Loose ring or fixed ring: which should you use?

Today I changed Freedom’s bit. I had been riding him in a full cheek snaffle with a jointed quarter moon mouthpiece but he was very fussy when I rode him yesterday, not accepting the bit and getting very busy in his mouth.

I went back to a bit that I used a year or so ago: a simple single-jointed loose ring snaffle. My ride today was much better. He stopped trying to evade the bit and was reaching into the contact with a quiet mouth.

So, was it the change of bit? or was he just in a better mood? To a certain extent it’s just hard to tell but the two bits do act very differently in a horse’s mouth and they could well have made a difference. While the mouthpieces certainly are a consideration, today I’m just going to discuss how a fixed ring and a loose ring work.

Fixed Ring Bits

With a fixed ring bit like an eggbutt, a D ring, Full Cheek or Boucher, the mouthpiece is attached to a fixed, non-moving cheek piece.

Features:

• The bit stays centered in the horse’s mouth.
• Bits such as a full cheek or a D ring can help with turning aids by providing lateral pressure on the side of the horse’s mouth when rein pressure is applied.

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  The bit stays quiet in the horse’s mouth and is not as susceptible to extra movement (especially good if your hands are not as quiet as they should be).

• The orientation of the mouthpiece in the horse’s mouth is constant even when there is rein pressure.

Fixed ring bits are traditionally used in the hunter ring. D ring bits have migrated there from the racetrack where they are commonly used to start horses.

I usually use a full cheek snaffle with green horses as they aid in turning. Read more about this type of fixed bit at Fitting a Full Cheek Snaffle.

Loose Ring Bits

With a loose ring bit the mouthpiece moves freely around the side piece rings.

Features:

• Because the bit moves around the rings the motion makes it more difficult for a horse to lean on the bit.
• The loose ring bit is more sensitive to the rider’s hands and gives more “warning” of any corrections. This works for you and against you. If you have a horse that hates motion in its mouth, then the noise created by the loose ring bit can be a distraction.
• The mouthpiece moves so that it is always 180 degrees from the rein pressure. Some horses like the consistence of the position.
• If a loose ring bit is fitted too small, the action of the rings rotating can pinch the horse’s lips. Some people use a bit guard to prevent that. I’ve found that as long as you buy a bit that’s about 1/2″ larger than you’d buy for a fixed ring, it’s not a problem (see fitting a loose ring snaffle).
• Because the side rings are not fixed it’s pretty easy to pull the bit through the horse’s mouth. It’s important to keep contact on both sides of the horse’s mouth and help keep the bit centered.

Loose ring bits are very common in dressage. In fact, most dressage horses are ridden in a loose ring snaffle unless they have a problem with them.

Conclusions

Sometimes it’s hard to tell what type of bit a horse will respond to best. Sometimes it changes. Kroni, my Trakehner, never liked a loose ring bit. I tried several times to introduce them to him. Bogie, my QH, loved his single jointed loose ring snaffle. Freedom? Sometimes it’s hard to tell!