Leather Mouth Hanging Cheek with Aurion Lozenge

Suitable for horses that:

• Will not accept metal and cannot settle on a moving bit

• Are worn or sore at the corners of the mouth

• Show wear on the front cheek teeth

• Are sensitive over the poll

• Come high in the neck and need to work down and forward

How it works

Mouthpiece. 14mm finished, double jointed, with curved cannons angled forward to follow the shape of the tongue. The lozenge lies flat on the tongue rather than standing upright between tongue and palate, so tongue pressure is spread across the width of the tongue. There is no nutcracker action and nothing reaches the palate.

Cheek piece. The upper cheek holds the bit to the bridle cheekpiece, so the mouthpiece stays in one position in the mouth. It does not drop onto the incisors, slide sideways, or move when the hand moves. The cheeks lie flat against the face and pressure is concentrated on the bars. A hanging cheek does not create poll pressure: with no lower shank and no curb chain there is no leverage, and cheekpiece tension reduces rather than increases when the rein is taken. Held still and covered in leather, this is the quietest bit in the range for a mouth that has been worked hard.

8250

Material. The cannons are 12mm stainless steel bars wrapped in bark tanned leather to a finished 14mm. Leather carries no metal taste and does not draw heat from the mouth, so there is no cold metal contact at the start of work. Saliva softens the covering until it takes the shape of that individual mouth and holds it, and the surface gives slightly under load, spreading the bearing wider than bare steel of the same diameter. The stainless core keeps the geometry and the strength unchanged, so nothing is given up for the softness. The leather is hand stitched with the seam running along the front of the mouthpiece, away from the tongue, and tapered down to a smooth finish where it meets the joints. Colour comes from vegetable oil and deepens with use. The centre lozenge is Aurion, a high copper concentrated alloy, which adds a taste stimulus that leather alone does not give.

Fit closely, with the lip gently brushing the cheek. No clearance is needed, but leather does not slide across the lips the way polished steel does, so do not fit tight. Aim for one to two soft wrinkles at the corners of the mouth.

Size and fit

4.5"

5"

5.5"

115 mm

125 mm

140 mm

Mouthpiece

14 mm

14 mm

14 mm

Core

12 mm

12 mm

12 mm

Rein ring

50 mm

50 mm

50 mm

Wipe dry after every use. Treat with a food safe oil if the leather dries out. Do not soak, do not store wet, and do not leave the bit on a horse standing or travelling in the bridle. The covering moulds to one mouth, so keep the bit to one horse.