Dressage Snaffles
In order to have a really good result Bitting a variety of Horses you have to have a good range of Dressage legal bits to choose from
To fit horses of different
ages
sensitivities
conformation
levels of training
and then to consider the riders
hands on the end of the reins
abilities
fitness and training
It is possible to encourage the horse to go to the correct place in the bridle by creating comfort, release and reward making it quite clear by the use of the right bit where the most comfortable place in the bridle is. A well made well balanced bit should aid the horse and rider, not hinder and make the Horse uncomfortable and less responsive
Informed Designs has 8 different Snaffle mouthpieces in 4 diameters on 8 cheeks
Which gives a lot of potential when trying to strive for perfection in your Bitting Choices
To fit horses of different
ages
sensitivities
conformation
levels of training
and then to consider the riders
hands on the end of the reins
abilities
fitness and training
It is possible to encourage the horse to go to the correct place in the bridle by creating comfort, release and reward making it quite clear by the use of the right bit where the most comfortable place in the bridle is. A well made well balanced bit should aid the horse and rider, not hinder and make the Horse uncomfortable and less responsive
Informed Designs has 8 different Snaffle mouthpieces in 4 diameters on 8 cheeks
Which gives a lot of potential when trying to strive for perfection in your Bitting Choices
When you are assessing the comfort of the bit your horse is wearing despite the advertising and the claims just try this simple test
Face a friend and hold your hand up knuckles facing them Get them to place your horses bit around your hand and get them to pull the bit closed
Your hand represents your Horses jaw and your friends represent your hands on the end of the reins if the bit you are using on your horse pinches your hand with finger pressure imagine how it feels to your horse when you are applying more pressure with body weight applied to your reins singles
Now decide whether the bit you have on your Horse is fair, comfortable and gives him or her the right signals and reward or whether it is restrictive and pinches.
Also look at your bit critically is it symmetrical and even all through the mouthpiece a Horse will not go evenly forward into your hands if the mouthpiece of its bit is uneven and asymmetrical.
Face a friend and hold your hand up knuckles facing them Get them to place your horses bit around your hand and get them to pull the bit closed
Your hand represents your Horses jaw and your friends represent your hands on the end of the reins if the bit you are using on your horse pinches your hand with finger pressure imagine how it feels to your horse when you are applying more pressure with body weight applied to your reins singles
Now decide whether the bit you have on your Horse is fair, comfortable and gives him or her the right signals and reward or whether it is restrictive and pinches.
Also look at your bit critically is it symmetrical and even all through the mouthpiece a Horse will not go evenly forward into your hands if the mouthpiece of its bit is uneven and asymmetrical.
Think Mouthpiece first and then cheek piece
When you are considering re Bitting your Horse all elements of the bit are important firstly the mouthpiece because that is inside the Horses mouth either sitting comfortably allowing the Horse to close its mouth properly and swallow freely Or not sitting well and not following the conformation of the inside of the mouth and making the Horse unable to settle and be quietly comfortable with the bit And then the next consideration is the cheek which cheek do you choose to complement the mouthpiece to give you the right signals and the best control
Not all the mouthpieces come on all cheeks sometimes because its hard to have every combination and sometimes on purpose as some mouthpieces simply do not work with some cheek pieces
Not all the mouthpieces come on all cheeks sometimes because its hard to have every combination and sometimes on purpose as some mouthpieces simply do not work with some cheek pieces
Mouthpieces
Harmony
The Harmony mouthpiece actively encourages a horse to move towards and push his tongue forward to the contact .As the reins are used together the whole mouthpiece wraps around the tongue and lower jaw, taking in the whole of the tongue the sides of the lips and the sides of the bars and the sides of the lips in a perfect hoop. As the Round Lozenge is the correct length and the joints are neat and non invasive the Horse should move forward into the contact. Both branches of the bit are curved forward to go with the shape of the Horses tongue and roof of the mouth a. Good young Horse starter Bit.
