On Tue, Dec 11, 2007 at 08:30:39AM -0800, Judy Ryder wrote: > For those who use bits with their IceHorses, which bit do you use, which > bits seem to fit the interior structure of the Icelandic's mouth (without > relying on a noseband to keep the mouth closed).
i use a french-link full-cheek snaffle. i don't use a noseband that comes anywhere near stjarni's mouth, and he opens it sometimes, so i'm pretty sure that's not doing much :) i *think* it's 4 and 3/4" and the mouth is one of those coppery-looking alloy types. stjarni is -- i should say, "has become since i got him" -- a horse who really loves being massaged. this includes my massaging his gums and tongue and lips and palate. i've done this with and without his bit in his mouth, and have found no particular pressure points or sore spots, and he seems comfortable either way. (his favorite spot is the gums in the back of the jaw, far behind the bit.) so i think it fits him. at one point though my crownpiece/cheekpiece arrangement seemed to stretch a bit, and the bit contacted one of his wolf teeth, and that made him cranky; i fixed it by going up one notch on the buckle. so as with any other tack i'd suggest rechecking fit now and again, esp. if the honey seems unhappy in any way. --vicka
