Bit Review- Stubben Golden Wing

I have been away since Friday which is why I have not been blogging. I was travelling to Toronto for a conference and used the opportunity to go and visit my sister and her family as well. I rented a car to get her place and I have to say that travelling on the 401 through the middle of Toronto is not for the faint of heart.

Anyway, I had been planning to write this review for a while and now seems like a good time since I don't have any riding to report on.

Let me start by saying that no one would consider me a tack collector. I use the same bridle for schooling and showing (although I switch out the brow band). FYI, for those who say 'But Teresa, you have an awful lot of saddle pads don't you?';  forget it-  I have decreed that saddle pads don't count.

I don't tend to change up bits unless there's a problem. For a long time I had been riding Carmen in a jointed, loose ring bit with a peanut in the middle. She was going well in it but I was wondering if the loose ring part was exacerbating some of her issues. Essentially what was happening was that Carmen would spook and/or run out of the bit and it would pull through her mouth and create more issues by pinching. I was looking for a 5 1/4 double jointed egg butt but only found ones that were lots of money. Did I mention that I am frugal? I will spend money to get what I need but I couldn't understand why the size I wanted was always over $200.

I then won a gift card from Riding Warehouse. Looking at their page I found the Stubben Golden Wing:

It looked like it combined the flexibility of the loose ring with the stability of the eggbutt. I did a bit of research and the Stubben website claimed:

• 100% pinchless.
• Wings position the bit correctly regardless of head position.
• Cheek plates bear on the sides of the mouth providing an indirect rein effect to correct resistance to the direct rein.
• Sweet copper promotes better acceptance.
• No nutcracker effect and no palate pressure

I figured that the gift card made it much cheaper and if i didn't like it I could always sell it. I also double checked to make sure it was legal for dressage.

I've ridden in this bit for a few months now. Carmen seemed to like it right away and there was far less fussing with the bit. I liked the shape of it and it curved to conform to the horses mouth. At times i have found it to be almost too mild if she's in a mood to take the bit and go but that rarely happens anymore.

And it looks fancy. I get a few comments when I'm out at clinics and shows- people are curious about it.

I find that Carmen is very willing to take up contact with this bit and it seems to stay very stable. I am  not a gimmicky person but I think that this is well designed and made. I can see where it would be a great bit to start a young horse. If you are looking at bits I would seriously consider this one- the price is very reasonable as well: US: Riding Warehouse for $83.95, Canada: Bakers Saddlery for 84.95 (the only place I could find with the 5 1/4 size and not the 4 in 1 gag).