My hands never “enjoyed” riding a horse in a French link, and my hands just found the lozenge dull, I do not really know how to describe the feeling, but I did not feel that much in communication with the horse’s mouth.
When I first tried a Dr. Bristol I put it on like I’ve seen described in several bit/saddlery books. My horse did not like it at all. Another horse I tried it on like that would not accept contact gladly but did not mind sagging reins.
Then I figured out how to put it on the GENTLE side, and I have had excellent results. My best results were with the JP Korsteel Dr. Briston D-ring AFTER I made “bit loops” out of bias tape at the tops of the Ds.
The horses I used this set up with were an Arabian gelding who had perfected bolting if he found a bit or rider’s hands too harsh, which got him booted from the regular lesson lineup. He was super finicky with his mouth and had HIGH standards about the rider’s hands and the bit in his mouth. He had no hesitation to showing his displeasure early on and could get vehement rapidly. He really liked the JP Dr. Bristol, he was a little bit more forgiving of my hand faults, and I could control him with tweaks of my fingers on contact.
Then I tried it on an old Arab mare, late twenties, who had the most sensitive mouth of any horse I’ve ever ridden. She liked the same bit just fine, much better than the other bits tried on her, though when my hands deteriorated more in the summer time she would say ENOUGH but when it got cooler she had no objections when I started riding with it again. This mare would IMMEDIATELY tell her rider if the bit was acceptable with that rider’s hands.
Neither of these horses liked me riding them in a French link or lozenge bit.
So I do not understand at all why this humane bit, comfortable, easily understood by the horse, and capable of transmitting the rider’s hand aids promptly and accurately has been demonized by the powers that be of dressage. If you put most bits “upside down” in the horse’s mouth you will get objections from the horse, but those other bits are not prohibited.
I no longer ride with this bit, after my worse MS exacerbation in 15 years my proprioceptive sense of my hands just got too bad all the time, not just in the summer heat. When the horses said “NO” I went to the super gentle Wellep bit, one of the few bits that I’ve found gentler than a Dr. Bristol when it is put on the bridle in the correct position.
