Jumping & Schooling Bits
"In my opinion it is very important to have good conformationally comfortable well build and designed bits that give good signals and good release and reward in order to achieve your goals . By having access to large ranges of comfortable, anatomically designed, well made bits with a variety of mouthpieces and cheek pieces - as each horse is an individual and you should be able to move your Horse or Pony forward as understanding and and training progresse".
Hilary Vernon
Many things can influence what will be the best option for your horse;
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Size of mouth, jaw shape and confirmation
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Experience, stage of training
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Fitness and sensitivity
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Rider influence - hands on the end of the reins
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It is sometimes unrealistic to expect that one bit can do everything, especially when we ask our horses to perform a variety of tasks.
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For example: In a Dressage test the horse must be in a consistent frame and must wait to be told what to do it is not allowed to take matters into its own hooves ! Or we lose marks.
Whereas over cross country fences we expect a completely different frame and behaviour with the horse working in more of a partnership with us jumping and adapting as you go around a course so it seems odd that we feel that one bit will give us all the signals and importantly rewards that we need for everything that we do with them.
The way of looking at it is if you can do everything you need to do in a snaffle that is super. If on the other hand you feel that all your schooling, training and dressage tests are super in a Snaffle but you struggle a little with your jumping or when out in company in the same Snaffle then the addition of a well-balanced bit with more signals, more release and reward and more control will be a good addition to what you do.
If at the other end of the scale you have a Horse that is not in control and you feel compromised when riding it then look at it the other way around choose and good Schooling Bit to improve the way it goes and then you can dip in and out of a Dressage Snaffle if you need to for your lessons and arena work realising that the Schooling bit is probably the one you will ride the most as it will always have the best signals in more exciting situations.
Remember our goal is to improve the way our Horses go not ride the same Horse with the same difficulties every day and a strong Horse that has been allowed through poor training to get very strong is still a creature of flight and responds badly to ill-fitting harsh bits but could potentially be trained to be much more responsive in a better balanced more comfortable bit and clearer signals.
Remember if your Horse comes out every day and is more responsive, more flexible and lighter then over a period of time with patience and repetition this will become the new way of going
The Harmony Mini Edgeware
This was the first Jumping Schooling bit that I made, I had a good range of Snaffles, Doubles and Pelhams but nothing in between. It took a while to get the balance of the cheek right but after lots of trialing, it ended up exactly how I wanted it to work.
The Harmony mouthpiece is 13mm in diameter and has a round lozenge and joints that go with the shape of the tongue it encourages a horse to move towards the mouthpiece but because of the balance of pressures discourages the Horse from getting too strong or set on the mouthpiece.
As the reins are used together the whole mouthpiece wraps around the tongue and lower jaw, it has a structured feel in the centre of the tongue to dissuade the horse from leaning on the bit. It has a generous forward curve to go with the conformation inside the mouth and to stop the mouthpiece pinching the sides of the jaw.
Very useful for Horses or Ponies that need to -
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Pay more heed to the mouthpiece
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Are just a little strong for a Snaffle and need a little more
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That block on one side as you flex or turn
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For young or retraining Horses that are strong in a Snaffle and need comfortable signals to train them to be lighter in the bridle For Horses that are polite in the school but more enthusiastic when they are out and about
Mini Edgeware Cheek ​
It is exactly the same proportions above and below the mouthpiece so it sends the Horse to the end of the rein.
It is very important to have good balance when you create a cheek piece, the part of the cheek above the mouthpiece [the purchase] creates upper head and upper jaw pressure and the part of the cheekpiece below the mouthpiece [the shank] creates lower jaw pressure.
In order to send the Horse to the end of the rein and give good release and reward for work done these two measurements must create balance. This cheek must always be used with a balance strap or chain never without as this brings to bear a third point of pressure on the upper part of the lower jaw as the bit is used without a balance strap the bit will not work as it was designed to.
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Rein Handling and options
This bit will come with a pair of Pelham Roundings of your colour choice and a leather jaw / balance strap in the same colour. It can also be ridden with two reins instead of Rounding’s and instead of a jaw / balance strap Quick links and a Chain ~I think it is important to have options so you might consider Schooling with two reins and Jumping using the Roundings and using the Jaw Strap sometimes but having the option of using a chain if the Horse is quite strong
How to fit a Edgeware
The jaw strap or balance strap is meant to be high on the jaw. The higher up the jaw you go the more the Horse stretches to the end of the neck and rolls over at the end of the frame.
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To fit you get hold of the lower rings and gently pull back towards the chest at the cheek turns to 45% the strap should snuggly tuck into the jaw and stop the cheek turning any more. Too loose and the cheek turns too much too tight and the Horse does not get enough release and reward. I did not design this bit to be used without a strap or a chain it does not work or balance correctly.