Very useful for Horses or Ponies that are uncomfortable with
· A large joint or joints
· Large long plates or lozenges
· That block on one side as you flex or turn
- or are very busy in the mouth
- or have been pinched with a mouthpiece that has a severe close to the action
- or do not draw the contact forward
Response
The Response encourages a horse to move towards the bit but because of the structure of the flat lozenge and the positioning of the joints it discourages the Horse from getting too strong or set on the mouthpiece. As the reins are used together the whole mouthpiece is pulled down and around the tongue and lower jaw, the mouthpiece has a structured feel in the centre of the tongue to dissuade the horse from leaning on the bit.
Very useful for Horses or Ponies that need to
· Pay more heed to the mouthpiece
· Are a little strong and too forward into the bit
· That block on one side as you flex or turn
· That are a little heavy in the hands
The Response encourages a horse to move towards the bit but because of the structure of the flat lozenge and the positioning of the joints it discourages the Horse from getting too strong or set on the mouthpiece. As the reins are used together the whole mouthpiece is pulled down and around the tongue and lower jaw, the mouthpiece has a structured feel in the centre of the tongue to dissuade the horse from leaning on the bit.
Very useful for Horses or Ponies that need to
· Pay more heed to the mouthpiece
· Are a little strong and too forward into the bit
· That block on one side as you flex or turn
· That are a little heavy in the hands
Symmetry
this is the only one of my mouthpieces that does two completely different things if a horse is very busy in the mouth and is too light and needs to draw the rein forward this mouthpieces actively encourages a horse to move towards and push his tongue forward to the contact .As the reins are used together the whole mouthpiece curves around the tongue the tongue evenly pressing the tongue down into the lower jaw. This mouth will be too exacting on this cheek if the Horse has a tendency to put the tongue over the bit. At the other end of the scale if a Horse is very heavy and solid on the bit the Symmetry often lightens them up as long as again there is not tendency to put the tongue over the bit
Very useful for Horses or Ponies that are uncomfortable with
· any sort of joint or joints
· any pinch or collapse to the mouthpiece
· or are very busy in the mouth
· or do not draw the contact forward
this is the only one of my mouthpieces that does two completely different things if a horse is very busy in the mouth and is too light and needs to draw the rein forward this mouthpieces actively encourages a horse to move towards and push his tongue forward to the contact .As the reins are used together the whole mouthpiece curves around the tongue the tongue evenly pressing the tongue down into the lower jaw. This mouth will be too exacting on this cheek if the Horse has a tendency to put the tongue over the bit. At the other end of the scale if a Horse is very heavy and solid on the bit the Symmetry often lightens them up as long as again there is not tendency to put the tongue over the bit
Very useful for Horses or Ponies that are uncomfortable with
· any sort of joint or joints
· any pinch or collapse to the mouthpiece
· or are very busy in the mouth
· or do not draw the contact forward
Doubler
instead of having large wide joints that do not fit well between the top of the Horses tongue and the roof of the mouth this bit has small ball bearings and a very small barrel. As the reins are used together the whole mouthpiece is pulled around the tongue and lower jaw, the mouthpiece has a structured feel in the centre of the tongue to dissuade leaning on the bit.
Very useful for Horse or Ponies that need to
· Pay more heed to the mouthpiece
· Are a little strong and too forward into the bit
· That block on one side as you flex or turn
· That are a little heavy in the hands
instead of having large wide joints that do not fit well between the top of the Horses tongue and the roof of the mouth this bit has small ball bearings and a very small barrel. As the reins are used together the whole mouthpiece is pulled around the tongue and lower jaw, the mouthpiece has a structured feel in the centre of the tongue to dissuade leaning on the bit.
