Bit Types: Mouthpieces and Cheek Pieces

A bit is a mouthpiece and a cheek piece. This is what the common ones are and how each acts on the horse. If you have not read how a bit works, start there — the pressure points come first.

Mouthpieces

Single jointed snaffle

The most common mouthpiece. It puts concentrated pressure on the palate when rein pressure is applied, with additional pressure on the bars, the tongue and the sides of the mouth. Generally considered mild, and used across every discipline. If you are working out a new horse’s preferences, it is a safe place to start.

We do not use all-copper mouthpieces, for reasons set out separately.

Dog bone

Also called a French link. Double jointed, so it distributes pressure to the palate in two places rather than one, again with pressure on the bars, tongue and sides of the mouth.

Dr. Bristol

Looks like a French link and does not behave like one. The middle plate is longer, flatter and set at an angle, which concentrates pressure on the tongue. Worth the second look before you assume a bit’s function from its shape.

Mullen

No joints at all — straight or slightly curved. Pressure goes to the bars and the tongue rather than the palate. Common in carriage horses and seen across most disciplines.

Wire

A thin twisted wire, single jointed. Severe pressure to the palate, bars and sides of the mouth: less surface area means more pressure in the same hand. A wire mouthpiece is a severe bit. It belongs only with soft, intelligent hands and a horse already going lightly. Otherwise it does real damage.

Ported

An upside-down “U”. More pressure on the palate, less on the tongue. The higher the port, the more severe. Suits a horse sensitive to tongue pressure that prefers pressure on the palate.

Rollers

Sections of a mouthpiece that physically roll. A clenched jaw is an unrelaxed horse; a roller invites the tongue to move, which loosens the jaw. Rollers sit in ports, in joints, or in the mouthpiece itself, and are usually sweet iron or copper, which encourages salivation.

Twists

Multiple pressure points on the tongue and the corners of the mouth. The faster the twist, the more pressure points — but a slow twist can be more severe than a fast one if its angles are abrupt rather than smooth. Analyze the twist itself, not the count.

There are more mouthpieces than these. The point is to be able to look at one and work out what it does.

Cheek pieces

How the headstall attaches determines whether a bit is a leverage bit. If the headstall and the reins do not attach through the same opening, it is. Leverage applies pressure to the poll when the reins come back, asking the horse to bring its head down. The greater the distance between the headstall attachment and the rein attachment, the more severe the leverage.

Full cheek

Wings running up and down alongside the mouth. Their only job is to stop the bit sliding through the mouth. A half cheek has wings on the bottom only. Common in English disciplines. Headstall and reins attach in the same place, so it is not a leverage bit.

Loose ring

The mouthpiece moves through the ring independently of the reins and headstall. Common with young horses and horses new to training, and a reasonable place to start if you do not know how a horse will take a bit. The movement itself puts some horses off.

If that is the case, a D ring is next: fixed to the mouthpiece, so the feel is more consistent. An eggbutt looks similar with softer, rounder edges. Loose ring and D ring are both mild, and neither is a leverage bit — there is no influence on the poll.

Shank

Fixed attachments for headstall and reins, neither in direct contact with the mouthpiece. The lower arm extends past the mouthpiece, which puts pressure on the poll when the reins are active. Longer shank, more poll pressure, more severity.

Pelham

Similar in appearance to a shank, different in use. It takes two sets of reins, most often in dressage, letting the rider isolate pressure in the mouth or at the poll separately. A leverage bit, since the lower arm acts on the poll.

Gag

A leverage bit that raises the head rather than lowering it. A rope runs through the cheek piece to the headstall and reins, sliding the bit up or down in the mouth without acting on the poll. Seen in jumpers and cross country, where a horse needs its head up to read the height of a fence.

Where to start

Take the time to work out what a bit is for before it goes in a horse’s mouth. Ask people who ride why they use what they use. Be willing to try several mouthpieces and cheek pieces, and to change when the horse changes.

Our bits are sweet iron dee ring snaffles with copper inlay — smooth, dogbone roller and twisted mouthpieces, in a fixed dee cheek.