The Precision Mini Edgeware
After the success of the Precision Mouthpieces with an Eggbutt, a Loose Ring and a D Cheek I added this Mini Edgeware Cheek into the range in 2022 and I am thrilled with the feed back on it.
The Precision mouthpiece is a combination of a generous forward curve to the branches of the mouthpiece, small non-invasive turned joints and an Oval Lozenge that is rounded on the roof of the mouth and Oval on the tongue side The feel for the Horse and into the Riders hand is one of encouraging the Horse forward into the bit but when it gets there they should lighten up and yield and flex to the Riders signals.
Very useful for Horses or Ponies that
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Need to Pay more heed to the mouthpiece
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Are just a bit strong for a Snaffle and need a little more
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Are in a Precision Snaffle and need another bit added in to the equation
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For Horses that are polite in the school but more enthusiastic when they are out and about
Mini Edgeware
Cheek ​It is exactly the same proportions above and below the mouthpiece so it sends the Horse to the end of the rein It is very important to have good balance when you create a cheek piece The part of the cheek above the mouthpiece [the purchase] creates upper head and upper jaw pressure and the part of the cheekpiece below the mouthpiece [the shank] creates lower jaw pressure In order to send the Horse to the end of the rein and give good release and reward for work done these two measurements must create balance.
This cheek must always be used with a balance strap or chain never without as this brings to bear a third point of pressure on the upper part of the lower jaw as the bit is used without a balance strap the bit will not work as it was designed to.
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Rein Handling and options This bit will come with a pair of Pelham Roundings of your colour choice and a leather jaw / balance strap in the same colour. It can also be ridden with two reins instead of Rounding’s and instead of a jaw / balance strap Quick links and a Chain ~I think it is important to have options so you might consider Schooling with two reins and Jumping using the Roundings and using the Jaw Strap sometimes but having the option of using a chain if the Horse is quite strong
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The Clarity Edgeware
The Clarity Edgeware
The Clarity mouthpiece is one of my schooling mouthpieces it is 14mm in diameter and has a round lozenge the joints are turned to give a little more feel to the action of the mouthpiece it encourages a horse to move towards the bit but because of the structure of the joints discourages the Horse from getting too strong or set on the mouthpiece. 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 the horse from leaning on the bit. It has a generous forward curve to stop the mouthpiece pinching the lower bars of the mouth.
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very useful for Horses or Ponies that need to
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pay more heed to signals and to yield in the frame
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are quite strong for a Snaffle and need a little more
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have a history of stepping up the pace when it powers up
Edgeware Cheek
It is very important to have good balance when you create a cheek piece. The part of the cheek above the mouthpiece ]the purchase] creates upper head and upper jaw pressure and the part of the cheekpiece below the mouthpiece [the shank] creates lower jaw pressure.
In order to send the Horse to the end of the rein and give good release and reward for work done these two measurements must create balance. This cheek must always be use with a curb strap or chain never without this brings to bear a third point of pressure on the upper part of the lower jaw as the bit is used.
The strap is put on the same ring as the cheek piece on purpose so the action is carried high and is therefore well balanced.
Rein Handling and options
This bit will come with a pair of Pelham Roundings of your colour choice and a leather jaw / balance strap in the same colour.
It can also be ridden with two reins instead of Rounding’s and instead of a jaw / balance strap Quick links and a Chain
~I think it is important to have options so you might consider Schooling with two reins and Jumping using the Roundings and using the Jaw Strap sometimes but having the option of using a chain if the Horse is quite strong
Contour Beval Bit
The Contour mouthpiece was an experiment in 2019 to see if I could get a different feel from another curved lozenge mouthpiece.
I lengthened the lozenge a little and plumped it up in the centre and curved the mouthpiece in a slightly different place thinking it would make another starter bit or a long and low mouthpiece. However, it did not turn out like that, it encourages a Horse to be higher in the frame and to take a more even contact.
It is a generously curved longer oval Lozenge covering more area inside the mouth designed to encourage the Horse forward into a higher contact. It went into the range in 2020.
Very good for Horses that like
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the slightly thicker mouthpiece
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that are reluctant to take the contact forward and lower the neck to avoid taking the contact
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encouraging the Horse forward into a higher contact that have been in restrictive mouthpieces and have tongue issues Horses that you want to create a more consistent contact with in a slightly higher frame ​
The Beval cheek gives a small amount of leverage by capturing the mouthpiece so it cannot roll around the ring. Instead you get an instant leverage action, putting the cheek piece of your bridle in the top slot and your rein down in the bottom slot creates good understandable signal for the Horse.​
Beval Cheek
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The Beval cheek offers a small amount of leverage by stabilising the mouthpiece, preventing it from rotating within the ring. This creates a more immediate and clear action.
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By attaching the cheekpieces of the bridle to the top ring and the reins to the lower ring, a subtle leverage effect is created, providing a clear and understandable signal for the horse.
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