Template for your horse's mouth anatomy

The correct shape of the mouthpiece

Knowing what shape will fit your horse's mouth can be hard. We recommend all horse owners to let their dentist look inside the mouth, show and explain how your horse looks in the mouth. This can easily be done when your dentist is looking at the teeth.

Important things to take into account when choosing a bit:

• The shape of the bars. High, sharp bars or bars with a lot of flesh on them are unsuitable with bits that have a tongue relief/port. Especially if the horse has a flat tongue.

• Flat or big tongue. If the horse has a flat tongue, a bit without a port is better to make sure that you don't get too much pressure on the bars. If your horse has a big/high tongue, a bit with tongue relief can be more comfortable as it gives more space to the tongue.

• The shape of the palate. A horse with a wide, high and round palate can use many different bits, including bits with a tongue relief/port. A horse with a narrow, low, and round palate may need a thinner single-jointed bit to not interfere with the lowest point of the palate when you take the left or right rein.

• Width between the bars. Suppose the horse has a short space between the bars, a double-jointed bit can cause damage to the bars if the middlepiece is too wide or the joints are too big. Then, a single-jointed and/or a bit with smooth joints can be better suited.

You can check these essential things at home or ask your dentist to check them at your next appointment. For example, it's just as important to have a bit that fits the shape of your horse's mouth as it is to have a saddle that fits your horse's back or shoes that fit your horse's hooves.