Sweet Iron Loose Ring Ported Mullen

Suitable for horses that:

• Have a large or fleshy tongue that bulges between the teeth

• Get the tongue over the bit or draw it out to one side

• Are short in the mouth and have not been comfortable in a jointed bit

• Fuss and fiddle with anything that has a joint in it

• Lean on the hand and need a bit that will not stay still for them

How it works

Mouthpiece. An unjointed mullen bar formed from a single piece of sweet iron, tapering from 14mm at the cheek to 10mm through the centre. The port measures 80mm wide by 10mm high, which is low and broad rather than tall and narrow, so the tongue is given room across a wide span while the bar stays well clear of the palate. The whole mouthpiece is swept forward to follow the arch of the tongue, so it lies along the tongue and bars rather than bridging across them. With no joint there is nothing to close on the bars and no nutcracker action, and port relief moves the load off the centre of the tongue and out onto the bars.

Cheek piece.The bit rings run through the mouthpiece rather than being fixed to it, so the mouthpiece can move and the horse can carry the bit slightly higher or lower in the mouth. Pressure comes off the moment the rein is given and the bit returns to a neutral position. Loose rings suit a horse that is stiff or hard in the hand, because there is no fixed surface to set against.

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Material. Sweet iron is low carbon steel with no chromium in it, so it is meant to rust. That surface rust is the working part of the bit. It tastes warm and sweet, which draws the horse to mouth the bit and salivate into a softer, wetter mouth. Ours is solid iron right through rather than a coating, and this mouthpiece is formed from a single bar with no joints in it at all. Supplied blue, fading to brown grey as it oxidises in work. Cheeks are stainless steel.

Allow 2 to 5mm clearance at each side so the ring can rotate. An unjointed mouthpiece does not draw up under contact the way a jointed one does, so the width you measure is the width you need. Aim for one to two soft wrinkles at the corners of the mouth.

Size and fit

4.5"

4.75"

5"

5.25"

5.5"

6"

115 mm

120 mm

125 mm

135 mm

140 mm

150 mm

Mouthpiece

14 mm

14 mm

14 mm

14 mm

14 mm

14 mm

Port

80 x 10 mm

80 x 10 mm

80 x 10 mm

80 x 10 mm

80 x 10 mm

80 x 10 mm

Ring

65 mm

65 mm

70 mm

70 mm

70 mm

70 mm

Wipe dry after use and apply a light food safe oil. Surface oxidation after a period of storage lifts with a damp cloth.