The Magic Bullet: Bit Changes

I've always been a person who are constantly changing tack to find the magic bullet that will make everything easier. But I also know that sometimes what you have is just not going to work. 

I first introduced Quaid to bits when he was a 2 year old. Since then I'd been struggling to find one he liked.  The first one I tried was a Happy Mouth Mullen: 

I believed that they were gentle and that horses tend to like them. It was clear that Quaid hated it. I gave it a few trials because the bit was new and I know it can take a while for them to adjust but all he did was chomp and chew and it was getting worn. 

I then looked in my cupboard and dug out my Stubben Golden wing broken snaffle. He was much quieter with it but over time it was clear that he still was not happy with it. 

Stubben Golden Wing

Here's a video from one of our early rides. You can see him champing away at it. 

I used this for a long time with him and through it all he champed and chewed and rattled it. Not all the time but enough. In looking at it it seemed that the mouth piece was a too thick for him.  So then I dug out a thinner broken snaffle and he was pretty good with it. 

But I still was not convinced that it was good for him. Again the thickness and the lozenge seemed to bug him. 

When he went for training I saw that Mike and Nikki used a thin, plain snaffle bit and he seemed to like that really well. I always worry about the nutcracker part of those snaffles though but I filed that information away. 

Clearly my internet searches triggered my social media pages because tack, and more specifically, bits started appearing on my feed. I'm going to be honest and I struggle with paying a huge amount of money for a bit. For example the NS Turtletop bit retails for $430 here!  At that price I expect it to muck out stalls during its down time. 

I then had an ad for Agadors come across my feed. I was intrigued, the bits were inexpensive, they were a Canadian company and shipping was free over 60$. I ended up buying the 'Calm Ride' bit: 

It was said to be good for horses with sensitive tongues and other oral issues. They also had a generous return policy and the bit itself was pretty cheap (under 60$). It was apparent that Quaid liked it right away. His mouth was calmer and when I picked up the reins rather than yawn or pull he would soften.  I used it in the Johanna clinic and he was quite good:

Here's my mistake though- I didn't realize that this bit was illegal for dressage shows. I had read the rules and looked at the pictures and thought it was fine. The problem was the copper rollers in the middle. Equine Canada says that you can only have 1 roller in the middle, not multiple. I get it because they need to draw a line somewhere but I was bummed. I even wrote to a steward to make sure but in the end I had to return it. I looked to see if I could exchange it but all the ones similar had more than one roller in the middle.  Fortunately, the company gave me a full refund and they told me that they were working on a 'dressage legal' bit. 

I went back to the old broken snaffle but within a month the company was advertising a new 'dressage' bit.: 

see the single roller?

 I ordered it immediately. The blue is a sweet iron that will slowly rust out. I'm not keen on the colour change but that is very much a first world problem. Because Quaid is really really liking this bit. 

see how it's starting to change colour? 

It fits him well and I find it to be really stable in his mouth: 

And for under $60 these are great bits. I was really happy with the customer service as well. If you are looking for a bit I'd advise you to check them out, they have a real variety of mouthpieces and styles. 

looking handsome and so grown up