Does anyone use the KK bits with the “bean” in the middle? the dressage folks at my barn swear by them… and they do make a D ring bit with the same mouthpiece, that I might try for my hunter. Does anyone have experience with one? thanks.
Does anyone use the KK bits with the “bean” in the middle? the dressage folks at my barn swear by them… and they do make a D ring bit with the same mouthpiece, that I might try for my hunter. Does anyone have experience with one? thanks.
There is a hunter Dee in the Sprenger “jelly bean” bit. You can find it in the Dover catalog, with the other D’s.
I love both of mine. I first bought a loose ring snaffle with “jelly bean” as I was doing predominately dressage with my young horse. He really accepted that bit well as compared to the hollow mouth plain snaffle I had.
Now that I have started entertaining the idea of him starting over fences, I purchased the exact same bit only in the D. It is gorgeous. And suits him just as well.
Beware the comparison to the “french link” though. It is my understanding that the french link is really a flat jointed piece in the center of the snaffle. It is more harsh than the jelly bean. To my knowledge Sprenger is the only manufacturer of the true jelly bean jointed snaffle.
They are pricey, D ring about 95.00, loose ring about 85.00. I think there is also a full cheek snaffle available at 105.00. But I feel worth every single penny. Lord knows I wouldn’t own two if I didn’t think so. You can email me if you have any other questions. 
It works great, especially on horses with a lower port in their mouths. Helps with horses who are very sensitive in the mouth, too. The only time I wouldn’t suggest using it is on a horse that tends to pull or get hard in the mouth. You’ll give up a lot more control with this type of bit in those situations.
I bought the KK D-ring bit with the “bean” and noticed no difference in the way my mare went with a cheap D-ring french link.
Yes, I noticed a difference between a regular jointed snaffle and the french-link … but no difference between my borrowed $20 french link and my $100 KK bit. I like the KK bit but could have saved the money by buying the french link and gotten the same results in my opinion.
Also, my friend who has a QH that pulls tried my “miracle” bit and affectionately now calls it the “anti-miracle” bit…he almost tugged her arms off! So it is not for everyone
I love my KK French Training Snaffle (proper name for one with “bean” in the middle). I have to disagree with Velvet in the respect that it’s not good for “hard mouthed” horses. I used to ride Lion in a pencil thin full cheek. When i started dessage work he used to avoid the bit, drag me around, and over all just plain ignore my hands. My dressage instructor at the time suggested i get a KK French Training Snaffle. I’m thinking, “Ok, i have no/little control with a thin snaffle and you want me to go to a gentiler bit?” But it worked! I ride in the KK French Training Snaffle for dressage work and a French Link (flat rounded link) for jumping work. i also have a french link 3 ring that i also work with. I think Lion is one of those TB’s that has the low pallete (roof of mouth) and appreciated not being jabbed in the roof of his mouth. My first one was an eggbut ring but he had a tendency to lock on to that a little so my next dressage instructor suggested a loose ring so there’s a little more “play” with the bit. He really does great with them. I show hunters, jumpers, dressage, and event in mine.
Definately not for every horse…but honestly I have a cheap loose ring also with a little bean in the middle and I couldn’t really tell the difference either!! 
Barb
My horse loves the three piece KK bits. He has a thick tongue and a low palate, so he fusses if hit on the palate, or poked on the tongue, by a two piece snaffle.
The KK “D” bit is 16 mm’s in diameter. The full cheek is 18mm. They fit the horse’s mouth closer then a two piece snaffle so you might have to go smaller. Try a friend’s bit for size before you buy. Also make sure it is not too mild for your horse. The KK bits are very fat, heavy and easy for a horse to “carry”, and to ignore.
I find it easier to “lift a shoulder” (a western riding term) to balance my horse with a three piece bit, since the sides act more independent of each other then a two piece snaffle. My western snaffle bits are three pieces with a thick gauge, one inch diameter wire ring connecting the cannons of the snaffle. The cannons are the part that rest on the horse’s bars. The western bits with the ring act like a Dr.Bristol by putting pressure on the horse’s tongue when both reins are pulled.
[This message was edited by Reginapony on Feb. 05, 2001 at 07:51 PM.]
