Can someone explain the use of these bits to me ? They look like overkill to me. I typically use loose ring or eggbutt KK sprengers. I have some others like a quartermoon pessoa loose ring, a Myler comfort bit (that my horse hated), regular loose ring snaffle and some others. I ride TBs and all of my horses and those I have leased went well for me in those bits.
There is a trainer that only rides in Mikmars and I honestly cannot understand why. The solid ones and those with curb chains. Is it a fad ?
There are a lot of different mikmar bits that work a lot of different ways and that are used for a lot of different disclines. You may need to be more specific if you want a serious answer.
I wouldn’t use them on the entire barn, but I have ridden in some, but only very strong horses. They are very light weight and work well on the strong ones who just are not going to listen at times. But you do need to have a good hand and understand it is a strong bit and especially the combo bit are not for a lot of contact. For some it works great, I could see it not working for all especially a more sensitive horse that would curl behind it (neither horse I have used them on were like that! But I have ridden horses I would never dream of riding in it!). I have bits I personally LOVE on most horses and have a couple that work great for ME but not everyone. I have yet to really ride a horse that doesn’t go well in my KK ultra, happy mullen (off brand, more flexible) or kk 3 ring. In fact both horses that have gone in the Mikmar actually went better in the kk 3 ring for me.
If the trainer is using a variety of the mikmars (at home or just at shows or both?) they really might just like the feel it gives them, but not every horse is going to love it.
The Mikmar mouthpiece is actually quite mild. It only looks like a torture device! I ride in a mikmar short shank – very slight leverage, no nose rope, and a roller that my horse plays with. http://mikmar.com/bit-pages/shortshank-bit.html
It is by FAR my horse’s favorite bit.
I tried the Mikmar combo bits with the rope as well as the bit for a different horse but he didn’t like the mouthpiece and hated the rope.
whbar158: I agree with your assessment. The trainer trains and shows in those bits. When I had this trainer fill in for my trainer when she was on vacation, I said to use my bridle with my bit. The trainer did not like that but why would I take my soft mouthed 6 year old and put a Mikmar with a curb on him ?
I am not understanding the extensive use of these bits for all horses. I started riding when less was more and pelhams were for horses that did not behave.
The shape of the mikmar mouth piece is actually very mild, especially the curved one, as it is light and has a wide area of pressure on the tongue so not as sharp as a thinner snaffle and very gentle in that way. The combination bit (which is what my guy hacks out in and loves) has swept back shanks so it is almost impossible to engage the port in such a way as it to be painful for a horse. I can’t say anything about some of their other shanked version of it.
My guy is very very sensitive and hates most bits. The mikmar was the first bit he really accepted contact with although he now schools in double jointed snaffles (full cheek to jump, boucher for dressage). I pull the mikmar out for gallops because while he’ll take the bit and pull a bit, a tug on the nose rope keeps him with me without him trying to break my face (he is a head flipper)
A friend of mine has a Mikmar that’s just a D ring snaffle with a copper lozenge and double joints. It’s too heavy for my cob, but her canadian cross LOVES it and goes better in it than he did in a JP Korsteel bit with an almost identical mouthpiece (just less heavy).
The long shank and combo bits were really popular in the jumper ring around here a few years ago. The new fad bit is the Myler combination bit. Very few (if any) are used with two reins.
In my opinion, anything but the snaffles are more of a western bit design-wise. I feel like they look weird when combined with english tack, but look appropriate paired with western tack. I think I read something a while back about how they were originally meant to be western bits, but jumpers discovered that they could turn sharply and still stop a strong horse in them too, but I could be totally wrong.
I did that “foot test” with a short shank mikmar several years ago, laid the bit across the top of my foot with the curb strap under my foot, and the pressure wasn’t what I was expecting. It’s a lot softer than the low port kimberwick I tested. That said, it’s a very bulky mouthpiece and I can see some horses (like my current guy) really protesting it.
Mikmar makes a wide variety of bits and I have had good success with them on different types of horses. In particular, some of the wider mouthpieces seem to be very well accepted by horses with sensitive mouths. I think some of the Mikmar bits are very useful in the jumper ring where you need to have control without backing a horse off excessively.
I think that it is important to remember that the most mild egg butt snaffle can be a horrible torture device in the hands of a rough, heavy handed person, and even a twisted wire snaffle can be a gentle bit when used by a rider with soft, sympathetic hands.
My boy has gone for years in a Myler bit, but he also likes the Mikmar pelham with the straight mouth piece…looks awful, but he’s light and in front of my leg in it, ears forward and easy to ride.
I know several eventers who use them and the ones with the nose piece on the CC course quite effectively.
I think they are a tool to be used as needed, same as other bits. My horse HATES loose rings and a plain dee snaffle will get you a curled up mess…so each horse needs some experimentation to find the right bit. I would never condemn a whole line of bits or style simply because it doesn’t work for me. A poorly fitted plain snaffle in the hands of a beginner rider can be a nasty situation.
I have used the short shank combo bit on my freight train of a horse. He would lean and pull really bad. The addition of the nose rope allowed me to whoa without giving him something to lean on. I used mine with two reins, one on the nose rope and one on the snaffle or the curb portion depending. This was a horse who could lope around in a halter and leadrope or chain over his nose but would drag you around with a bit in his mouth.
