Bit Suggestions (sorry!)

[Funky MeerKAT]

Very valid and interesting points. I totally agree with you both.

One of my horses will go in anything I put him in, you can tell he doesn't like some  bits, but he will still try his best to do what I want. But his favourite is a fairly thin KK loose ring snaffle, he loves that bit and is very happy in it. For jumping I have just started to jump bitless and this seems to be what he wants to do, however while I think (?) I can use it at NZEF eventing and SJ, Pony Club considers it a hackamore and will not allow it. They will allow a number of horrendus bits, including one particular girl who had a combination bit on her very hot pony resulting in this. Yet I'm not allowed to ride my very happy horse in a bitless. Apparently I wouldn't have any control.

[Twiggy]

I don't know what people on here think of Mylers, but I had great success with the Myler 32 mouthpiece without hooks, which is dressage legal - Twiggy went beautifully in it and it allowed me to teach her some self-carriage, and get her straight and not leaning on the right rein because it has independent side action. Sadly then she started to lean on it a bit, so I swapped back to a loose ring french link snaffle, which she hated to start with because she had to carry herself and couldn't lean. BUt she now goes like a dream in it. Interestingly I couldn't use the Myler XC or SJ as I had no brakes - she ran right through it. But I had always jumped in the loose-ring, which she now jumps even better in since we swapped to using it for the flat.

So I quite like the Mylers, horses seem to really appreciate the shape in their mouths when they don't like many other bits.