I’ve always loved the look of a giant D, so I’ve typically gravitated toward that kind of snaffle. A lot of my barn friends ride in full cheeks. Today we were musing over it being personal preference vs a necessity.
I understand the general mechanics, but can someone point out the fine details of when you’d use one or the other specifically?
I am obviously simplifying, but in my head they are similarly structured on the cheek/sides, so I’m assuming its rein action that differs.
The action of a D-ring and a full cheek without keepers is similar.
The main difference is that the full cheek has a preferred orientation (how the mouthpiece sits in the mouth), hanging straight down from the cheekpiece. The D-ring doesn’t have an inherent preferred orientation, so the horse can rotate it to the horse’s preferred position.
Once you put the keepers on the fullcheek, the difference is more pronounced, because the keepers dictate the position in the mouth.
To ME, both a Big Dee and a fullcheek send the message “this horse does not steer well”.
Be a bit wary when using a full cheek bit. The Cheek bard can catch in to things—like another horses tack. A martingale a riders stirrup.
IMHO a D somewhat dampens the impact of the rider’s hands on the horse’s mouth. Not as much as compared to a loose ring, but somewhat.
in the hunters it can also send the message that someone convinced you that hunters must go in a big D.
Or it could simply mean that the best mouthpiece for that horse was most readily available In a D.
I understood looserings to be the bits that dampen the rider’s hands the least, not the most. Hence why some horses don’t tolerate them well, and also the reason so many dressage riders prefer them - the release is faster on a loose ring.
Can you explain why you think that they dull the rider’s hands?
What I meant, in order of most to least damping was D > full cheek > loose ring. I looked what I wrote and wondered if it was going to made sense. I was trying to say that D’s dampen more than both full cheeks and loose rings, but that the difference was greater for D vs loose ring.
So I don’t think that loose rings dull the rider’s hands.
I have no theory. What I have is at the level of empirical observation, or maybe a law (summary of observations). A theory would be an attempt to explain the law.
My not great attempt at a theory would be that there is somehow a more direct connection with a loose ring since the cheek pieces and reins are on a continuous loop as opposed to a loop and a straight side.
@Janet, @Peggy and everyone who weighed in on this random query, you are amazing! This is why I luff COTH 
I love the full cheek for a baby who is figuring out how to steer. I most emphatically don’t love it for a horse who likes to be in my pocket (or stirrup), for the simple inevitably of them hooking it on something (pocket, stirrup, belt loop, you name it) and freaking out. Seen that, have the bumper sticker. So, in many cases, I prefer the Dee.
Well, honestly, I prefer a simple eggbutt, but it’s not the preferred look in the hunter ring at the moment. But I event now, so it tends to be what I use.
I never met a full cheek I didn’t like. :winkgrin: I sometimes have fit issues with D rings. I own a typical hunter Dee but actually haven’t used it much at shows. But I am also the person who could not care less about going into the hunter ring in a Tom Thumb pelham. At home, I would tend to pick an eggbutt over a D most of the time.
I’ve shown in the AA hunters at big USEF shows with a loose-ring. It’s actually probably the most bit type seen at our barn, so people do hunters, eq and jumpers in them. No one cares.
Totally irrelevant post here but I have always referred to it as Racing D not Hunter D.
A racing D is generally a smaller ring size. Hunter Ds are larger.
I always think of full cheeks as a good bit for a young horse that is still working on steering. In terms of D vs loose ring I do find a difference between the two on my current horse. Both have very similar Nathe mouth pieces, in the loose ring he naturally goes in more of a dressage frame, in the D he is instantly in a hunter frame.
I can’t say for sure whether it is a result of the bit, or that the choice of bit for the day changes my riding style, all I can say is that the difference in way of going is very consistent.
Thank you for that. I always learn something new on Coth. I have been away from Hunterland for many years now. At my age the thrill of jumping is gone that is why we turn to dressage.
I watched a horse hook his full cheek on a stirrup, and he reared and flipped over before anyone could draw another breath.
It even had keepers on it.
See, I always thought that a loose ring dampened the riders hands the most, but was the ‘busiest’ so not great for soft mouthed horses. A D ring doesn’t dampen hands but is a quieter bit for the mouth.
I’ve seen bits of all types get stuck on stuff and cause minor accidents. Luckily I have never seen a serious one. Full cheeks catching on stuff, stuff getting caught in loose rings and D rings. Apparently you can pull a loose ring through the mouth if conditions are perfect but I haven’t seen it with my own eyes.
No tack item is 100% safe. Not too long ago someone had their horse catch the back of a shoe on the girth ring when jumping!
I have an OTTB mare who has a distinct preference for a full cheek with keepers. She can be very fussy in her mouth and I think she likes that the full cheek remains very stable and has little movement. She hates any kind of loose ring. She’s ok in the D ring but better in the full cheek.
With keepers on, the full cheek also offers a slight amount of leverage as rein pressure is transferred through the keepers to a very small amount of poll pressure. The D ring does not have this effect.
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