I’m curious as to what bits everyone likes to have on hand that they’ve found are great for a variety of horses or training uses, and what are your go-to bits you find yourself reaching for a lot, and why. I always like to have a variety of bits on hand just because you never know when they’ll come in handy, and they’re small and easy to store!
Some of the Fager titanium bits. To be specific the double bridle bits I got, the Fager Victoria mullen mouth Weymouth curb (no longer made, sniff) and the Fager Alice double jointed with a titanium roller in the center bridoon.
The Fager Bianca snaffle which is like the Alice bridoon but with bigger rings.
I have MS. My hands have some problems (tremor, lack of proproiceptive sense) and I have found that the lesson horses I ride prefer these bits above all others IN MY HANDS. With my hands the lesson horses DO NOT LIKE the Fager tongue relief bits even if they are made of titanium. Nowadays I reach for a titanium bit before a stainless steel or other metal bit since the horses have made it clear to me that the titanium bits are what they prefer with me so long as I avoid all tongue relief bits (made of any type of metal).
I have a lot of bits in my bit box after 50+ years of riding. The Fager titanium double bridle bits I use are the bits that the lesson horses I ride are the happiest with when I ride them. Before I got into titanium bits my go to bit was the Wellep snaffle bits without the lever cheeks (no longer made).
My riding teacher now allows me to use the double bridle on the lesson horses I ride. She really likes the results when I use the titanium double bridle bits and now takes it for granted that when she moves me to a new lesson horse I want to use the double bridle. By now she has seen me introduce the double bridle to 3 or 4 (or is it 5?) of her lesson horses.
2 Likes
The mare I currently have has a small pony mouth and prefers a bitless bridle. I have also purged the tack room during the last few years. However, the two bits that I still have and have found worked for a great many horses are two oldies: a loose ring Happy Mouth single jointed snaffle, and a Korsteel loose ring hollow mouth single jointed snaffle. I know these aren’t fashionable right now by any means, but most of the horses I’ve ridden have gone perfectly fine in one of these two bits. One exception was a Dutch warmblood mare who had been ridden harshly in her early training, and she preferred a full cheek single jointed snaffle that was a 4 3/4 with a thinner, curved mouthpiece (one of the JP Korsteel bits, I believe). I’ve gone through lots of bits over the years, but these are the two that still have a home in my tack trunk.
3 Likes
Call me a bit collector! I have a lot of other options but these are my core favorites.
- French link in loose ring, and D and full cheek
- Waterford with the smooth bar pieces
- Some sort of happy mouth style mullen D
- Low port Myler
- Short shank Pelham, mullen and a ported option
- Side pull, leather English style that’s basically a glorified halter
- Short shank jumping hackamore
I actually like the instant gag cheeks that slide through the rings of a regular bit. And I have a variety of curb chain options, leather, padded, and chain. I particularly like the curved mouthpieces that sit better in the horse’s mouth vs the traditional straight across bits.
No single joints here. I don’t like the nutcracker effect. But if I had a horse that liked it for some reason, I wouldn’t argue
3 Likes
I find that I go back to the same 5 bits for almost every horse.
I start everything in a French link O ring Snaffle. So I have many of those.
Most horses then progress onto a happy mouth French link Snaffle, and I have horses that have spent their whole riding career in that bit. They really do seem to appreciate the plastic.
For anything that hauls on the bit or gets heavy, I put them in a waterford bit. It usually cures that issue. Some like to stay in that bit, others I only need it for a few sessions.
My more advanced jumpers almost all seem to prefer either a hackamore or a 3 ring French link. I think that the hotter horses prefer the pressure to be on their poll rather than in their mouth.
3 Likes
If I could only have three bits in the world I would pick a Sprenger double jointed with a lozenge; a Waterford; and a mullen mouth Pelham.
6 Likes
My favorites are the Neue Schule bits. I like the Verbindend and Turtle Top mouthpieces. I have them in loose rings (which I use most frequently) and also elevators and pelhams. I don’t love single jointed or Mullen mouth bits, but I do have a few Beris bits with the port and soft feel that I’ve used on a couple of horses. But honestly, most of mine go best in the NS bits. They’re pricey, but really worth it after having tried other cheaper bits without much luck.
4 Likes
My go-tos are my nathe loose-ring and leather D-ring. Pricy, but at this point I also wouldn’t live without a Pletcher D-ring.
