Sprenger Universal bit??

[kate168]

I think i put this is the wrong section early, sorry

Ok i was thinking about changing my horse's bit to the Sprenger universal bit

http://i1.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/84/26/41ed_1.JPG
This one,^^ I was wondering if is it milder, stronger or similar to the gag??

He is currently in

http://www.shop4bits.com/ccp51/media/images/product_xlarge/600%20x%20BICR21.jpg

^^this at the minute, with the centre revolver, he is happy in it, but not 110% so i wanted to change it slightly but still have a similar action, so i was also thinking about this sprenger one: vvv

http://i20.ebayimg.com/07/i/000/98/e1/f1fd_1.JPG

But it is like four times the price so...
What do you think of the sprenger bits...are the really worth the small fortune? I know Neue Schule also do a universal bit, which is slightly cheaper
Any other suggestions welcome

Thank you!!!

[Stella2]

The universal has slightly less leverage than the gag (or 3 ring snaffle as it is more accurately called) due to the positioning of the rings. When I first got my mare I intially used a 3 ring snaffle for hacking because she is big, was very on her forehand and used to lean like a house! I then moved her into the Neue Schule Universal which she preferred. It did the job, but was softer about it :)

I have always preferred Sprenger bits though. They are beautifully made and finshed. I know a few people, and I know of several more, whose Neue Schule bits have snapped in use :eek: One person was just walking her horse in the school when the ring (loose rings) just broke in half :eek: Another was out hunting and the mouthpiece snapped :eek: Although this hasn't happened to me and I have used a few NS bits, I know of it happening far too often for me to be prepared to buy any more. Also the ones that I have had haven't been finished very well - one went rusty at the edges of the mouthpiece and the loose rings and they are supposed to be rustproof :mad:

Sprenger last a lifetime :)

[kate168]

Thanks for your advice. I'll shall probably go for the Sprenger one then. I think he will be better if the universal if it is slightly milder than his current bit because he will have less to fight, if that makes sense. I sometimes find that he doesn't move fully into his three ring even on the first ring and can back off it a bit, but other times he can be quite heavy in it, so with any luck he will be a bit more consistent in this one.

[Stella2]

What are you trying to achieve with the bit? Flora didn't need it any longer once she was off her forehand a little. she moved to a hanging cheek and as she gradually improved more, on to a loose ring snaffle which she is now in :)

[kate168]

Well since i have had him he has been through so many bits to find something that he is happy in, as he has been abused in the mouth by previous owners it has been a difficult task! He came in the three ring and having done full circle, trying various mouthpieces, hackamore and even dually headcollar we have come back to the three ring but this time without a nutcracker as this is what he goes best in, however he doesn't work on it particularly well and as the sprenger bits are meant to be slightly differently shaped he might be more comfortable in it, but still benefitting from the similar action to the three ring

[Stella2]

The Sprenger 'ultra' lozenge turns when we pick up the reins, so it sits at a 45 degree angle on the tongue. This makes the pressure on the tongue gentler, with no digging in as we can get with a more traditional lozenge. So that might be nicer for him. My mare was the other way around. She had been ridden in a single jointed bit (a JP so with a slight curve reducing the nut cracker action). I, in my wisdom believed that every horse must be more comfortable in a double jointed bit (one with a lozenge)! I tried the Sprenger, the Neue Schule - both with a lozenge and in desperation, a cheap french link. She wasn't happy in any of them. Eventually the penny dropped (duh..!), maybe she did actually prefer a single joint. I bought a Neue Schule Demy Anky (Sprenger didn't do a single joint then - but they do now). Flora breathed a huge sigh of relief bless her, as that was all she wanted all along :o

Flora will go in any 'sides' so long as she has her preferred mouthpiece. I have just changed the sides for a bit of fine tuning!

[kate168]

^^ awww bless her

anymore opinions??