Is this bit a Dr. Bristol?

[Equa]

I have long suspected that French Link and Dr Bristols get muddled up and mis-labeled in the saddleries.

My local saddlery store owner can’t see the difference between a KK (with it’s clever angling of the loops that hold the centre link/lozenge) and a regular SS version, whose loops are so placed that I reckon THEY dig into the tongue.

If the loops lie flat (ie on the same plane as the rings) then a plate will dig in - a Dr Bristol. But if the loops are turned 90 degrees, to allow the plate to lie flat, A French link, then the loops will dig in.

I only started paying attention to this when I put my nice old “French link” eggbutt snaffle on a young horse, and he would not, could not take a contact. He was unfazed by a KK, and even a single joined eggbutt or ring snaffle.

[Equibrit]

@Equa;3078750

If the loops lie flat (ie on the same plane as the rings) then a plate will dig in - a Dr Bristol. But if the loops are turned 90 degrees, to allow the plate to lie flat, A French link, then the loops will dig in.

Wrong - but nice try. It is not only tack stores that get them muddled up!

[Equa]

How am I wrong? The plate has to be at 90 degrees to the loops (most of the time, give or take a few degrees for movement).

[Granada]

I have always understood it the same as equa. A Dr. Bristol has a large rectangular center that when set out on a table lays flat so it is parallel with the plane of the rings. Just like the pic in the OP. And in the horse’s mouth, with pressure on the reins it faces up and down so that the thin edge puts pressure on the tongue.

after reading this thread, you all are confusing me:lol: I guess it’s whatever bit works lol.

edit: after looking at more pics, I think I might have been thinking about it all wrong for a very long time and the center link should be at a 90 degree angle to the rings to create the sharp tongue pressure. haha very confusing!

[Wigwag]

So if the flat center link lays flat, and not at an angle, it’s technically a french link? If that is the case, would an almost identical bit except for having a smaller link (not so long), but a little more mild?

[Mozart]

@Ambrey;3075496

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/

This is what I have been told as well. By stewards.

[Wigwag]

Your dear dressage wannabe Wigwag was wrong…(yes, that means friend/trainer was right)!

The bit is indeed a french link. :sigh: It’s got a flat little bitty link, although I’m still not 100% convinced friend didn’t swap it out because I swear it had a longer link. :winkgrin:

You guys sure are great for learning though. I’ve learned more about bits since joining this forum than I’ve learned in nearly 16 years of riding.

[pintopiaffe]

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.

May be having an ego moment… but I think this stems from what I said about if you flip it–what I mean, is use it “upside down.” Even an eggbutt sits one way or the other. One way the edge of the link rests more on the tongue, the other way it lays much more on the flat part. (it’s not a 45 * angle which would be the same either way, it’s a more open angle (or less than that… I’m not very good at math concepts) so one way the angle is more closed, the other more open…

Sorry. Probably muddled it more than cleared it up–but just hold it like you would have it on a bridle. Then flip it upside down–or turn it around.

[rileyt]

Just to add my two cents, I agree with several others, that the difference between a French link and a Dr. Bristol is the SHAPE of the middle piece (and not the angle it sits at). A longer, flatter, more rectangular “plate” is a Dr. Bristol, while a bean, or curved link in the middle is a French link.

A Dr. Bristol, traditionally, is worn with the flat side of the plate resting against the tongue… but many of the can be turned around, so that the edge of the plate rests on the tongue (much sharper action). The edge will rest against the tongue, because it is just a small middle piece, that is held in place by the sides of the bit. It cannot rotate to lay flat unless the entire bit were to rotate about 90 degrees (impossible when its attached to the bridle).

But… it sounds as if people have gotten multiple opinions from various sources…