Has anyone had a horse develop an allergy to their bit? How did you figure it out?
We were told a client’s horse was possibly allergic to the bit. Her face (possibly the salivary glands) would swell up. We tested the theory by riding the horse in a sidepull. The horse loved the sidepull, but the swelling would still become an issue when the horse was ridden, with the swelling become serious enough it would extend to her body. The horse was retired from riding and the swelling stopped.
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I know nickel is a common allergy for people.
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I have switched pretty much completely to riding with the Fager titanium bits. I have used a Fager Sweet Iron w/ a copper center bit a little bit.
My riding teachers and the horses all agree, the titanium bits are the best, if the shape of the mouthpiece is approved by the horse (the lesson horses I ride totally hate any “tongue/relief- freedom” bit no matter the metal.) I have MS so my hands are not the steadiest in the world which is probably why these horses do not like me using any tongue relief bit of any material when I ride them.
My hypothesis is that the horses may be allergic to the nickel or the chromium in the stainless steel bits, and that this mild allergy makes the skin on their tongues and bars super sensitive and somewhat swollen.
With the titanium bits the horses relax under me and are MUCH more willing to stretch out into true contact with my hands. I can get contact with the stainless steel bits fine, but it takes a bit more leg to get the horse to stretch out into contact and their tongues do not relax as much as with the titanium bits.
I have ridden one horse who did not like copper in a bit. She liked the mouthpiece, but her arthritis in her knees seemed to get worse. She obviously preferred the titanium bits that do not induce swelling anywhere.
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I was just reading about the titanium bits. I"m intrigued…
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Yeah.
I was really lucky, for a while on E-bay I could find titanium coated bits, “rainbow” colored, but the horses liked them. I can not longer find these cheaper titanium bits. Once I started buying the Fager bits I gave the titanium coated ones to my lesson stable. My riding teacher was glad to get them for her lesson horses.
I much prefer the Fager style bits, mainly because the horses prefer them.
Fager has some interesting ideas about the mouthpieces and there are so many choices of bits on their site. Experimenting with them is expensive, but there are other bit companies with non-stainless steel bits which are even more expensive.
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The rainbow color isn’t titanium itself; rather, it’s a titanium plasma coating, which differs from the material. This coating, found on certain items like surgical instruments, renders them hypoallergenic. For genuine lightweight and hypoallergenic titanium, consider brands like Fager.
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I switched to Fager many years ago. I am very pleased with the Fager bits that work with my hands and all of my hands’ handicaps.
I do have some of the Fager sweet iron bits–just in case because, horses. They DO get really opinionated about what is in their mouths. I have yet to run into a horse that did not prefer the Fager titanium bits, but since I just ride lesson horses now I want to be prepared just in case I run into the theoretical horse that does not prefer titanium bits.
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For what it is worth I can only wear earring that are titanium posts or my ears swell. I can get away with something else for a special occasion for a few hours but not much beyond that.
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Last year, my mare suddenly got very upset with the NS brand bits. Didn’t matter the mouthpiece…was fine with a stainless bit, but use a NS (and to lesser degree HS brand) bit and she was mad. She would just stop and rub her nose on her leg non stop…to the point she would trip if you were trotting as she would be trying to rub while trotting. I assumed it was some type of allergy or reaction as it didn’t happen with stainless.
I switched to the Fager titanium bits for her. I really like them…and my horses seem quite happy with the Fager bits. No rubbing either.
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This happens to me too, and has gotten progressively worse as I have aged.
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