The horse’s mouth is warm and soft and needs to remain as calm and still as possible in order to listen for the rider’s aids. So, after ensuring that basic engineering strength and toughness is satisfied, the mouthpiece material of a bit should then be:
1. Warm
2. Soft
3. Neutral in taste
1. Warm
The unique Salox Gold possesses a high thermal conductivity. This means that the bit will warm to mouth temperature quickly and become ‘neutral’ to the horse, meaning that they are less likely to inwardly fixate on the mouthpiece and instead will be receptive to all the rider’s aids.
2. Soft.
Occasionally, the horse’s bit may come into contact with the teeth- namely the incisors (as we put the bit in) and the premolars. When this happens, we would like to ensure that it doesn’t cause discomfort or damage to the tooth itself. Salox differs from standard stainless steel and other copper alloy bits in that it is a slightly softer metal, allowing it to safely absorb impact forces whilst protecting tooth enamel. This can make the mouthpiece easier to accept by the horse.
3. Neutral in taste
Neue Schule aims to keep the bit comfortable but neutral in the horse’s mouth. We don’t want our horses to inwardly fixate on the bit, but instead be receptive to all our aids. A mouthpiece that doesn’t taste or emit a smell is one that will remain neutral in the mouth- after all we don’t want our horses chomping and sucking at the bit because it tastes sweet or is flavoured! Likewise, flavoured mouthpieces can lead to over-salivation in the horse, which can often be misconstrued as acceptance. There is no evidence that over salivation means the horse is accepting the bit, and the horse cannot physically swallow this excess saliva and breath at the same time. Over-salivation may therefore impact on performance, particularly during faster work.