Bit Advice

[dannyboy]

The photo shows the bit that Fi kindly gave me to try on Murphy and the other bit is my friend P's that she thinks would be better suited to Murphy as will allow better brakes.
She mentioned that Fi's bit is very thin in comparison to his existing bit (snaffle) and her bit (bubble). I am so confused and don't want to offend anyone as I value everyone's advice but I do feel completely out of my depth here and P can be quite over bearing.

I haven't tried Fi's bit yet as only lunging at present. I take it you don't really know how it will work until you are actually riding?

Any advice is very welcome.

[spotti]

I know very little about bits, but I think the thickness of the bar does two things: -

1) Helps the fit of the bit between the tongue and the roof of the mouth (a horse with a fleshy tongue would be better suited to a thinner bit, but a horse with a thin tongue may better suit a chunkier bit. But there's a lot more to it than that - you have to take into account not only the size/thickness of the tongue but also the shape of the rest of the mouth and the gap between the teeth (i think)).

2) I think the thinner the bit, the more severe it can be...but I think the shape of the mouth etc would come into that as well...

If Murphy currently has a thick chunky bit and he seems ok with it - you're only swapping for more brakes, right? - then maybe his mouth suits a chunky bit. OR he could have just been put in that bit and he's just got on with it, being the gent that he is . Your best bet might be to see if you could find someone, a bit bank maybe, who could talk you through fittings and maybe even come out and try a few out with you? I don't actually know if that service actually exists or whether I've just made it up, but it would be a good thing to have going if it's not already out there!!!

Probably some of the others can give you better advice re:bits etc, but that's my two pennies worth

***awful spelling as per usual!

[zara]

Personally i don't like Dutch gags (bubble bits) as they can be very severe if you use your rein on the bottom ring; they seem to have become a fashion accessory over recent months. i do however like the hanging cheek as it offers some poll pressure and AJ goes very well in one. The thickness of a bit can make it more or less severe but the shape of a horses mouth is also very important; some breeds have "fleshy" tongues and won't tolerate a thick bit or a single jointed bit as they will pinch the tongue. Personally if you need more brakes I would go for a bit with a curb eg pelham but this is purely my personal preference from riding a very strong and livley arab for many years (not AJ). Good luck Zx

[rainbow]

u could try ther bits out when long reining. I tried a full cheek snaffle with rosie while long reining....yeah it ddint go to plan! had no brakes what so ever so that went out the window!

Rosie is in a dutch gag, and i have it on the middle ring whe i really feel she is just not listenin to me at all but its moslty on the snaffle bit of it. Once i get my saddle sold and start schooling again me and the RI is hoping to rethink her bit, but she has gone in it well.

If u think that the hangin cheek is a bit think u could use the gag on the snaffle as its just the same thing more or less. Thats what i do like about them is u havnt got to keep switchin bits. Id never stick it on the last ring though.

But with any bit its more about the hands that use them.

[fimacg]

may advice would simple be try both and see what works best - I'm not a massive fan of the dutch gag as they are used as a quick fix but on some horses they are the right answer.

As Murphy is Irish Draft they do tend to have have quite fleshy tounges and less space in their mouths see if you can peel his lips back as see if his tounge bluges through his teeth at the side.

A thicker bit can have a milder action as it puts less concentrated pressure on the bars of teh mouth (at the side) but the design of the bit also acts elsewhere on the head the thickness of the bit is tempered by the overall shape and deisgn of the bit itself.

Bitting is full of variables including the rider so It can be a case of suck it and see.

[fleabitten]

sounds like good advice.. i would like to ask a question tho...
how long should you try each bit for? would you notice the difference straight away?

i think tho that Fi's advice seems good - give them both a go. i would try the hanging snaffle first though - do some lunging and long reining in it and if P comes down just say i wanted to try this one first to see how he goes - hopefully she will jump on for a spin and you will be able to see what the craic is then. i suppose if you lunge and long rein that will allow you to see how he reacts without the weight etc of the rider first.

[ceej]

As Fi says, alot depends on the shape of his mouth - a thick bit to a cob can be a little consuming as they have thick tongues and cheeks; they are somethimes more comfortable in thinner pieces; whereas horses with less fleshy mouths (eh TB's ot arabs) may find thicker bits more comfortable. One bit wont have the smae effect on every single horse -

There is some really useful info on this website www.horsebitbank.com/mouth-conformation-how-assess.shtml they ahve this page, conformation of mouth and lots of other pages about how to decide what is best for your horse

You need to know about the shape of your horses mouth and the issues he has with the bit, then you look at each bit to see what it does - then you can make a reasoned decision about what to use (then trial and error!) The bitbank can be useful as you get to try them out without buying

Hope that helps x

[dannyboy]

Thanks for all your advice . Thats a very helpful link, thanks Ceej.

The vet is hopefully coming tomorrow to work on his teeth, so I'll get a good look then. I do think that he has a big fleshy tounge so a thiner bit (Fi's) will probably work best. Just hoping it fits now so I can try long-reining him over the weekend.

[dannyboy]

Flipping Vet has cancelled his appointment to do Murphy's teeth today and can't come until the 6th Dec I'm going to try the new bits next week anyway!!