Double Bridle Bits

[muggley]

Just sitting watching the Royal Welsh whilst it is raining and I noticed that one of the Welsh Cobs is being ridden in a double which has a Wilkie as it's bridoon bit. Surely that's a bit of an overkill?! Combined with the Weymouth you have 2 loads of poll pressure.

Mayb it's just me but that seems a bit too OTT.

[LMSmith]

I have seen many people using this combination this year its sad to see but it seems more and more people are doing this

[gillwales]

When I judged I would always deduct points for severe bits, Hopefully the Judges at the Royal Welsh will have done the same

[mel b]

it would be lovely if all animals went nicely in and liked nothing more than a simple snaffle, bt they dont. i personally dont see the problem if the horse goes well in and likes a certain bit/ combination, sadly there are times when neither is evident and its obvious that a certain bit is used just because theyve seen a top name using it

[vcl]

in an ideal world every horse should go in a plain and simple snaffle but for one reason or another they dont so riders have to find soemthing they do go in. Isnt it nicer to see a horse going softly into the contact of something slightly stronger than fighting a milder bit.

I dont use a Wilkie by the way. I use a NS verbidand bradoon and a fixed weymouth but i'm lucky that 've had my horse since a baby and broke him myself

[NicolaC]

I have a heavyweight show cob and this is the combination I will be useing. My mare usually gets ridden in a 2 ring dutch gag with a lozenge but cannot use it in the ring. She was ridden in a pelham before I got her and now leans terribly with one. The Wilkie ( also with a Lozenge ) lifts the front end so I don't have to keep pulling at her mouth. I hardly touch the weymouth rein at all. Surely it is much better to have her nice and light without ruining her mouth. x

[sageandonion]

Surely it is better to have them schooled correctly in the first place and this level of riding continued throughout their career. Hate to burst anyone's bubble but horse's in severe bits suddenly become 'light' because they are backing off the contact. So you need more and more severity as time goes on.

No way is the action of the wilkie to lift the front end. The wilkie works by levering downwards.

A very strong horse should be controllable in a traditional double when schooled.

with 20,000 screaming, stamping, mexican waving fans, every single dressage horse was controlled in a double at Greenwich.

[thimble]

I do agree that the Wilkie gives more Poll pressure to lower the head. It will not lift the front end.

[fanfarefan]

i agree that a proprly fitted double should be sufficient in the ring , what ever horse it is on , i do also agree that horses come with hangups from previous owners , i was in a similar situation years ago with my old mare , as she got incresingly stronger especially with fast work to get her fit for HT , and hunting , and it got to the point where short of putting a piece of barbed wire in her mouth i couldnt hold her , so i bit the bullet ,and completely changed direction and put her in a happy mouth snaffle , and never looked back , my theory being if i couldnt hold her with all the ironmongery in the world in her mouth , i might just aswell give her something comfortable to pull on , and she took a step back , and said hey this isnt so bad , and stopped fighting , ------ she was fine in a double in the ring initially , but as she got older her mouth got more fleshy and the bits started pinching , so for showing we went over to a Rugby pelham ------- just because a horse is strong doesnt necessarily mean you need more in their mouth !!!!

[jennipenny]

Ditto fanfare fan. My pony whom I always found strong in her Pelham x and w.e she was in I struggled with x. She is now in a Waterford snaffle and is so light in the hand and lovely to ride !! So the lesser bit worked better ! X. She's always been very well schooled just strong when excited out hacking ect ! X. But I do also agree with above from two points one that your horse should be schooled and go nicely preferably in a snaffle but I personally would rather see someone riding in a stronger bit with less hand rather than a lesser bit and gobbing the poor Animal in the mouth !! X x don't really c the need for a wilki in a double though ! N

[silvershadow]

I always found my highland very strong in a Pelham, so changed to a double, also now happily schooled at home in either his double or French link snaffle. He's happier, I have more control and an altogether better picture for the ring.


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