[QUOTE=annaelizabeth;7602474]
If you want to learn more about bit mechanics the woman who runs bitbankaustralia has a blog on her website and through another horse news/blog site. Lots of great explanations. Sorry don’t have access to my bookmarks at the moment but you should be able to find it through google.[/QUOTE]
I will have to check this out! Thank you!
[QUOTE=pacific_jumper;7601749]
I also thought I was the only person in the world who loves the single jointed eggbut. I have a thick one for my sensitive chestnut mare. It very soft, and doesn’t move around. She likes stability. When we jump, or need more breaks, I put her in a double jointed d-ring. The middle is a copper lozenge peice, and the side branches are a bit thinner than the eggbut. She hates Pelhams… Or anything non snaffle really. I have another horse who flats well in a double jointed KK loose ring snaffle. She jumps in the snaffle most of the time as well. When she needs a change, or a tune up, she goes in a single jointed 3 ring gag, with two sets of reins so that the pressure can be better controlled.[/QUOTE]
Interesting!
[QUOTE=superD;7602444]
My older boy ( who is a hunter) goes great in a full cheek happy mouth mullen. He hates the nut cracker effects of any single jointed bits. This took a TON of trial and error to figure out!!!
My younger boy goes in a french link boucher for dressage and a myler comfort french link loose ring for stadium/cross country.
Both are OTTBs.[/QUOTE]
I know how you feel about the “Trial and error” Going through this with my jumper mare right now to see what she is happy in.
[QUOTE=RockstarPony;7602378]
What a cool thread idea! Always fun to see what the options are for different issues.
Two of my catch rides have a tendency to pop a shoulder; they both got switched pretty recently from KK loose ring french links to single jointed full cheeks. Funny is unevenly muscled on one side & it seems to help him to have something more steady on his bad side when he starts to get unbalanced. Fatty McFatterson does it more as an evasion tactic, so the full cheek gives me a little more control over where her head gets to be when she decides to suddenly veer off my leg.
Munchkin has been in a rubber single jointed dee ring as long as I’ve known him & seems to like it. He’s got a very sensitive little mouth - he’s been back in work since January and has just recently gotten to the point where he’s fairly consistently on the bit - so I can’t imagine him going well in anything harsher than his thick playdough-y bit.
I just started riding Mini Morgan, who’s currently in a Stubben golden wings gag. He’s supposed to be a kids pony & he can be super strong, particularly over jumps, so I think that was the logic behind that bit for him. It doesn’t seem like a very harsh gag, but I’ve realized that he’s much easier to keep in check if I just leave his mouth alone and don’t give him anything to pull on, so I’m thinking I might switch him to some kind of snaffle and see if we can at least flat in that.[/QUOTE]
Thanks! This was also very interesting…
[QUOTE=Jackie Cochran;7602159]
My favorite bit for the horses I ride tends to rotate among these:
JP Dr. Bristol Hunter D-ring (put on the bridle so it is mild and with makeshift bit keepers)–the horses seem to like this bit, at least until my MS and the summer heat degrade my hands. I love it because I can get a really good “conversation” going between my fingers and the horse’s tongue, much better than with any other bit. To get this “conversation” I have to ride with light contact and relaxed fingers. The curve of the mouthpiece of the JP bits gives the horse’s tongue extra room for comfort and communication. Without my make-shift bit keepers the first horse I tried it on was continually diving his head down, once I made my bit keepers for the D-ring he went back to normal civilized contact and started becoming more responsive. I really wish the JP Korsteel people made this bit in a full cheek eggbutt.
JP Full Cheek single joint Eggbutt snaffle (with bit keepers)–I just had to put this bit on the ancient Arab mare I ride, after 5-6 years using the above bit she decided it was moving too much in her mouth. Her contact has improved greatly. She seems to like the added stability of just one joint in her mouth, the bit keepers holding the mouthpiece stable and the lack of movement of the eggbutt. Again the JP curvature of the mouthpiece gives her sensitive tongue plenty of room.
Coronet (?) Mullen mouth eggbutt snaffle–for when my hands really deteriorate in the summer. This is the thinnest regular eggbutt Mullen mouth bit I’ve found-11mm? I noticed that my riding teacher is using a slightly thicker Korsteel eggbutt Mullen mouth on another horse I ride when someone else had lessons on him. This bit is simple, does not “jangle” in the mouth, and does not hurt as much when the rider’s hands go wrong. If your contact is heavy MANY horses will be very willing to let you support their heads by boring on this bit.
