Traditional scale bits

Bit army comes here.

Page updated: 
- 8-15/10/19: Page published. 

I make all my bits by myself, from metal wire and jewellery materials, with various pliers. I've never bought pre-made bits, like those you can get from Rio Rondo.

Upper row: Average curb bits. Second row: Really short curb bits. Third row: A pelham-baucher combo, a short elevator, and a baucher. Bottom row: Curb bits with three rings for reins. Summer 2018.

Top row: long elevator bits. Middle row: long curb bits (with weird shapes). In the right: two pelhams. Bottom row: a long curb with a corner and a really short curb bit. Summer 2018.

About the mouthpieces and bit action
In the early 2018 I invented a technique to make the bits work realistically, so they don't just sit there glued to a horse's mouth. I mean especially the curb bits and other bits who work by leverage action: I make a loop in the place where goes the mouthpiece (and call this a mouthpiece loop), and attach a 5 mm long wire with a loop there (and this is the mouthpiece). Overall, it's the separately attached mouthpiece what makes the bits work, no matter where it gets attached to. It requires just enough space to move.

To attach any bit to the horse, I use Pattex contact glue, which stays sticky even when completely dry. I apply the glue on the mouthpiece's side that goes against the horse and let it dry BEFORE I get it in use. And the glue needs to be really completely dry before splatting it on the horse. This glue had worked a lot better than blue-tack - so well that sometimes I have to worry if it damages the paint on some of my Breyers! I guess, Tacky Wax could work for this as well, though I really don't know because I have never used it.

Because of the long mouthpiece part, I can also place the bits higher than I see being done by everyone else. The mouthpiece hides the mouthline, so you can't see where the mouth corners end. This allows placing the bits accurately and even so that I can exaggerate with them when needed. It also makes it easier to place the flash (and drop) nosebands where they belong to, unlike when you put the bit only to the mouth corner and have to strap the flash too low. And this also had solved one problem I find really annoying: when a rider pulls the rein and the bit still stays too low and shanks don't rotate... It's just downright unrealistic and painful to see. If you pull the reins very hard, the bit will go higher and (if you have a leverage bit) the shanks definitely rotate.

But let's go to the bit gallery now.

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Snaffles. I've made these a lot, but they aren't very common in my photos since they aren't very interesting to see. But really, this is the most plain bit ever, and easiest to make, so never underestimate the power of it! (Yes, snaffles really can be harsh. They aren't automatically "gentle".) I'm yet figuring out how to make different types of these.

A very plain snaffle.

A snaffle with a green mouthpiece. With some imagination it could be said to "taste like grass".

A 8 -snaffle. September 2019.

A spiral snaffle, resembles the eggbutt snaffle. September 2019. This bit isn't correctly put here in this photo, it's a bit upside down (the big loop's seam should go to the opposite direction, which means this is the right side's bit...)

Pelhams. I love pelhams, they allow using both reins and doing dressage without the need of an extra hanger in the bridle - and this also certainly makes it all easier, since there's no need to struggle with attaching separate snaffles to curbs and yet to fight with the curb straps that much. (There still needs to be a strap in a pelham, too, don't get me wrong. It's just easier to attach.) 

A pelham with a poor rein connector. 2018.

Another pelham. 2018.

A pelham made from green wire, just for testing. This is boring... 2019.

A short pelham with a golden (or yellow) snaffle ring. 2019.

A extremely long pelham with lower shanks which curve forward. This is based on a design my brother drew. 2019.

Basic curb bits. These were what officially started my todays style to do bits that work (move). I invented this technique in January 2018, though the thing is based on something I did in few years back for models that had open mouths. A basic curb is really easy to make when you get used to it, so these can be made in batches. Then, a very short curb is a lot harder to shape compared to a long one. 

One of the first (if not the very first) moving curbs I made in January 2018. Right after attaching the mouthpieces.

Same curb bit, first time in use.

An extremely short curb bit. 2018. I left the curb strap off so it's shape is easier to see. (Feel free to make your own!)

The smallest (or shortest) curb bit I have made - this was really hard to get correct and yet symmetric to it's pair! 2019.

Curbs that have been "decorated" with plastic beads. 2019.

