I have seen a few people riding in baucher bits lately and I am curious about their purpose. I have never ridden in one, always stuck to the good old loose rings. Am I correct that bauchers are legal? Could someone educate me on the purpose of this bit, and what type of horse benefits from one?
Bauchers are legal. At least last time I checked. I believe they put more pressure on the pole than a regular snaffle.
Bauchers are perfectly legal. The benefit is that the bit hangers keep the bit more stable in the mouth, they are a little more “solid” than a loose ring (and no pinching!)
I use a Sprenger KK Ultra Baucher on one of my boys, he managed to get his tongue over in the loose ring KK.
The stability of the Baucher and the smaller peanut in the link stopped his little party trick.
Bauchers are BD legal in the UK
Paddy
I have a baucher…it works wonderfully for my sensitive TB mare who cannot stand any movement in her mouth. I started her in an eggbutt and then tried a loose ring when we started more dressage…loose ring drove her NUTS (and they were the exact same mouthpiece to keep things consistent). She just can’t stand the movement. The baucher is great for her because the bit is always held in one spot.
I’ve heard they work really well for a lot of fussy-mouthed horses, but not so for my gelding. I tried a french link baucher and he hated it. So I now have the KK Ultra Conrad and he likes it. I know that most people use them for the stability the arms provide. The bit really won’t move much at all.
I use a baucher based on my trainer’s recommendation - he uses them in his training bridles. They are very stable in the horse’s mouth and generally stay flat against the horse’s head. The mouthpiece has a gentle curve to it that matches the tongue, and when the mouthpiece “breaks” it doesn’t seem to poke into the roof of the horse’s mouth.
An earlier thread debunked the theory that the baucher creates more poll pressure.
Although you can spend fairly big money for a baucher, mine is an AlbaCon, about $33 from Dover.
Others are more knowledgeable as to the mechanics of the baucher bit, but my draft cross is lighter on his forehand with the use of this bit. (a good thing!) 
Yep, our pony goes in one as well. The albacon from dover no less:) Anyway, we have used a kk ultra in the past and he was fine, but with this one he just seems to seek the bit more. I thought it was pole pressure, but maybe it is because it is softer in his mouth and he likes it.
I, too, am using the Albacon baucher on my fjord X. He has a very soft mouth and liked his KK loose ring, but he like to move the bit on the rings. Bobbing his nose to pay with the bit was annoying and got in the way of things while riding.
He is much steadier in the baucher than the loose ring.
[QUOTE=cleozowner;3370122]
I have a baucher…it works wonderfully for my sensitive TB mare who cannot stand any movement in her mouth. I started her in an eggbutt and then tried a loose ring when we started more dressage…loose ring drove her NUTS (and they were the exact same mouthpiece to keep things consistent). She just can’t stand the movement. The baucher is great for her because the bit is always held in one spot.[/QUOTE]
I have one who cant’ stand the Baucher for the identical reason - he can’t adjust the bit in his mouth, so he gets to worrying at it and then becomes more resistant by the minute. He’s MUCH happier in a plain fat snaffle that he can move around a bit. It’s all about the individual horse.
My mare uses a baucher…after much convincing from my trainer. I used a D-ring snaffle and she would pull down in shows, mostly in cross country, but it helped in dressage as well, since she had a bit of a habit of leaning on me in the dressage ring.
My understanding is the baucher has just a bit more lift than a snaffle. I was warned not to use it all the time or she would get used to it and might start running through it. I use it at shows only and the snaffle at home.
I ride my mare in a JP Baucher. The mouthpiece is thinner and curved, which my mare really likes. She has a small mouth, so I cannot use anything too thick. She also very much dislikes a french link, and I could never keep a consistent contact with a loose ring.
I also like is as a bit to start youngsters in. They don’t seem to lean as much on the baucher as a D, and there is nothing to catch on stuff if the horse gets loose like there would be with a full cheek. And the arms help a bit with the whole steering concept.
HB–where did you get yours?
I got my original from England, looking to get a 2nd so I don’t have to keep swapping it to the double when I want to use the double.
No poll pressure. It’s physically impossible. Just hangs in the mouth a certain way that some horses really appreciate.
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I had a gelding who LOVED a pelham and went like a lamb in one (even without curb rein action) but who fussed and pulled like a freight train in any sort of snaffle. I bought him a french link baucher, and . . . voila! A MUCH happier horse. He just seemed to like that stable feeling.
The Baucher bit is legal. I have used it on stallions that have a big neck and that could use their necks against you. The cheek pieces are connected directly to the bit and the rein is connected to the ring, which will stabilize the bit easier. There is no poll pressure involved. It is the direct pressure of the cheek piece to the bit that is the greatness of the bit. It is a good bit on certain horses.
I have also used them with horses that had “tongue” problems.
That sounds upside down 
[QUOTE=Ambrey;3373515]
That sounds upside down [/QUOTE]
For clarification:
The little ring (on top in the first line of pictures) attaches to the cheek piece and the big ring is where the reins are attached.
The cheek piece does not move around the ring like loose ring, eggbut, d-ring type bits, but stays in place.
It is similar to using the keepers in a full cheek snaffle. If keepers are in place in a full cheek snaffle, you actually change the way the bit sits and works in the mouth.
I use a Baucher. Just the way TNG described it, it sounded like she was putting the cheek pieces in the bit ring and the reins in the small ring, which is upside down. I might have just read it wrong
It is all good - that’s why I used the picture to clarify. Sometimes words are really clear to one person and a complete mystery to another (I had to stop reading the Renvers vs. Travers thread because it made my head swim).
