minidonkeyny said:
http://www.drivingessentials.com/bits_mini.htm
...Leia I'm glad we have the same tastes. I love reading about you & Kody
: & I just love Kody!!! Even tho I wouldn't trade Banner for anything... even if he's the BIGGEST scatterbrain ever
: at least he tries once he concentrates
: . Well if anyone has any more input that would be great because I'm still considering both bits. Plus what do you guys think of the French-link Butterfly? Thanks Everbody once again !!!!!
~Ashley & Banner~
Ashley, why spend that much money when Iowa Valley Carriage has a new line of bits? I'd either buy the comfort snaffle for a few dollars more or go to
http://www.iowavalleycarriage.com/bits.php and all the way to the bottom, there's a 3.5" French Link Butterfly bit for $39.95. Granted it has a copper lozenge, but that's better than the all-copper mouthpiece of the Mini Express bit. Sandee is great to deal with and I believe is working on my request to create a stainless steel half-cheek french link by this spring. I'm waiting for that to come out, then I'm pouncing!
MiLo Minis said:
So now you have gone from a snaffle to a butterfly which is a much more severe bit with possible curb action and an effect on the poll and loose cheeks that could pinch???? Why not just stick with the snaffle? Even if you use this bit on the snaffle setting it is hung from the cheek pieces which gives it poll action. Maybe before you go looking for another bit you should do some research on how they work.
:
Now MiLo, that was harsh.
: (Always wanted to use that smilie, LOL). This young lady is asking the questions because she's doing the research, don't smack her down for it!
: I was considering this bit myself although I would prefer a plain snaffle french link. Kody's (and possibly Banner's) objection is to a single joint and I don't really see any problem with adding a gentle poll squeeze. We're still using light hands and most riding horses go in curbs quite happily. For that matter, so do most driving horses as the Liverpool or Butterfly are traditional bits. They are only as harsh as the hands that use them, and the butterfly mouthpiece removes the poke that the horses dislike. What's so bad about that? And for the record, the cheekpieces on a well-made butterfly shouldn't pinch any more or less than a snaffle would. I'd personally be replacing the curb chain with a custom made rolled leather curb strap if I bought the bit, and keeping it just tight enough to not flop against his chin. Also, doesn't the Myler hang from cheek slots? Granted they are closer to the mouthpiece so less leverage, but still.
minidonkeyny said:
I'm not sure about the mullen... Banner has a light mouth and all but I'm not sure if that would change if I gave him a bit that he could brace himself against... Strongly looking into the Myler though. I have seen the copper bit in mini express, I'ld rather not have a solid copper mouthpiece though. oh well I'm just going to see if anyone else has any thoughts about anything
I'm in no rush to change bits because I know to make a good decision I have to actually think about it for a while :lol:
~Ashley & Banner~
Like I said, if you wait until spring there might be more options. I'm really pushing the bit manufacturers! :bgrin
I tried Kody in a nice curved mullen mouth at one point and the difference in steering was startling. My sensitive little Maserati turned into a Mack truck! I don't recall that he got heavy on the bit (then again I was so green at the time I'm not sure I would have noticed) but cornering was a whole different ballgame. He also fussed with it a lot and while the trainer said I could give him a couple more days to see if he adjusted to it-- we'd used it three times at that point- my feeling was that he didn't like the fact he couldn't move the mouthpiece. We put him back in the snaffle and BOOM! The steering came back online.
I tried a used Myler at one point last spring but I'd bought it online and it turned out it was a high port correction bit not the comfort snaffle I'd been told. :new_shocked: Kody HATED it. Absolutely hated it. He gaped and gawed and fought it, and then got heavier and heavier during the first few minutes of the lesson. My trainer told me to keep going and I finally said "No, you don't understand. He is
heavy on this bit. Your fjord drives like that, Kody doesn't! He hates this bit." We got the snaffle out of the trailer and changed him right then and there in the arena. He spat out the new bit like it was manure, watched fearfully as we changed the bit, and then literally sighed with relief and relaxed when the bridle came back into sight with the snaffle on it! We all broke out laughing because there was no mistaking his feelings. Ever since I've been on a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" kick.
You know this Ashley, but I will say it for others. Always check the quality of your bit. We do the worst things to horses and never even realize it! I used the bit that came with his bridle for the first year and never understood why this horse would suddenly throw up his head and gape when I so much as touched him. I mean it was a snaffle! Come on, you don't get much kinder than that, right? Wrong. That starter bit was a torture device and when I finally found well-made mini snaffles I was shamed at the difference. I knew I hadn't liked it but I didn't think it was that bad. But the sides were loose and undoubtedly pinched, the mouthpiece was straight (not curved), the bars themselves were
square :new_shocked: instead of round, and the joint in the middle was very large and undoubtedly was biting cruelly into his tongue. As soon as I switched to the new bit he stopped fussing so much about bridling and while standing, and after a few drives to learn that it really wasn't going to hurt him he stopped overreacting to a touch.
But there's one other thing too. I thought I had soft hands. I know how to give and take, I've ridden all my life and always been complimented on my hands. My Arab thinks I have soft hands and he's pretty sensitive, so I assumed my hands weren't the problem with Kody. I blamed it on the bit. WRONG. I started taking lessons with a driven dressage trainer this spring and found out that despite my best intentions and theoretical understanding of half-halting, etc., I was doing it all wrong and then blaming the lack of results on my horse. :no: I truly thought I was more of a horseman than that, but the fact is I was the cause of Kody's remaining problems. With some proper schooling we've both come far and now the only time he opens his mouth is when I'm holding him back on marathon and he really wants to go forward. Nevertheless my trainer still wants me to use a flash noseband to teach him to "stop fussing," and I'm not having any of it. If he's opening his mouth, it's because I'm still doing something wrong and I need to be aware of that, not silence his protests.
So look to your bit for basic comfort, then look honestly at your own hands and have someone else knowledgable take a look too. Only after both of those would I assume a new bit is needed. I still think a double-jointed bit is better even if the old one is okay, but it isn't going to solve the problem if your horse is reacting to your hands! :lol:
Leia
As if I haven't typed enough, edited to add: You can use a eggbutt like the one shown on Prime Design to drive with, but it isn't traditional. I'm holding out for a half-cheek with stainless. There is a $30 version of the Myler comfort snaffle available too, Sue C. from the forum uses them and says they are good quality. I might buy one of those to try too. I'll dig up the link today.
: so I think switching to a more comfortable,milder bit would make him happier(As if that was possible lol :lol: ) I also do a lot of ground driving, especially in the winter where he just feels so good and can't help but show me with a few good bucks
: . Eventually I will be doing more work with driven dressage
so I need a bit that will still be ok for stuff like that. I will not be showing (so far) so we'll only be traveling trails. I don't use a sidecheck/overcheck or any type of martingale. I do use sliding side reins
: Ashley & Banner~
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