I just wanted to thank those who mentioned the Fager titanium bits. My horse has a busy mouth (licking is his go-to when he is tense or worried or tired) and I ended up buying one of the smooth ones (Maria?) as a result of this thread and touching one at Regionals. He loves it and is so much quieter in the mouth now! Fingers crossed it holds.
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I haven’t read through every post but read through most.
Recently, I changed my horse from a fairfax anatomical girth (he needs, Mr. potato in late summer) to a Solo girth that is the same but with elastic. Fairfax has no elastic. I love this same girth but with elastic. It seems to distribute the weight on the anterior aspect on more contact surfaces than the Fairfax does.
I’m now so curious about the Fager bits. My horse is going in a Sprenger Training bit, which is a two piece bit that is narrow for horses with a low palate and a thick tongue (my previous horse). Current horse seems to go in it OK but can get fussy (that’s his personality) and maybe some of the mentioned bits won’t make him so fussy. There’s a rep for titanium bits around me and I watched her fitting other horses but it seems like the proof came down to the rider so not very objective.
Hmmmmm.
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I can take a photo later on today.
It is great for short haired horses. I have banned hubby for using it on Dodge, when he is losing his Winter coat, as the hair fills up the holes.
The improvement from the Fager bits can be really subtle if you have good, relaxed and sympathetic hands that “belong to the horse’s mouth.”
What I noted was a general relaxation, more so that I got from riding Forward Seat with light hands. There is a subtle improvement in the horse’s mood too.
My totally unproven hypothesis is that since the titanium is biologically inert it does not trigger any immune response to the bit in the mouth. No immune response to a foreign body means that the tissues in the horse’s mouth do not swell or get more tender at all, which means they do not get as irritated by the bit, IF the rider has kind, sensitive, and humane hands.
With the titanium bits the horses seem to forgive my mistakes with my hands when my MS nerve problems mess up my contact MUCH MORE than they did with the stainless steel bits.
Yeah I know, this is only anecdotal evidence. The horses don’t care, they prefer the titanium bits and out of all the titanium bits I’ve used on horses they prefer the Fager bits The lesson horses I ride get “eloquent” if they don’t like a bit in their mouths.
And while tongue relief bits have their place and many horses seem to like them, WITH MY HANDS AND MY MS the horses I ride have firmly and eloquently told me that they do NOT want tongue relief bits of any metal in their mouths. That means I have a few hundred dollars invested in titanium tongue relief bits that now exist in my bit box. Maybe someday a horse I ride will need one and I have a few to select from.
Mine are definitely a good pair of reins with stoppers! Absolutely love my Dy’on working collection reins (not expensive either).
Then my horses seem to really love the X-Fit Bridle (again from Dy’on). They just seem happier and more relaxed in it!
My go to bit is hands down the Trust Inno Sense Flexi Soft - until now I have not had a horse that hasn’t liked this bit in their mouth!
Big hint, they’re all available on equizoneonline.com and in the Black Friday sale every year!!
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Gloves. Leather gloves.
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