Has anyone used one before?
I saw them and talked to a dealer at the HHF last weekend and I was intrigued. Since the bit can rotate and spin an infinite number of times, it reduces the nut cracker effect.
Thoughts? I saw some used ones for sale, and am definitely a bit hoarder!
Example: http://www.pinchlessbits.com/store/p…rt_iw_107.html
I’ve got one on a bridle now. My horse seems to like it!
Sorry, have to disagree on this bit being “that special.” Nutcracker effect is still there with a single hinge in the center of the mouthpiece. What difference does a spinning hinge make from the old cast hinge joint? Bit still folds, hinge point goes up into upper palate with sides of mouthpiece folding, tightening with the rein pull on the lower jawbone. Tongue may or may not get pressure and pinching.
A different hinge design does not change the mechanical working of the basic design and how it works in the jaw.
Have you used one before? In person when I bent the bit, the hinge easily rotated so that it wasn’t poking and was smooth against what would be the tongue. 
Granted I haven’t used one before either. I don’t think it’s special, just interesting.
Similar to a Mylar but cheaper?
I think their ported bits are pretty similar to some Mylers, I just haven’t seen that swiveling hinge before!
I have a few, and like the snaffle and use it, probably, daily on lesson ponies/horses. I do thnk it still has some nutcracker effect, but it is greatly reduced. They are inexpensive so I’d say go for it! I also have a curb version with a roller that I oddly found at a yard sale. I don’t use it much, but not because of the design. It’s just not a bit I really need.
QUOTE "Have you used one before? In person when I bent the bit, the hinge easily rotated so that it wasn’t poking and was smooth against what would be the tongue. Granted I haven’t used one before either. I don’t think it’s special, just interesting. " No I don’t own one, just looking at the photo. What difference does the rotating hinge make to the horse? When bit is folded with you pulling the reins, the hinge is not going to be rotating. Hinge will be pointing straight up towards the roof of his mouth, probably poking him there. Hinge is only laying on the horse tongue when you do nothing to his reins. It you try for contact with horse mouth, hinge folds upwards, bit puts pressure on mouth bars of lower jaw, giving the pinching action. Bit does look smooth where it lays over the mouth bars when reins are very loose. This is not anything new and wonderful in bit design. There is no amazing magic to the use of a different, new hinge on a snaffle bit… And no, it does not work like a Myler mouthpiece bit. But if you want to buy this bit, it is your money. Any new “magic” reactions from the horse usually last about ten days to two weeks when you change bits. Then the new places the different bit affects have been desensitized so he is back to his old ways…
I’m not looking for anything magical, was quite literally just wondering if anyone had used one. My geldings both go nicely in french links/double jointed…
That’s not how the bit worked in person when I was physically holding, spinning and bending it, but thank you for sharing your opinion.
Thank you! That’s exactly what I thought in person as well.
“When tension was applied to the reins, the mouthpiece pressed more deeply into the tongue, thereby causing the joint to move away from the palate. Single-jointed bits are usually described as having a nutcracker-like action, the implication being that when tension is applied to the reins, the angle between the arms of the mouthpiece closes and the joint is pushed toward the palate. In our study, any nutcracker effect that tended to push the joint toward the palate was more than offset by indentation of the tongue.”
I have a hard time imagining the “nutcracker” effect. With a hinge bit, the placement of the bit in the horse’s mouth results in the hinge pointing towards the incisors, not up into the hard palate.
Edited OP to change “eliminated” to “reduced”. I’m honestly more interested to hear from those who have used one, instead of debating the nut cracker effect.
I have used this bit. I used to use it on lesson horses. It was ok, and I think an improvement on regular snaffles. Horses seemed to carry it quieter.
When I think if “nutcracker” I think more of the pressure the single joint puts on the bars rather than up on the palate…like how a nutcracker works. Fluroscopy scans show that the single joint only presses on the palate when the bit is at rest (the tongue presses up on the joint) and not when there is pressure, and is why some horses want to lean/pull on single jointed bits.
When you crack a nut, and I’ve only cracked open walnuts with nutcrackers, the outside shell gives and the nut pops out. I just don’t see the correlation with a bit.
The nutcracker works with the leverage the long arms of the nutcracker create additional pressure on the shell of the nut…much more than you would get just by trying to crush with your hands. This is the same action of the single jointed snaffle putting pressure on the bars (folding and squeezing in). That is where the term came from, not from the pressure up.
I have been using a Robart with a rotating, slightly bowed, french link center for years. My PRE likes it because he can put the link where he wants it (on his tongue), and its an eggbutt, which suits his fullsome lips !
But that would only be if you were pulling DOWN on the bit. The hinge points towards the incisors, not the palette. When you pull, the bit folds, with the hinge pointing into the incisors. The hinge would not point upwards and hit the palette with the mouthpiece then folding in or squeezing the bars.
@Palm Beach Where do YOU think the pressure from the bars of the bit go, assume the horse is holding its head in a normal fashion (no evading with a very high or low head)? I agree the palate doesn’t push into the roof of the mouth, but that it just squishes the tongue, but I cannot grasp where you think the pressure from the arms of the bit go.
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