Very useful for Horse or Ponies that need to
· Pay more heed to the mouthpiece
· Are a little strong and too forward into the bit
· That block on one side as you flex or turn
· That are a little heavy in the hands
Attention
Is a curved mouthpiece with a Flat link in the middle so often French Link Style plates can be so long that they interfere with the edge of the Horses tongue and the bars of the mouth and the really long ones can even end up in the corner of the lip A Horse is never going to respond well to a joint scraping into an area the hurts
The Attention has a purposely small plate to keep the signals in the centre of the tongue where they are of the most use
Very useful of Horses and Ponies that need to
Be a little higher in the frame
Be lighter in the Hand
Be more respectful of the action of the bit
Is a curved mouthpiece with a Flat link in the middle so often French Link Style plates can be so long that they interfere with the edge of the Horses tongue and the bars of the mouth and the really long ones can even end up in the corner of the lip A Horse is never going to respond well to a joint scraping into an area the hurts
The Attention has a purposely small plate to keep the signals in the centre of the tongue where they are of the most use
Very useful of Horses and Ponies that need to
Be a little higher in the frame
Be lighter in the Hand
Be more respectful of the action of the bit
The Eggbutt cheek
means that the mouthpiece is solidly attached to the cheek piece which has the advantage of firstly making sure that the corners of the lips of the Horse are always comfortable as there is no gap between the cheek and the mouthpiece. Also because of this solid fixing the action is well defined as you apply rein pressure the signal to the Horse is quicker and therefore very clear.
Loose Ring Cheek
means that the mouthpiece has a delayed action before it is activated. The rider picks up the rein pressure the rein rolls on the ring a little then the ring rolls on the mouthpiece a little and then the signal gets to the Horse some Horses and or riders hands will respond well to this. The plus points for the Horse are if a particular Horse is a little tentative about applied rein pressure or it’s a Horse that does not like its tongue to feel trapped behind the mouthpiece then the delayed action of the loose ring is a benefit.
means that the mouthpiece has a delayed action before it is activated. The rider picks up the rein pressure the rein rolls on the ring a little then the ring rolls on the mouthpiece a little and then the signal gets to the Horse some Horses and or riders hands will respond well to this. The plus points for the Horse are if a particular Horse is a little tentative about applied rein pressure or it’s a Horse that does not like its tongue to feel trapped behind the mouthpiece then the delayed action of the loose ring is a benefit.
The Hanging Cheek
because you fasten the cheek of your Bridle into the top staple of the cheek, some of the weight of the bit is taken off the Horses tongue and onto the Bridle and because of the small side cheek the bit is stabilised in the Horses mouth, when rein pressure is applied and then released the bit returns to the same place in the Horses mouth because of the cheek attachment. The rein attaches to the larger ring and as it is used you get a little downward mouth pressure but as some people think no real poll action, it is a fallacy that hanging cheek creates poll action as the rein rolls to the top of the ring before the bit is activated. A very useful cheek if you want stability for the mouthpiece and flexible support from the cheek.
because you fasten the cheek of your Bridle into the top staple of the cheek, some of the weight of the bit is taken off the Horses tongue and onto the Bridle and because of the small side cheek the bit is stabilised in the Horses mouth, when rein pressure is applied and then released the bit returns to the same place in the Horses mouth because of the cheek attachment. The rein attaches to the larger ring and as it is used you get a little downward mouth pressure but as some people think no real poll action, it is a fallacy that hanging cheek creates poll action as the rein rolls to the top of the ring before the bit is activated. A very useful cheek if you want stability for the mouthpiece and flexible support from the cheek.
The D Cheek
is a really supportive cheek it has a flat feel against the horses face very useful in the training of young Horses as you are teaching them the basics of steering it allows the riders rein signal the be backed up with some additional but comfortable face pressure. Also very useful if your horse does several different disciplines such as Dressage and Jumping in the same snaffle bit it is a supportive cheek for balance and jumping turns and gives you a much more versatile range of signals for a combination of jobs.
is a really supportive cheek it has a flat feel against the horses face very useful in the training of young Horses as you are teaching them the basics of steering it allows the riders rein signal the be backed up with some additional but comfortable face pressure. Also very useful if your horse does several different disciplines such as Dressage and Jumping in the same snaffle bit it is a supportive cheek for balance and jumping turns and gives you a much more versatile range of signals for a combination of jobs.