Long curbs "decorated" with beads. 2019.

Long "special" curbs. I like to exaggerate... But it's not so clever that often. 

A "corner curb". 2018.

A long curb bit with S -shaped shanks. 2018.

Long curb bit with it's shanks bent from the ends only. 2018.

A long curb with it's shanks bent from two places. 2018.

Same as before - just with only one bent place. 2018.

I named this "Z-bit" because of it's shape. It requires to have an unusually long curb strap. 2018.

Long curb with forward-bent shanks, version one. 2018. (Based on the design my brother drew.)

Same as before.

Long curb... Same as before, but is a second version (compare the rein loops of the shanks!). 2018.

...those don't work. The shanks usually go to backwards direction for a reason!

A ridiculously long curb bit I made late in the summer 2019. This doesn't make any sense...

Special curbs. To this group I count everything with some amount of leverage effect no matter how much the bit looks like a curb bit for first view. Here go also those who just can't be tucked in other categories of curbs.  

A baucher bit. Or "baucherwick" since this is more like a mix from both.

A bit that's quite like a mixbreed from pelhams and bauchers. It has two rein attachment options, as you see. 2018.

A curb bit with three slots for reins. I call these "multiring bits". 2018.

A small bit made from a jewellery piece... Is it named as "bead hat"? Anyway, it made a well working bit (at least when it's attached)! I named it "flower curb". Early 2018 I guess.

I got inspiration for this bit from something I saw in internet. September 2019.

I call these "drop curbs" because of the shape of the lower shank's rein loop. These are based on something I've seen online being used for real horses. 

The first ever "drop curb". It has anatomy errors, like that how the lower shank bends from front while it should be opposite (see the other photos). 2019.

A drop curb with pink beads and rightly shaped rein loop.

Long drop curb. Not that pretty.

Curved curbs and loop curbs.

A curve curb bit. Early 2019. This "design" is based on that there is an incomplete mouthpiece loop, so the shank grows in 90 degree angle rather than being straight forward. That also makes this bit to be a lot milder than what it will look like.

Curve curb number two. 2019. Also very mild.

A curve bit with long shanks who grow like the previous examples, but then goes forward. It also has a bead in the upper shank. 2019. This is a really harsh bit and requires either a long curb strap of riding without any pressure at all. I say the latter is the better - if you get this to 90 degrees angle to the mouth line, it's way too much!

Long, curved bits with honey colored plastic beads. 2019. For me this looks really unbalanced for some reason, maybe because there's too little upper shank.

I decided to name this and it's cousins as "loop curb" because the lower shank is entirely one big loop. And this one has a huge blue bead in it... 2019.

Another curve curb with beads for decoration. 2019. Those definitely add some detail, and also weight, to the bits. Though this is already too bling-bling for my taste... I like when things are just functional and not too modern!

Elevator bits. To elevators I count everything with a mouthpiece that moves in a "chamber". This also separates these from curb bits although both have some amount of leverage. With this logic, I count also olympia/pessoa bits to elevators. 

A pessoa. 2018. It has a separate part attached to the bigger ring to allow attaching the rein, since the ring alone has two wires in it and so is too wide for hooks I use.

A new, simplier pessoa design from September 2019.

Another pessoa from September 2019, this time from thicker wire. (The curb strap is misbehaving there.)

A short elevator bit. 2018. This has been actually a nice bit to include in photos!

An elevator bit.

A long elevator bit that may be a bit too bent...? I don't know. It's made in 2018.

A long elevator bit. 2018. This is quite close to what I've had in mind to make for a longer time.

An elevator bit with four moving parts in it. Summer 2019.

Similar to the previous one; there's difference in how the "snaffle rings" are shaped, so these are actually a bit different.

A long elevator bit - again... This is a mouthpieced version of the long hackamore of similar shape, but doesn't work or look as "nicely" as that one. Summer 2019.

A really short elevator bit with very simple design. 2019.

Similar to the previous one, but with a U -shaped piece to connect the loops. You can still attach the rein to the shank though, there just isn't much space for it. Due to that, I call this bit a "pseudopessoa". 2019.

My inventions. I can't promise these are fully my own inventions, and I have no idea how they really could affect the horse (especially some of the weirdest ones). Basically these are bits that simply don't have anything already existing as a base to design on.

