Hunter D vs Full Cheek

[Sing_Mia_Song]

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.

[IPEsq]

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.

[Peggy]

@IPEsq

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.

[Cat_Tap]

Totally irrelevant post here but I have always referred to it as Racing D not Hunter D.

[RanchyHunter]

@Cat Tap

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.

[adelmo95]

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.

[Cat_Tap]

@RanchyHunter

A racing D is generally a smaller ring size. Hunter Ds are larger.

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.

[Arlomine]

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.

[StormyDay]

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!

[2bayboys]

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.

[Janet]

@2bayboys

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.

No it doesn’t.
That is an old wives tale with no basic in physics.
When you pull on the rein with a full cheek, with or without keepers, you shorten the distance between the bit and the poll, and REDUCE the poll pressure.

[Kottbulle]

I;ve always felt that the full cheek tends to hang in the mouth ( with or without keepers) more than a D ring does and therefore you tend to get a much different action. I think with the smaller ring of the Full cheek it lends it to be more stable in there mouths. Thru much trial and error i’ve found my OTTB tends to prefer hanging type bits to loose rings ( though he currently is fairly happy in a Happy Mouth 3 ring loose ring so may look into a pelham or full cheek in the happy mouth)
I also think the “leverage” action people fell like they are getting in a full cheek with keepers is that the because the bit snow very much hanging in the horses mouth, they aren’t hitting the bars of the mouth when the bit comes into action, which i think for some horses is very relaxing and allows them to stretch and seek the bit better, thus becoming more round, and correct. But thats just a guess on my part…

[Kottbulle]

@StormyDay speaking from experience a loosening can get pulled thru a horses mouth… it happened to me once when i was schooling a friends very mouthy, green OTTB. He was throwing temper tantrum and i was trying to turn him to avoid hitting the wall and the bit just started coming thru his mouth… needless to say we switched to an eggbutt. granted the horse was being a pig at the time, but always has made me think twice about greenies in loose rings for that reason.

[KnockedOut]

If the horse has zero preference and I don’t notice a difference in how they go, I usually opt for a D with my hunter. Plus, as was mentioned previously, specific moutpieces seem to be easier to find in a D vs. a full cheek.

With my green OTTB, we tried all 3 (loose ring, D and full cheek). We opted for the full cheek when she started jumping just for steering. When she progressed I tried all three again and she was much happier in a full cheek. So that’s what she got.

I’m not one to argue with my horses preference lol

[StormyDay]

@Kttbulle

@StormyDay speaking from experience a loosening can get pulled thru a horses mouth… it happened to me once when i was schooling a friends very mouthy, green OTTB. He was throwing temper tantrum and i was trying to turn him to avoid hitting the wall and the bit just started coming thru his mouth… needless to say we switched to an eggbutt. granted the horse was being a pig at the time, but always has made me think twice about greenies in loose rings for that reason.

How scary. I think every piece of tack we use can fail us in one way or another and cause an accident. Yesterday my spurs got caught together when I dismounted and I almost fell on my bum :lol:

[anon510129]

@Arlomine

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.

I always thought the keepers were to position the bit differently in the mouth? Or maybe that is the purpose and the keepers block off the part that is able to get caught, theoretically, and didn’t that time? Poor horse.

We use a full cheek for its steering help

[lovezehorses]

@KnockedOut

If the horse has zero preference and I don’t notice a difference in how they go, I usually opt for a D with my hunter. Plus, as was mentioned previously, specific moutpieces seem to be easier to find in a D vs. a full cheek.

With my green OTTB, we tried all 3 (loose ring, D and full cheek). We opted for the full cheek when she started jumping just for steering. When she progressed I tried all three again and she was much happier in a full cheek. So that’s what she got.

I’m not one to argue with my horses preference lol

I agree with you, I find the mouthpiece more important than whether is loose ring, D, full cheek. I ride my horse in D whereas my partboarder will ride in a loose ring. The only main difference I see is how long it takes it to relax her jaw, either than that , she rides the same as long as the bit is jointed, preferring a smaller nugget.

[Kottbulle]

@StormyDay oh lord been there done that… i did the classic, punched myself in the face tightening the girth the other day. I swear me horse just looked at me like " seriously? should you even be riding today?"

[StormyDay]

@Kttbulle

@StormyDay oh lord been there done that… i did the classic, punched myself in the face tightening the girth the other day. I swear me horse just looked at me like " seriously? should you even be riding today?"

Haha yep, done that too!

[poltroon]

All of the snaffle cheeks are good bits, and the differences are subtle. For most horses they don’t matter and for most cases you can go with what you have or what you think looks good on the horse. Fashion for “what looks good on the horse” has definitely changed over the years and anyone telling you that a particular bit is “traditional” is probably wrong.

My pony goes best in a bit with cheeks of some sort: D, full cheek, or eggbutt, because she can sometimes resist sideways and because she likes a bit that doesn’t move in her mouth. Her favorite is a Duo flexible mullen D, but she tolerates a metal mullen eggbutt snaffle. Many horses I’ve ridden are softer and more comfortable in a loose ring, but not her; she despises them and for that matter anything with a joint.

There are small differences in the physics of the way that the mouthpiece will rotate. With perfect round rings, as in a full cheek with keepers, the mouthpiece will not rotate when the reins are pulled. A D-ring is one where they may rotate more, depending on the shape of the D. The shape of the mouthpiece against the mouth may or may not change with this rotation as well. Loose rings tend to be very simple and very symmetrical. The more curve there is in the mouthpiece, the more a potential rotation will matter.

If you want to see this, you can put the bit in your hands, hang it, and pull on it with reins to see the sweet spots of where the cheeks and reins end up when there’s tension versus not. The height you hang it at on the horse (the ever popular number of wrinkles) will impact this a bit as well.