Hi everyone,

I have been training my connemara western for the past year now. She used to wear a solid pelham (vulcanite) for her showjumping but I saw no point in changing it at the beginning of her training. Now we have conquered the basics I am in the market for something more refined than a bar of rubber!

I thought that a jointed snaffle with a shank would fit the bill, she doesn't like any fancy rollers or anything in her mouth, I tried one once and she went seriously bridle-lame. Bit of a surprise to say the least! I don't really want a port either because I prefer schooling her two handed and most of them are fixed.

I have looked at a lot of websites and the possibilities seem endless. Does anyone have any suggestions ?


p.s What does anyone think to sweet-iron or copper inlayed mouthpieces.

Thanks, MU5T4N9

Sweet iron is liked by most horses and encourages salivation,however I find that the joins can get very sharp over time and wear.So I wouldnt use one.

i like copper bits, many of mine that have had bit acceptance problems have gone well in these.

I particularly like the Myler bits, the comfort snaffle, is basically a straight bar but rotates around the centre so you have, control of the shoulders because of the independant action of either side of the bit. They do a good selection of cheeks for these.

I personally dont like jointed curb bits.

would agree with last poster - Myler comfort snaffle is a nice bit if you want to go two handed.

Thank you for your replies Amanda & Appynospots. Myler bits look interesting, did you import or is there a UK supplier you have used?

Myler bits are stocked by many retailers in the UK.

Derby House keeps a good range.

Well, we have learnt a lot about bits since this post. Back to basics, we used our ordinary English snaffle. Bob Mayhews' book says horses should go well in a snaffle before progresssing to anything else. That went quite well so we started looking at shanks as competing next year is now likely. Mark Rashid does not like 'Tom thumb' snaffles which made us look at alternatives - back to Myler.
After help from the Myler bit bank we now have a comfort snaffle. We thought that perhaps tongue relief was something we needed to consider and this bit gives it. With ring side pieces with slits we can begin to move to poll pressure in preparation for shank side pieces. We will be able to have the same mouth piece
with shanks so we hope this change will be straight forward. Thank you for your help pointing us in the Myler direction.