A pseudoelevator. 1019. This also has four moving parts and can be used with two reins; though I don't know if that is useful at all, you still cause pressure no matter what.

Another pseudoelevator. 2019. This can be used with one rein only.

A ridiculously long "elevator pelham" what I made in September 2019. This can't go to the normal elevator group because the snaffle part is not permanently attached to the middle area of the shank - it slides up and down when allowed! I made this ridiculously long shanked bit on purpose, just to see if it works. I eventually found out it's a hopeless piece and destroyed it (lost my nerves), so it's not with us anymore. The smaller versions worked well, though, obviously.

A smaller version of the "elevator pelham" described above. With this I also realised that this bit couldn't stay in the horse's mouth without a drop noseband if the shanks are long enough...

A baucher-looking bit with an elevator part. September 2019. I could have liked this as a baucher, but there was no other option for the mouthpiece attachment.

Pseudo-leverage-snaffle bit. Maybe a multipurpose bit. September 2019.

A "fist bit"; you can see an abstract human with a fist there if you have enough imagination - I go creative when I name bits, because they must be different from each other! September 2019.

A ponder snaffle. Like the previous one looked like a human with a fist, this one looks like a human who is pondering (a fist against chin). September 2019. I don't know if this works okay neither.

A second version of the bit previously shown. Here the mouthpiece attaches differently, and there is a bit of leverage action as well.

A "B-snaffle".

A "corner snaffle". Now I don't know where is the corner I refer to anymore, but I hope the name can stick. September 2019.

Hackamores. Hackamores are known from the fact that they don't have mouthpieces - but otherwise they can be counted as bits just like everything else! So my criteria for hackamores is that they don't have a mouthpiece, so are "bitless". But these can still be called as bits in my opinion. What term to use, then? Mouthless? Nosepressure bit? (Because practically all bitless bits cause pressure on nose, be it a shanked one or not.)

I once called this as "pony hackamore" and now I don't know why. Just adjust the straps and it fits a variety of heads. 2017.

A hackamore with a large loop. 2017. This seems to be useless for this kind of use, but what if I added a mouthpiece there? Then it could work as a bit - bits like that do exist!

A "deadly hackamore" - the name can't be fully translated - that now is a permanent part of the first Fightmore bridle. 2017. This "bit" is so long that it can't be really fitted for smaller or shorter heads (it sits too low in this photo).

A short pelhamore. May be made in 2018 or 2019. In this photo it sits too low, but it can't really be adjusted too tightly or the shanks get positioned stupidly. (I think this kind of hackamores do exist, but I just don't see them that often online. Why?)

Another pelhamore, 2019. This is shaped in a way that the noseband and chinpiece are on the same level. This maybe fits more snugly compared to the previous one, but the leverage action is surprisingly powerless. Though, isn't that a good thing what comes to beginner riders then? I simply imagined this could work like the commonly seen design of hackamore, but it didn't.

Yet something? Well, dressage bridles have two separate bits in the horse's mouth at once, and I want that if one bit (curb) moves, the other (snaffle) does so as well. To make this possible, I started to bend the mouthpieces into hooks so I can attach the snaffles to the curbs' mouthpiece loops. Sometimes these are really difficult to attach and make to work truly nicely, though, and the curb straps are pain to add there too, and usually make the whole thing worse.

An earlier attempt on building a working curb-snaffle combo, possibly made in 2018. There the bits are permanently attached together by an oval link. That link stole some space, and I wanted to be able to play more with different bits, so I needed to design it further.

Recycled some bits to have hooks in them, so they can be attached to some curbs. Yes, there are curbs, pelhams and even an elevator! (To point out, the pelham and elevator were practically built from pieces of some hopeless bits that didn't work well.) I have certain dolls who can think those are a good idea to use with other types of bits, although I don't know... It could be completely pointless?

A curb with an attached snaffle - that's some dressage stuff, as you see.

Well... A pelham attached to a extremely strong curb? With three reins? Okay. Let me say this: despite how much my dolls like to use questionable contraptions with their horses, I DO NOT agree with them what comes to that! I think less is more, really.

Well, why don't I just blog these?!