Loose ring snaffle

[ClaireBear_nz]

Yep, I'm still fiddling with Tally's bits! He began to go very deep in the D-ring with copper rollers, so I changed back to his D with the large cheeks. He also has a more curved D with smaller cheeks, and a straight bar pelham.

I had a dressage lesson on Monday, and the instructor commented he seemed to set himself against the D-ring, and she suggested a loose-ring snaffle. I do own one of these, but its quite thick, while his D-ring is quite thin. His pelham is also thick.

Will this make a big difference to me being able to stop? What is the action of the loose-ring in comparison to the D-ring?

[Marmite]

The D I think would just aid steering, the thinner mouth piece might work better as it gives more room for the tongue in his mouth, so is kinder that the thicker mouthpiece in that way if your horse has a large tongue.

The thicker mouthpiece could be seen as kinder though, because it has a less concentrated area of pressure on the mouth than the thinner mouth piece. Whats the horses mouth like, fleshey tongue or not?

The loose ring would just give him less to lean on, if you need the D for more responsive steering though, the loose ring might not be the right idea.

That was all jumbled, how some of it makes slight sense, late night last night so cant type this morning :o

ETA: sorry, just realised who the OP is, you'll know about everything in me post anyways...ah well.

[Ms Kitty]

I prefer a loose rings to D-rings, to be honest. I like the fact that the bit has more mobility in the mouth, it suits the way I am riding very well. Not sure about the thickness though, if it is a lot thicker than the D-ring you are used to ride with, he might not like it. Test and try, I guess.

Nina x

[KateWooten]

Try it in a safe place, establish control and then work from there. The loose ring is just a little less easy to lean on but really it's not about the bit, it's more about what you're doing when he leans than anything.

[ClaireBear_nz]

I had a go with Sparky's loose-ring, which was a bit bigger than Tally's D. He seemed to salivate a lot, and it was very windy, so I got a face full of the stuff. :rolleyes:

It isn't a huge amount thicker than his D, but its thicker towards the ends, and thinner towards the middle. He's the third horse I've had that it's fitted, which scares me slightly, the first was a 13hh pony with a huge mouth!

He's not bad with steering or with leaning, I'm just playing to be honest, to try and get the best results.

Thanks everyone!