My horse seems to like the poponcini fairly well, but it is a bit thick for his mouth - contact feels good but he does fuss and gape his mouth. (I got the second softest as couldn’t find the softest version anywhere unless ordered from Europe) Second place for him so far is a rather thin leather bit - does not feel as good in the contact but less fussing and gaping. (Just leather, not leather covered so also concerned about long term integrity) are there any super thin rubber/synthetic type mouthpieces out there?
I don’t know where my trainer got hit, but he just got a D-ring with a curb chain mouthpiece covered in flexible rubber (like what might cover a chain lock or something). I’ve yet to see something softer or more flexible, and the horses seem to love it. My second recommendation would be a classic nathe which tapers in the middle.
I just got a leather bit from Sweet Billy Bits on Etsy. Check out their shop - they make a TON of different leather mouthpieces. I agree with the integrity concern, but they’re inexpensive so you could test them out without breaking the bank. So far, my horse has made slight indentations (about 3 weeks of use).
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That’s actually where I got mine 
it’s holding up well so far and my horse isn’t a chewer I’m just paranoid
I tried out a sweet billy bits and as the owner of a mouthy horse, 12/10 would not recommend. It got chomped on enough that I became incredibly concerned due to the lack of a core. We use a Herm Sprenger Duo which is fantastic. If I had the funds, I would buy a Trust Inno Sense.
I should’ve specified that I got the war bridle/bridle-less bit from them. So far, so good, but I wouldn’t consider my horse mouthy so YMMV.
This one is more substantial. I’ll be purchasing this model if my horse jumps well in the Sweet Billy Bit brand. I like the link below because it can’t slip into the mouth, which is a concern of mine with the SBB.
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I second the war bridle/bridleless bit from Sweet Billy’s. It’s the only mouthpiece my mare will tolerate. I do mainly use it with a head stall (no noseband) for a little extra security, though I have played around with it bridleless too.
One of mine goes in the Trust Innosense D bit and loves it. It’s quite small in diameter.
Trust has a regular and a slim diameter. The slim is 15mm and one of the thinner rubber/plastic bits I’ve seen.
@Rumorhasit93 Just FYI Sweet Billy’s makes that same style for significantly less $.
OP - From what I’ve found there are: Nathes, Duos, Happy Mouth, Poponcini, Beris, Trust, and Winderen.
Happy mouths are very thick. Duos are not nearly as flexible. Winderen is supposedly 20mm thick (have not seen one in person) as is Poponcini. Beris has a 15mm option (comfort bar thin). Nathe is 20mm with the exception of the Pelham it looks like.
My choice is always the sweet Billy bits but I have yet to have a horse that chews on them.
The Duo is nice because of the contour. It’s not uniformly thick.
I have a Beris bit - was also looking for non metal and thinner than 20mm for my mare. I don’t think the quality is worth the price (my husband is a welder and he had things to say about the cheekpiece) but it does the job and works for the horse!
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@the_rook Which one do you have? How flexible is it? I’ve been looking at a Beris for my horse. She likes the Nathe but it’s a bit thick for her very small mouth and I’d like to try her in fixed cheek pieces which I can’t find with Nathe but have never seen a Beris in person.
Just on the leather bits… even if you have a non chewer, I recommend swapping them regularly. We had one, used sporadically but maintained (cleaned, visually inspected) that my husband has been using for the last six months but that has been just a couple rides a month. We have had the bit though for a few years.
Out for a walk with our two, first rides in a month, leans down to give his pony a hug 
and the brat starts trotting away towards home, as per (both horse and rider are skilled training level eventers, and have done the 1m, 1.05m and 1st level dressage-not trying to murder my husband lol).
Said horse starts galloping away, dolphining along, while I am trying to figure out why he sounds panicked, he yelled “my bit broke”. Sure enough, his leather bit had just fell apart. I kept my mare from galloping up behind him (two fresh TB’s) and Huey eventually came to a stop, we pulled off the bit, turned his bridle into a hackamore and rode home.
We will still get another one. I love how thin and supple they are, but will likely give them a lifespan and timeframe we use them in.
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Another one chiming in for the Herm Sprenger Duo. The sensitive Dutch mare I am riding right now loves it. It’s soft and flexible while still having some structure with the metal cord core for safety.
I have the D ring. I believe it’s the hard mouthpiece, which is still somewhat flexible and still much softer than Happy Mouth. I wanted to try the ported one, but I found this one on sale so figured I would try it first. I can try and get some pictures of it if you’d like?
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I appreciate the offer, but I don’t think that’s necessary! I would be looking at the soft mouthpiece instead.
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The Trust Inno Sense Flexi Soft Bits are brilliant. I use a loose ring on two of my horses and they love it. It’s well over 3 years old now and still in excellent condition. Just make sure you choose the “Flexi Soft” as the other Inno Sense models have a steel rod inside. Hope that helps! Trust Inno Sense Flexi Soft
I haven’t seen Bombers mentioned here yet. I just put my mare in this preferred contact bit, and she loves it. It’s hard to tell in the photo, but the middle part is pretty thin and flat and lays flat on the tongue. They are 16mm. They also make a more “normal” looking mullen rubber bit that flexes in the middle.
I use a leather overcheck bit on my driving horses & ponies. Bowman makes them. I’m sure they’d put whatever cheeks you want on it; they do a lot of custom work. Somewhere along the line I’ve seen one that has a steel cable core covered in leather, but that has become a unicorn.
We’ve put a lot of miles on the couple bits we have. Like anything else, look at it periodically to see if it’s still OK. We have have some work overchecks that are just 1/4" rope. One option might be to sacrifice a cheap bit for the side rings and just make a rope mouthpiece.
