Today Shannon asked me to come out early, 8:00 AM because today it is HOT and HUMID. I am so glad she did as it was in the upper 70's F when I got to the farm. Later on today it will be in the mid 90's F, and the humidity is about 90%. A real North Carolina summer. At least we are getting rain this year, lovely thunderstorms that have driven away the danger of going back into our years long drought.

I had gotten the Wellep Lever Cheek Single Jointed Snaffle two weeks ago, and I really did not know what to think about it. The steel cable comes out of the mouth-piece and then goes down the lower cheek piece 1 1/2 inches before going through a small ring before being attached to the rein. I fiddled around with the bit and noticed that if I used the equivalent movement of an opening rein that the top of the cheek piece rotated inwards and could end up rubbing the horse's head. After some thought I decided to try the neoprene bit guards on the bit even though they are a little too thick since due to the way that the cheeks are attached to the mouth-piece the bit fits a little wider on the horse's head than its' mouth size. This way I could use my opening rein without irritating Cider. Then I put it on the cob-sized Micklem Multibridle (without the chin strap), figuring that the padded crown piece would prevent any irritation from the poll pressure from this bit. I also shortened the cheek pieces a little (one small wrinkle) hoping that Cider would play with the mouthpiece less.

Everything worked perfectly. Cider kept her mouth quiet. She really liked that the mouthpiece of the bit fit her better, the neoprene bit guards both took up the extra width and cushioned the sides of her head from the cheek pieces. She liked having her bridle's cheek pieces a hole shorter, and she did not play with the bit at all, thus no slobbering. Cider seems to prefer bits that fit her head closely and do not move around too much in her mouth. It took her about three minutes of riding to figure out how this bit is different from the other Wellep bit I had used on her, and she started reaching for contact.

And such wonderful contact it was! Since it was hot and my hands were not as steady as usual I did not try for full contact, but I felt no need to go to full contact. The design of this bit, with the lever cheeks, seems to cushion the effects of my hands. I like bits that cushion the effects of my hands, especially during the summer when I usually have to switch to riding in a bitless bridle. At all times on contact the bit felt "alive", Cider never stiffened her tongue or lower jaw. She listened to each rein aid, and while at first I might have had to reapply the aid once or twice, at the end of my 30 minute ride she had it all figured out and obeyed me promptly and willingly with a relaxed mouth. Over half of her usual resistances just melted away, we essentially had no discussions today. Cider went straighter than ever before and she even went past Shannon without twisting herself into a pretzel! At the trot she willingly kept at a steady speed, and instead of having to tell her to slow down I had to tell her to keep her speed up. I had some trouble coordinating my aids, but when I got myself right she cooperated much better than ever before.

Shannon fully approves this bit. She liked how Cider accepted the bit, how Cider moved on contact, and how Cider obeyed me. I asked Shannon if I could use this bit until my hands got too bad for contact this summer and she agreed. This is WONDERFUL, the cross-under bridles are excellent for control when my hands are too unsteady to use a normal bit, but every summer I have missed the conversation with the horse that can only happen with a bit. It was so hot this morning and my hands were not working as well as they do when it is cooler (I dropped a rein once) and normally I would be resigning myself to bitless riding, but with the Wellep bit I might be able to make it through most of the summer without HAVING to change! The way that the lever cheek Wellep bit works I should be able to have good, soft control even if my hands are too shaky for normal contact since the lever seems to cushion the action of my hands.

I do not understand why this bit did not become popular. My riding teachers tell me that I have very good hands and I was not expecting a change of bit to have such a big impact on the willingness of the horses to obey my aids (it never has before.) I hope that they start making this bit again, and when they do I will buy several (I ride different horses and I have to have bits that fit them!) If only I could find one of their double jointed snaffles--either with the regular cheek or the lever cheek (or both), I think that I would get even better results. I never thought I would find a bit that I thought was better than my beloved JP Hunter D Dr. Bristol bit, but I am beginning to believe that the Wellep bit is an even better idea. AND the horses agree with me.

Have a great ride. I had a marvelous one today!