Cricket has fleshy cheeks, meaning she’s got extra flesh on the inside of her cheeks. Her dentist recommended a Nathe or Mullen mouth straight bar. Since we are trying out different bits at the moment, just to see which she likes best. She sat for quite a bit and responds well to a french link o ring, maybe a little too well, I am considering my dentist’s suggestion.
I have never used a straight bar, mostly always used some sort of snaffle. So Im not familiar with the straight bar action and since she has the extra flesh on her cheeks (again…never had a horse with this) I want her to be comfortable, and still have brakes, since she is forward. I do not want to over-bit her and ruin her mouth. If I can find something softer and more gentle without the possibility of it pinching her cheeks, Im open to suggestions.
A Mullen mouth is quite soft. It applies a fairly even pressure across the bars and the tongue. A Nathe is similar, but narrows in the middle to provide some tongue relief. I have a forward but sensitive soft-mouthed horse and he goes very well in a rubber Mullen mouth.
ETA- both are still snaffles.
That’s funny the dentist recommended a mullen for fleshy cheeks. My mare has the same and it took me the first 13 years of her life to realize a mullen was the answer for her. I didn’t know it was a “thing” apart from my own weird horse. My mare also prefers a low port on her mullen, which is now legal for dressage.
Yep, I’ve found the same for my horses with this sort of mouth.
An unbroken pelham with a mild port is also a favorite. I think that, in addition to everything else, they like the way in hangs in the mouth instead of resting entirely on the bars. A mullen ported baucher might also be appreciated, if anyone makes such a creature?
@Simkie Myler makes one:
https://www.naylors.com/myler-small-…ow-port-mb-06/
My horse goes well in THIS loose ring, but I have to order another. Last summer’s humidity did a number on the blue alloy despite my best efforts. It is now rustier than I feel comfortable using; an ugly, rough, flakey rust that doesn’t seem like it would be pleasant to put in your mouth.
She wears a low port mullen kimberwick for XC that is great when I need brakes, but is way too much for every day use.
What is the connection between fleshy cheeks and mullen mouth bit? I understand how it works, but I would think fleshy tongue or low palate or something might be the reason… but cheeks? I just got my guy a ported Myler for tongue relief, very mild, but I think he likes the KK eggbut better, even though that lies on the tongue
I have no idea, I can only speak to my horse. The flesh on her cheeks extends into her mouth and up against her tongue. Anything double jointed with a lozenge or link seems to fit with the joints rubbing against her fleshy cheeks regardless of the size of the link, which drives her bonkers. She is downright dangerous in them.
She also hates straight mullens, especially fat ones. I suspect she doesn’t like them laying on her tongue, which is also kind of fleshy.
For years I rode her in a single jointed snaffle, but she never truly accepted contact and had a tendency to lock her jaw and blow off rein aids. I attributed it to bad riding on my part/her personality.
But then I tried a low port mullen quite by accident and she was like a new animal! Never would I have thought a bit alone could make such a difference.
Huh. This and the other Myler thread made me order the MB33WL just to try. When he acts so fussy, I assume it is me, and then I assume the bit is ineffective and maybe I have been too mild in my bit choices. This will at least check off that question!
After trying out a handful of $5 mullen mouths from the local used tack store (rubber pelham, rubber D, metal eggbutt) I finally broke down and bought a Happy Mouth Pro King D Mullen. I LOVE it. It is actually somewhat flexible so it is a softer bit than I was expecting. My horse can get a heavy in a Waterford, but he responds very well to this bit, I think in part because of the ribbed material. https://www.doversaddlery.com/hppy-mth-kd-pro-ribbd-mln-mth/p/X1-01125/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw4qvlBRDiARIsAHme6ouWohcroklkJTmKxuMch6vvyu16eq6iqWL0fewuv_mW5CGWiry3wCUaAoQdEALw_wcB
My mare has this exact problem and oh boy, it took me about a year to discover the problem and over another year to find a remedy. My fix was a PeeWee bit. http://www.horsebithire.com/horse/pee-wee-product. Of course, not dressage/show legal but that was OK. By this time, I had to do a lot of work to get back her trust and show her she could be more quiet in the mouth.
She would (and still does) get pinched with any jointed bit (double worse than single). She would have bruises and blisters on those flabby cheeks. I felt so bad when I finally found them, instead chalking up her uber reactive, spooky and way fussy in the mouth to being a reactive breed and me doing the riding:concern:.
I rode her in the PeeWee solid for about a year. I could use a Myler MM for showing and get away with a couple days but she still had some pinching with that and by the 3rd ride was definitely not as soft in the connection and tended to more crookedness. I also have a Glory mouthpiece that is a Baucher bit that she works fairly well in although I think it is a bit thick. I tried to find a pony sized one but they are primarily driving bits and I apparently the non-driving bits are not made anymore.
What I have her in now is a Neue Schule Turtle Tactio with a PS of Sweden Nirak bridle. That combo is working well. She can still get just a bit of pinkness on the flabby bits but the bit “locks” so although jointed, the way it lays and the locking mechanism seems to keep from badly pinching the flabby stuff. The bridle design seems to help and I don’t even have the flash strap tight. I do believe this design of bridle and the Micklem (although neither size would fit Kyra quite correctly) do keep one from smashing that flabby cheeks into the teeth that a straight cavesson or cavesson with a flash would.
It is a tough problem to remedy. Good luck.
Susan
A mullen is still a snaffle bit. What makes a bit not a snaffle is leverage, not the mouthpiece (a lot of people mistakenly call a Western Ton Thumb bit a snaffle because it’s jointed. It’s not.).
My horse goes in a plain eggbutt mullen very well. He seems to like the stability a lot. He’s ok in a French link Baucher, but fussy in a single-joint. A mullen is a very soft, mild bit, which I like. He doesn’t have extra-fleshy cheeks or anything, but I love how soft he is in it…he seeks contact now.
I think if I could find a plain mullen Baucher, he’d be super happy, but no such luck so far. I found on on a UK site but they don’t have the right size, and I’ve never seen one anywhere else.