My little Tb mare (arab sized bridle, small mouth low palate, and canine teeth) goes very well in it–no more head fussing. One of my training Tb mares fusses incessantly in one and goes better in an eggbutt. I’ve got another one that goes best in a mullen mouth snaffle. I guess that’s why I have a whole wall of bits!
From a D ring snaffle! The owner of a tack shop boards at my barn. When I went to her store to buy another plain snaffle she suggested I use a KK with my horse. She then offered me to borrow her spare. Used it a few times and LOVE it. Just got mine 2 weeks ago… Does anyone know if KK has a site?
~~Jumpergal and Poly~~
http://geocities.com/horseyzone
Hay Laz,
My husband always says “what – another bit! You have so many! What do you need another bit for!”
I try to explain to him that bits are like hand tools, each one is for a specific purpose. I just hope he never finds out how I use his hand tools when I alter bits and spurs!
I ride my horse in the KK (french link), both on the flat and over fences. He has a low “roof-of-the-mouth,” so my trainer suggested I use a three piece as opposed to a snaffle.
His prior owner jumped him in a pelham, and I, as I said, jump him in the KK with no loss of control. He can be a bit strong, sometimes, but when that happens, I do what I would do with a stronger bit - pull, release, kick him off the rein that he is holding on. In sum, I don’t think it is hard to ride a horse that pulls in the KK.
Oh, by the way, I think it is the nicest bit for your horse, if that matters. . . . (To me it does.)
I got quite a bit of good information from other posters on the HJ board about the difference between a french link & a plain snaffle, but found out another interesting tidbit when I was @ the WEF a couple of weeks ago.
I have been bit shopping for a little while now, and had ended up trying to decide between a french link the KK. (Had been able to try an eggbut french link & a loose ring KK from other boarders at the barn - leaning toward the french link for the financial reasons already noted in this thread!)
A very nice lady at the Tack Loft took quite a bit of time and explained that the softer action of the french link snaffle was lost as soon as you go from a loose ring to a fixed ring bit (either a D-ring or an eggbut). The advantage of the loose ring is that the horse is able to subtly adjust the position of the bit in his/her mouth allowing the angled flat plate to rest on the tongue without “cutting” in the tongue/palate. By changing to a fixed ring, you are basically changing from a french-link to more of a Dr. Bristol (harsher) bit action.
She also told me that the new KK Ultra has the “bean” changed so that it supposedly fits the horse’s mouth even better. Her opinion was that the softest bit was the loose ring KK ultra. Further shopping at The Tackeria and questioning of their “bit person” basically reinforced the same information. The KK ultra does come in a D-ring and is supposed to also be a “soft” bit (I was VERY tempted-D ring is my 1st choice for a bit) but you lose the ability of your horse being able to shift the bit slightly and get the fit that feels good to him/her. So, I have ordered the loose ring KK ultra (at a better price @ WEF than I found @ my local tack shop!) and am eagerly awaiting its arrival!
I don’t know if anyone else has been given this explanation of the differences between these bits, but I could feel the difference myself when I held my hand curled around the bit and the rings were lifted as if reins were being used. It only took one pinch of my hand with a snaffle to decide my guy was getting a different bit!
Well before I got my old horse, he went in a gag, double twisted, corkscrew, pelham, knife edge…among others…he was a PULLER AND A HALF!! My trainer had me put the KK in his mouth…HE STILL PULLED…it took MONTHS for him to soften…but eventually…he GOT SO SOFT! He loved it and I am sure he loved me for giving him that bit! I never used anything else on him…yah he had his wild and crazy TB days…but that bit is wonderful!! I would never use anything else…The horse I am leasing now, goes in the KK d-ring…it’s awesome!!! Hacks, jumps, shows…everything in the KK!!
I’m too lazy to look it up, but a Googolsearch on “Sprenger bits equestrian” or somesuch found it for me a while ago -Sprenger is a German company which makes a bunch of things (dog collars and nautical equipment included, as I recall) including KK bits. You can get the site, or most of it, in English if your German is as fluent (!) as mine…
This is definitely not a “trendy, gadget, bit”, this thing has really worked well with all the horses i’ve used it on. I love it and wish more would look at it to help their horses. It’s certainly not a gadget. It’s great!
