time. Then was scared off by reading somewhere horses need a bit more weighty feeling. The Lorenzini is as light as air!
Also - a silly reason - but looking at the other boarders’ bridles hanging in the tack room, every single one had nearly identical double-jointed lozenge from the more traditional metals. My new titanium bit seemed alien in comparison and I felt like I’d be made fun of for using such a lightweight bit when everyone knows it’s a stupid idea? (I can tell we all feel the pressure to “fit in” at that barn :lol:).
But what is the consensus on a bit that is so super light? I’m thinking it would feel like a bit of straw in the horse’s mouth - like floating in there and getting in the way, instead of lying down across the tongue.
I have used two types of titanium bits on the horses I ride.
The titanium coated bits (usually coated on stainless steel I think) are pretty much normal weight or a little bit lighter (some may be coated on a bronze type alloy).
The Fager bits mouthpieces are titanium but I think their cheek pieces are stainless steel. Of the three categories these have the middle weight.
Horse Bits Ireland sells Stiel+ titanium bits that are entirely titanium, mouthpiece and cheekpieces. These bits feel the lightest just holding them in my hands. These bits are made in the regular types of English bits, unlike the Fager bits. They also sell Stiel bits (without the +) with titanium mouthpieces and stainless steel cheekpieces, these are probably a little bit heavier.
I have not tried the Stiel+ bits on the horses yet.
The horses do not seem to mind the fact that the Fager bits are lighter than the stainless steel bits at all, in fact I get the impression from them that they appreciate having a little less weight on their tongues. The only reason that the horses flung their heads with the Fager bits is that they did not like the way that some of them (the ones that used to be called “tongue relief” bits) felt in their mouths when I took up contact. With the Fager “bar relief” bits (the mouthpiece goes straight from cheekpiece to cheekpiece without any extra curves) they do not seem to mind the lighter weight as long as they liked how the mouthpiece worked–they did NOT like the mouthpieces that “locked up” so they would not bend as much in the horse’s mouth, no matter the shape of the mouthpiece.
The horses seem to appreciate the lighter weight of the Fager bits when I am using a double bridle (the Victoria Mullen mouth Weymouth curb and the Madeleine bradoon.)
I have MS. I have some problems with my hands. The horses do not get as upset with me when my hands are not working right when I use any type of titanium bit, pure titanium or coated with titanium. This is why I switched to the titanium bits, basically I will try anything I can afford to make the horses happier with my hands, and it is the titanium bits that deliver this (IF the horse approves of the shape of the mouthpiece.)
I could never afford to buy the Lorenzini titanium bits. I ride lesson horses and periodically I am moved onto another horse so I need a variety of widths of the bits that work with my hands. I can save my money and afford to do so with the Fager bits even though they are not “cheap”, it is just that they are cost a lot less than the Lorenzini bits.
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Hello to All, I have info on Fager Bits as I’m using the Elizabeth 5” Weymouth with Madeline loose ring Bradoon on my Morgan stallion coming back from 3.5 years of injury (don’t ask🙄). He loves loves loves the bits.
More importantly, by November one can try Fager Bits in the US with a fully trained Fager Bit specialist here in the US. There is a team of Fager Bit fitters who will be up & running by then. I’m one of them but this is not an advertisement (FYI Admin). I will provide more info about fitting details in the next week or so.
The price point is considerably lower than Lorenzini and we’ve just released a few new types. I encourage you to go on the website Fagerbits.com to look around. Much more info to come, stand by. But don’t be afraid, your horse will thank you!
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Just want to say thanks for this thread! I have a horse with a tiny mouth who will eventually need a double bridle and I have found nothing that looks like it would actually fit in his mouth until I saw these!
@QovDressage I would very much like to get more info about availability in the US when it’s ready.
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@eclectic “But what is the consensus on a bit that is so super light? I’m thinking it would feel like a bit of straw in the horse’s mouth - like floating in there and getting in the way, instead of lying down across the tongue.”
So this is actually one of the reasons I was interested in the Fager bits was the light weight and small diameter my horse has a small mouth low pallet and a fat tongue which he takes great offense to having squished by the typical lozenge bits he prefers all bars and no or minimal tongue. He goes beautifully in the Weymouth and bradoon combination I bought from Fager and there small diameter really helps with the super limited space he has available in his mouth. Not all horses want to lugg around a heavy bit over their tongue.
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[B]Jackie Cochran, Thank you for the generous offer!! When I searched and found your previous thread on these bits, I noticed that there was a lot of talk of eggbutt snaffles. I think I might just buy an inexpensive eggbutt bit and see what my horse thinks about that. I am a fan of the lose rings, but maybe my horse is not…
eclectic, I’ve also always heard that heavier bits are preferred, because they will lay more quietly in the horses mouth. Guess we won’t know until we try something different. ;)[/B]
I am still interested in the Fager bits and will look for a bit clinic in this area in the future. Thanks all!!! :yes:
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