The whole thing is way way lighter feeling than it looks. I was very surprised by that when I got it.
I have seen one trainer encourage an intermediate rider to put a Mikmar combination bit on her horse, and then the trainer stood in the middle of the ring duirng a jump lesson and repeatedly advised, “Your horse has a mack truck in its mouth, just let the bit do the training!” No exaggeration, I was hacking in the arena and nearly fell off my horse when I heard it (repeatedly), and the whole group lesson of 2’6" adults just happily carried on with nary a care in the world.
A lot of these posts about bits strike me as slightly judgmental when whomever posts the thread hasn’t used the bit in question. It looks like a torture device?
I’ve never used a Mikmar, at least not that I can remember, but I do think that any bit is a tool that, used correctly, can be beneficial in some situations.
I’m not one of the people who thinks that any horse can go in a snaffle, after years of playing with different bits to figure out what works best for my mare. Can I ride her in a snaffle? Sure… and it will be a really frustrating, unpleasant experience for 40 minutes. Every time. I can accomplish substantially more with her if I use a bit with a shank - and only use a feather-light touch. Is it ideal? Probably not. But is she super broke on the flat and an absolute joy to do advanced flatwork on? OMG yes.
I haven’t ridden very many horses who really were dramatically better in a bit that some people would call a torture device, but my 8 years of playing with different bits for Nikki really changed my perspective.
^Let me just say that I think people who are doing seriously advanced work have the street cred and demonstrated results to back up their choices.
A group of adults jumping 2’ - 2’6" in a weekly group lesson?
COME ON.
Teachers should be able to teach average amateurs on average horses to do average work in an average bit. When the horse and rider are doing advanced work we can talk, but IMO it is ridiculous to need that much help from equipment to trot and canter around basic courses.
Most riders do not have the resume, nor are they doing the type of work, to warrant use of this kind of bit.
I rode two horses as a junior that went well in Mikmar bits. One gelding, a TB hunter, who was very unhappy in anything single jointed. His name was Iron Monarch and he was nicknamed Iron Jaw. The double jointed Mikmar D worked very well on him.
The other horse, a TB jumper, occasionally went in the circle shank Mikmar. I had a difficult time finding a balance on this horse of enough forward and too much forward, so the bit didn’t always work the best. Other people had better luck with him.
I agree with the above posters. 2’ to 2’6" adult riders probably don’t need a Mikmar.
Ok, seriously. DO you really think that is even remotely how any bit is “supposed” to work? The trainer obviously was a fool who shouldn’t be a trainer and didn’t know what they were doing. It’s clear that you also don’t know anything about the way these bits are “supposed” to work either, but even with not knowing, you condemn them because you saw one bad trainer misuse one and your horses are fine in a snaffle. Frankly, that is ridiculous!*
These threads always pop up and to an extent they make my skin crawl because they start with the premise that “I don’t know what this bit is or how this bit works and I have always used snaffles, so this bit must be bad.” My suggestion to this is that if you don’t know how a particular bit works, you probably don’t need to be using it.*
As I mentioned earlier, Mikmar makes all sorts of bits, which range from dressage-legal snaffles to snaffles with sightly different shaped mouth pieces to to gags to elevators to combo bits. Each one works a little differently and can produce a different feel and is appropriate for different horses, riders and disciplines. There are some of them I would never put in my horses mouth - not because I am sure they are bad, but because I either don’t know how they work or they were not intended for use on a horse that does what my horse does. What works for one horse in the hunter ring may not work for that same horse in the jumper ringer were more momentum and faster reactions are important, and that is definitely going to be different from what works in the dressage ring or what is needed for reining or barrel racing. The people who are using these bits for their intended purpose know why they chose a specific bit, how it works and what kind of feel they are looking for.*
I use the Watson Two Ring (a mikmar bit)on my horse for jumpers. I’ve trained with the bit’s designer, so I know I am using it correctly. It is not intended to be ridden with a second rein or a nose band, as both would “muddy” the way the bit works. It allows for very soft adjustments and quick reactions. It allows me to not be in my horses mouth all the time. My horse also goes in a snaffle for dressage and a Dee with rollers for hunters, so no, I don’t use the bit just so I can “let the bit” do the training. I have a friend who uses the Watson Swoop for jumpers and she does so for very specific reasons - her horse also goes in a KK and is doing 2nd level dressage, so trust me, the reason isn’t “so she can haul on her horses mouth and let the bit do the training.” Neither bit should be used by an uneducated rider with uneducated hands. Bottom line, if you don’t know what you’re doing, don’t use these bits.*
If a trainer wants to use one of these bits on your horse, ask why and see if the answer makes sense. If it does, then decide if you like the answer. They may think a particular bit that provides a particular kind of signal different from their normal bit is a good way to teach a horse something it is having trouble learning in its normal setup. If the answer is “Oh, I use this bit on everyone” or “I want to put a freight train in the Dobbins’ mouth and let it do the training,” get a different trainer.
Thanks everyone. I am old fashioned as well. I have seen several horses go up in a pelham so I am a bit concerned, however, my horse goes just fine in a 3 peice snaffle.
I really don’t think all of these horses need or really should be in a mikmar, but I just wanted to know how these bits worked and some opinions. I wouldn’t think they are allowed in hunters.
