Is this bit a Dr. Bristol?

[Wigwag]

My friend/trainer tried a new bit on my horse yesterday. After the problems previously, it was determined that his loose ring snaffle did not fit him and was causing pain. We put him in a rubber dog bone type bit as a confidence gainer for him to learn to reach and take contact again.

It worked great, he’s moving nicely, and now it’s time to move to an actual “bit” again that has a break in the middle. I was wanting to try a bit a couple people recommended, this one: http://www.smartpakequine.com/ProductClass.aspx?productclassid=4985&cmPreserveSource=true&cmPreserveCategory=true

However, there’s no break (obviously). So friend said she wanted to try a normal light snaffle on him. I said ok…go for it. She said he was apprehensive at first, but rode great in it after a lap or so.

I rode him in it today and he was fantastic. BUT (you knew that was coming right?), I am a little hesitant about it. He has a very soft mouth, and I don’t want to overbit him. This is, IMHO, an eggbutt dr. bristol. Not what I would call a normal “light” snaffle. I used to use a Dr. Bristol on my old event horse XC, and I thought (though it’s been many years) that I couldn’t even show in the dressage phase with that bit. Have the rules changed and it’s ok now? When I was riding and talking to a very experienced dressage rider in the arena today, I mentioned the flat link in the middle and she said it was a dr. bristol as well.

Friend says it’s NOT, and that a Dr. Bristol has a twist. She was insistant, to the point that there was no room for “maybe you’re right.” One, I was a little put-off because while he did ride well in it, I’m still iffy as to whether or not this is too much for a horse who needs no breaks.

What do you all think? Am I being overly protective?

This is what the bit looks like: http://direct.tesco.com/pi/Product/7/100-3687F.jpg

[sublimequine]

If the link in the middle is at an angle so the edge hits the tongue and doesn’t lay flat, it is a Dr. Bristol.

Dr Bristols can come in slow twist, regular smooth snaffle, and I think even single twisted wire.

[SEPowell]

Looks like a Dr Bristol to me.

[Ambrey]

The first link looks more like a horse than a bit

I am pretty sure Dr. Bristol’s are legal now.

http://www.usef.org/documents/ruleBook/2008/08-DR.pdf

[COLOR=#231f20][COLOR=#231f20]7. Snaffle with cheeks. (Hanging or drop cheek; Baucher). This may be a D-ring
or other ordinary snaffle as pictured in Nos. 1-6.]
8. Dr. Bristol.
9. Fulmer.
10. French snaffle.
11. Snaffle with rotating mouthpiece.

[/COLOR][/COLOR]

[Wigwag]

Ha - whoops. Sorry. There are multiple friends looking for horses right now, so I’ve been on the hunt. LOL

http://www.smartpakequine.com/ProductClass.aspx?productclassid=4985&cmPreserveSource=true&cmPreserveCategory=true

[Janet]

The way I understand it, the distinction between a Dr Bristol and a French Link is whether the center part is oriented so the flat side rests on the tongue, or whether the “sharp” edge rests on the tongue. It is that “edge” that makes it considered a more severe bit. But both the Dressage and eventing rules show (as legal) bits labeled “Dr Bristol” that I would consider French Links.

Dr Bristols have been legal for both Evening Dressage and straight Dressage for a good many years now.

If your horse goes well in that bit, but you are not sure which way the center part is resting on the tongue, then try a French Link with a “figure 8” shaped ceter piece, or one witha “lozenge” center piece. Then you will know hat you are not getting the Dr Bristol “edge” effect.

[Meredith_Clark]

Be careful…

Ordering online. I work at a tack store and we have a lot of bits labled “Dr Bristol” that IMO are just a french link since they don’t lay and an angle.

Someone once got into an argument with me in the store that a Dr Bristol isn’t slanted, its just “longer” in the link because they used to stamp the word “Dr Bristol” on it back in the day…

idk

[JackSprats_Mom]

Thats a Dr Bristol.

If he’s soft in the mouth I personally wouldn’t use this bit but a french link may work.

[Wigwag]

Ok…well there’s some conflicting opinions I guess.

Both bits are labeled as a Dr. B - but from what most of you are saying, the above picture is actually a french link and this one is a true Dr. B?

http://www.equine-direct.co.uk/images/bits3.jpg

[Ambrey]

@Wigwag;3075273

Ok…well there’s some conflicting opinions I guess.