Another bit I’ve been playing with is the JP Copper Ball Link Full Cheek snaffle, again using bit keepers. I use this bit for variety, some horses really like the taste of copper and there are some horses who really like playing with the copper ball with their tongue. Again the JP curvature of the mouth gives the tongue plenty of room, and the small copper ball does not take up too much room in their mouths. Even with bit keepers this bit is pretty mobile on the horse’s tongue.
I also use leather bit guards on mysnaffle bits. The ones I got were expensive (they have a cute little buckle) but the horses just seem to accept the bits better when metal does not touch the outside of their mouths/heads. I don’t use rubber bit guards simply because EVERY horse I’ve tried them on HATED the taste of the rubber.
The only Pelham I like is the Show Pelham. This Pelham has a generous port for the tongue, and the snaffle rings are attached like the Fulmer snaffle rings except to the rear of the mouthpiece instead of the sides of the mouthpiece, giving more of a loose ring feel to the snaffle rein. It is made to be used with a brandoon strap to the snaffle ring (it looks like a double bridle from a distance.) Smith Worthington Saddlery sells this bit but WARNING–I had to have the blacksmith move the upper curb ring OUT around 3/8" to prevent rubbing. Once the upper curb ring is moved out I like this bit because I can feel the snaffle release before I use the curb rein. I would NOT use a bit converter on this Pelham.
Enjoy exploring the bits! Sometimes I get the feeling that horses consider bits sort of like we do jewelry, and boy can the horses get opinionated about them![/QUOTE]
Enjoyed reading this, thanks for sharing!
First tried an eggbutt French link on my new greenie, thinking it’s pretty mild. Chomp, chomp, unhappy camper.
Then a Happy Mouth mullen, same voracious chomping.
Plain ol’ copper full cheek- all’s quiet!
Low port kimberwick is my horse’s favorite. He likes that the bit doesn’t move (well, that’s my guess). He is responsive and comfortable and this is the only bit that he doesn’t toss his head and grind his teeth with. He has a soft mouth and I have tried every snaffle option out there from single jointed to double jointed, thick (he hates thick snaffles), to thin, and with every cheek type that they make, but to no avail, he still expressed his discomfort.
[QUOTE=dani0303;7602176]
This
http://www.doversaddlery.com/hackamore-noseband/p/X1-0853/
It’s essentially a noseband with attachment for reins. My horse is super soft and sensitive in the mouth. A normal bitless bridle or hackamore is too harsh for him. He goes well in a loose ring french link but is happiest in this set up :)[/QUOTE]
Does it work similarly to a mechanical hackamore? I might have to try this!!
[QUOTE=jumpingstarr;7603141]
Does it work similarly to a mechanical hackamore? I might have to try this!![/QUOTE]
It doesn’t have the leverage of a mechanical hackamore. It really doesn’t even have the leverage of a western bosal. It is really closest to a sidepull or snapping lead ropes to the side dees of a halter.
I must happily brag, too. I just scored one for free from the tack trader at the local flea market 
He didn’t know what it was a threw it in with some bits I was buying.
I usually go to Jay Shuttleworth with my bit questions. Not sure he’s too available these days, but maybe give him a call? I have some custom hunter bits that work on some and not on others. And when I need to tune any horse up (for hunters, flat, eq, and even jumpers) I use a western tom thumb with a long shank and a chain over above the chin. Gotta keep the reins looped or it quickly loses effectiveness - then I look for something full-cheek, with keepers, and a small port with rollers in it. But have to switch off now and then or it either becomes ineffective or too strong. Ugly bridle cost me $20 and I have had it for years. You can go with the ported western bits as well, but only for the crazy jumpers. The segunda is over-kill… I also have a titanium french link type of snaffle (Dee) that they seem to love, as they become more trained and relaxed.
I’ve read every single post on here and I have to say, this is a great example of how each horse is different. Something that works like a gem on one horse may be your horses most hated bit. Ahh!
I have used a bajillion different bits- I had a very hard to bit jumper who was a genius at figuring out how to evade- I tried everything under the sun with him, from a mechanical/German hackamore to a Balding gag. We ended up pulling off everything and just slapping on a loosering French link, and with some serious dressage work it was perfect.
That has been my go-to bit for several horses since then- my five year old jumper goes in that now. When the jumps get higher we might need more stopping power because he’s a powerful little guy. But I’m thinking he’ll remain polite about things, and he’s very well-schooled, so hopefully we can keep it.
My older guy, a sensitive TB drama queen, hates metal bits. He goes in a HS Duo- someone mentioned it on the first page. He loves this bit, and I’ll never use anything else on him again.
There are some bits I really, really dislike for almost any circumstance, but I think given the variety of horses and levels of training that there are a lot of bits out there to experiment with, and that can be a useful process to go through.