1 Like
I like gag bits a lot because I feel like you get a lot of brakes without a lot of anger or bouncing for big horses that are strong.
I have this one kind of D bit kimberwick bit with a curve in the middle that is really good for my tiny kids on ponies that can be difficult to steer or are super downhill and have a little land and plant lol. It’s not really a permanent bit for them just a bit for until they get a little stronger and their legs reach the horse better lol.
2 Likes
I agree with this one!
Any low port snaffle, really. It was something I didn’t have for the longest time, and something I only acquired by accident. Yet a surprising number of horses go leaps and bounds better with some kind of tongue relief.
2 Likes
The bits I go back to over and over are a low port [dee or eggbutt] myler-type, the NS loose ring verbindend, and a two ring elevator.
1 Like
My go to bits are an Eggbutt French link. A Mylar loose ring, a rubber mouth pelham a bombers full cheek, and a loose ring herm springer.
I have loads of bits but those I seem to use the most.
1 Like
Korsteel JP Curve D ring French link. I own like 4 of them lol.
14 mm mouthpiece, almost all horses prefer the thinness of it. The little bars on it are also curved , to lay in the horses mouth nicer.
I’ve sold my Sprengers, they don’t hold a candle to these ones. The horses have spoken.
2 Likes
In a generic sense the following mouthpieces:
Plain snaffle
3 piece/bean snaffle
Happy mouth Mullen mouth
Stubben ez control
Tongue relief style (bomber)
Conrad
At that point, the sky’s the limit on cheekpieces, but for now me it’s loose ring, Weymouth and Liverpool cheeks. Old me has most of these in a big D. Even older me has full cheek. Very ancient me has a few of them in eggbut. Apparently I’m not so old that I go full circle back to loose rings 
I have way more bits than this, but these are the go to bits. I feel that in an 80/20 world, the 80 are going to have mouth conformation that find happiness in one of these mouthpieces and a world view that is happy to be trained in that bit.
2 Likes
That is so interesting! My horse wasn’t ridden harshly but was bitted up with more than what I would normally use before I bought him. He also prefers a smaller in diameter, single joint, curved snaffle albeit a dee rather than a full cheek. He will not have the 3 piece bits at all.
3 Likes
- happy mouth or nathe/sprenger mullen mouth snaffle, d ring or full cheek
- double jointed d ring, eggbutt and/or full cheek
- double jointed full cheek with roller centerpiece
- single jointed slow twist d ring
- double jointed pelham with short shanks
- double jointed two or three ring
- double jointed baucher with roller centerpiece
- simple hackamore
1 Like
Regular Snaffle
French Link (with and without a roller)
Twisted Wire Snaffle
Basic Hackamore
My biggest complaint about H/J horses is that 99% of the time, people over-bit rather than train. If a horse is getting too strong and pulling you to the fences, you don’t need a bigger bit - the horse needs to respect you sitting up and asking him to wait.
I had a lovely OTTB back in the day who ended up in a Waterford. I thought it was magic, and the trainer at the time was so clever to have found such a solution. (I was a teenager and hadn’t seen a Waterford before.)
However, in hindsight - I realize… the problem still existed. If he could find a way to brace on a bit, he’d pull the reins out of your hands and do whatever he felt like. Changing him to a Waterford didn’t actually fix the problem of teaching him to accept bit contact - it just removed the option for him, and down the road, the resistance manifested in other ways.
I’ve ridden some horses that terrify me with their lack of control. I’m all about enthusiasm for the job, and I certainly respect the top horses, but when we’re going fast and leaping through the air - I’ve gotten to the point where if I can’t do it in a simple bit, we go back to the round pen and flat work and poles on the ground until we find our brain again.
4 Likes
Agreed. I mostly ride green ponies who often have tiny mouths so the NS pony sized tranz angled eggbutt gets a ton of use. I think mine has a 10mm mouthpiece, it’s hilariously tiny, but sits beautifully in the mouth and for some of the small guys with thicker tongues or small palates it’s really all they can tolerate. Especially on babies, I want a very comfy, friendly, well-designed bit
After that, a basic double jointed full cheek snaffle and a rubber pelham with a short shank get the most use - if I have a random windfall I’ll pick up the NS versions.
1 Like