Both bits are labeled as a Dr. B - but from what most of you are saying, the above picture is actually a french link and this one is a true Dr. B?

http://www.equine-direct.co.uk/images/bits3.jpg

The Dr. Bristol has an angled link vs. a flat link. I think it’s hard to tell in a 2d picture whether the first bit is angled or not, but yeah- that one is definitely a Dr. Bristol.

http://www.equisearch.com/horses_riding_training/tack_apparel/bit_gallery/frenchlink/
http://equisearch.com/horses_riding_training/tack_apparel/bit_gallery/drbristol/

[pintopiaffe]

A Dr. Bristol can also be used ‘upside down’ and have a more gentle effect. They can be quite useful for certain mouth/tongue shapes as well. Sometimes a bit that FITS the HORSE well is less severe than a traditionally ‘softer’ mouthpiece. A thick hollow mouth traditionally considered to be ‘soft’ can be torture for some horses… a thin ‘sharp’ mouth can be necessary for some mouths–and therefore much ‘kinder’…

The first post, though the picture is a bit tricky, I believe to be a french link. I don’t see the angle. The second picture is definitely a Dr. Bristol.

Brands like Myler call their french link a Dr. Bristol. Theirs is a french link.

Even the bloody beans come at different angles. Very few stainless knockoffs get the angle of the joints the same as KK bits. Which is why (beyond just the metal) people pay $$$ for KKs.

If you’re really against the current bit, why not ask to borrow a french link or a KK to try. Then you’ll know.

[ef80]

What I learned was this:

The key difference between a Dr. Bristol and a French link is the action it creates on the horses tongue. A large, flat panel is a Dr. Bristol, a little bauble in the middle is a French Link.

Because of the size/angling of the center-piece, a Dr. Bristol creates a thin line of pressure on the horse’s tongue. If you flip it over, it makes a wider pressure point. A French Link takes away the tongue pressure because of the way the bit collapses in the mouth when you pull back on the reins. The heavier the center piece on a French Link, the more pressure you’ll get on the tongue.

[Equibrit]

I have some very very old Dr Bristols, and they DO lay flat and wide on the tongue. They also have Dr Bristol written on them and curved side pieces to an eggbutt; so would not be able to “flip over”.

[ESG]

@Equibrit;3076169

I have some very very old Dr Bristols, and they DO lay flat and wide on the tongue. They also have Dr Bristol written on them and curved side pieces to an eggbutt; so would not be able to “flip over”.

Me, too. Personally, I don’t see how one can expect a bit, any bit, to stay on its edge in a horse’s mouth. It’s going to lay flat on the tongue, because there’s nothing to keep it “on edge”, especially if it has a rounded ring.

And to the OP - your links kept coming up with the Happy Mouth mullen mouth, which is definitely NOT legal.

[Janet]

@ESG;3076675

Me, too. Personally, I don’t see how one can expect a bit, any bit, to stay on its edge in a horse’s mouth. It’s going to lay flat on the tongue, because there’s nothing to keep it “on edge”, especially if it has a rounded ring.

Needs a full cheek with keepers. Or a Baucher.

[Wigwag]

[QUOTE=ESG;3076675]

And to the OP - your links kept coming up with the Happy Mouth mullen mouth, which is definitely NOT legal.[/QUOTE]

Read the entire post.

[hoopoe]

A large, flat panel is a Dr. Bristol, a little bauble in the middle is a French Link

actually up until a few years ago , French link were flat as well. It is all about the angle they are set in, which I cannot tell in the posted picture. To me it looks like a French. I rode an olde hunter in a Dr Bristol and it is my understanding it is the most “harsh” of the snaffles

the peanut / lozenge French came into vogue with Sprenger design

To the OP I would go with your own knowledge about what you see in your hands. Consider a lozenge type French. You can find them in non-Aurigan metal so you don’t have to invest a lot to try.

I have learned that thicker is not necessarily milder. Do not be put off by a thinner bit if it means it fits the mouth palate bars better.

I just sent 5 bits to a used tack sale. All but one sold . I know the joy of bit sizing and shopping. I am currently trying to fit a double bridle, so my joy is “doubled”

+++insert bang head on wall icon+++

[ESG]

@Janet;3076704

Needs a full cheek with keepers. Or a Baucher.

Well, what if it’s an eggbutt? Most of the DBs I’ve seen have been eggbutts. And I’ve never seen a Baucher with a DB mouthpiece.

[ESG]

@Wigwag;3076906

Read the entire post.

I did. But then read another and the correct bit came up. Thanks for the correction.

[Wigwag]

[QUOTE=ESG;3077159]
I did. But then read another and the correct bit came up. Thanks for the correction.[/QUOTE]

The correct bit is in the first post, at the bottom.

I will get a pic of the actual bit. He likes it, but it seems rather harsh. He’s very sensitive (and responsive) to it, but I’m worried he’s “over bitted.” I guess I can give it a little more time and see if things continue to go well.

What I’m seeing here in almost all the links posted of a french link is that the link is much smaller (which is what someone said early on in the thread in regards to the old Dr. B’s being longer and having “Dr. Bristol” written on them).