My older TB mare mostly goes in an English hackamore unless a bit is absolutely needed for what we are doing. Then her bit of choice is a Happy Mouth mullen mouth. Still experimenting with my younger OTTB mare. When I first got her I put her in the Happy mouth mullen. Until the day she spooked and bolted out on a trail ride. realized that I had next to no brakes. Then I put her in a single jointed rubber D ring. She really seemed not to like the “nutcracker” action of the single joint and kept opening her mouth and turning her head sideways. The next bit I put on her is a Happy mouth double jointed d ring. She is better in this, but she seems to chew it quite a alot. The trainer I have working with her once per week to fine tune steering and acceptance of aids said she would like to try her in a french link for her training sessions. I ordered one(loose ring as it was the least expensive version) and also a loose ring hollow mouth with a large oval lozenge in the center. I tried the hollow mouth lozenge bit this weekend and decided at least for the present it was not going to work. Less chewing, but I basically had minimal to no control. Felt like I was riding in a halter with lead ropes attached. I am going to try the French link tomorrow. Of course as it goes with horses I have quite a few bits that I needed in the past and don’t think any of them will work for her, except maybe the Dr. Bristol. I will see what the trainer thinks.
After a million bits, my horse finally found his love and mine!
I ride him in this baby.
I ride with a converter (THE HORROR I KNOW!!) and he lufffffs it. It gave me enough brakes to have soft hands, and when I can just bump him down if he gets too rushed. He is very responsive and it helped lift him off his front end (along with many transitions). I don’t get my arms pulled off, and he is happy!
SO glad to read others who are on the eggbutt train.
The majority of horses I have ridden, mine including, prefer steel eggbut with the copper oval in the middle.
Seems to be softer because of the extra joint and less of the nut cracker affect on the tongue. Appears to lay flatter in the mouth and I feel it communicates a little better overall.
I do love the look of D’s but there are just too many around these days. I prefer to dare to be a little different… no real reason on that part really.
[QUOTE=tinah;7602202]
Jackie,
What in the world is a full cheek eggbutt?[/QUOTE]
and
It’s all in how the mouthpiece attaches to the cheek.
I am riding my mare in a full cheek eggbutt snaffle with keepers. I had her in a French link D-ring but got a lot of sass and tossing head. I wanted to try something with less movement, so went with the full cheek. She leaned a lot at first, but now is very pleasant in it without nearly the head tossing of the french link. I never would have thought because I always consider the french link to be a lot milder, but she clearly thought differently. I can use my reins without an over-reaction from her.
My easily offended TB goes in a D-ring french link and occassionaly a tom thumb pelham when he needs some additional schooling.
The mare I’m riding now is in a steel, single-jointed, average thickness, eggbutt snaffle. She has been ridden with incredibly hard hands even though she is quite lazy… I’m fixing the saddle issue right now and will conquer the bit issue in a few weeks. I have many ideas 
My last horse went exceptionally well in a jointed, short shank, pelham alternated with a loose ring, steel, snaffle with a copper lozenge. He was special <3
I don’t remember any of the horses in between, but I do remember how my first pony loved his low-ported kimberwick lol You never see those anymore!
Mine goes very well in a kimberwick, but lately I have been riding him in an FES ported correction dee. It is basically a ported snaffle with a fixed rein and curb chain. It is the perfect bit for him! It’s AQHA and 4-H legal, but if/when we show USEF hunters, we’ll have to switch to a pelham or play around with some different bits.
D ring french link for both my lads.
Herm Sprenger “Comfort Mouth” Pelham on my hunter/jumper/equitation/dressage horse (Even though my dressage trainer gives it the hairy eye).
http://cdnll.doversaddlery.com/images/xl/0001466.jpg
Not only do I think horses have some preference to bits, I think every rider has certain bits they go to that work with their style of riding. For me, it is a pelham. This pelham has a small port to give my guy room for his tongue. He also appreciates the steadiness of the bit; it is a mullen mouth so there’s not much action in his mouth. He accepts the bit faster than say, a french link D-ring or snaffle. He really takes the bit and wants to feel my contact, and he slobbers like a rabid animal with it, which previously never occurred with him.
I keep the chain loose, I keep the curb rein relatively loose, so I work him mostly off the snaffle. Only when he is being ugly and roots (very rarely happens now; just when he is standing and bored) or when I need more OOMPH to my half halt do I use the curb rein.
I am considering using Herm Sprenger bit with the same mouthpiece but it’s a loose rein rather than a pelham (looks like this: http://cdnll.doversaddlery.com/images/xl/0010551.jpg ) But spending another $130 on a bit after spending nearly $300 on the pelham is a little painful, haha.
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