[huntereq7]

Experiences? Likes? Dislikes? Basically, are they worth the $$$?

[Right on Target]

I tried the Duo loose ring with my OTTB mare who hadn't been ridden in 3 or so years aside from two rides I'd done with a happy mouth snaffle. I figured her mouth would be a clean slate after all that time so I thought it might work. She went great in the snaffle, easy as pie to stop, light contact. I had NO brakes at all with the Duo. She didn't fight it, she just didn't acknowledge that I was telling her to slow down or stop at all. Almost like it wasn't there at all.

Maybe it would work with either a baby or a horse trained in dressage cues. Apparently it doesn't do much for an OTTB who hasn't been retrained.

She was kind enough to put some teeth prints in it so I can't take it back.

If it worked like other people say, it is worth the money, but I'm lamenting the money I spent on mine. Maybe you can borrow one to try out?

[KellyS]

Just bought the duo d-ring for my 2-year-old. After spending a month or so agonizing whether it was too much money to spend on a bit I'd never used before.

He loves it! He has a small mouth and doesn't care for the "action" of jointed bits. The duo is stable and gives him tongue relief. He is so quiet and soft in it. I am so glad I bought it.

[huntereq7]

Thanks for the input! My guy has a smaller mouth/low palate as well and throws his head up with most jointed bits. He does have a soft mouth but needs some breaks so maybe the 2 ring would be a good option, since it sounds like the loose ring may not be enough. Thank you again!

[Peggy]

Works quite well on my horse who doesn't seem to appreciate single-jointed bits. This is a horse with a pretty educated mouth, in answer to Right On Target's post. It did not provide enough oomph to do equitation type courses and practice work-offs smoothly during what passes for winter in these parts so I switched to a Sprenger Dynamic RS. If you do a search on my name in combo with the names of either of those two bits, some of my posts should show up.

[Jumper_girl221]

I put my older mare in the loose ring upon the recommendation of Greg Best during a clinic. She is EXTREMELY sensitive, and went much better in it then any of the other bits I had tried. I did find her a tad bit hard to stop at first, once she got used to it I had no issues and competed in the jumpers with her.

She's bred now, so not really being ridden. I have a 4 year old 16.3 OTTB mare that I just got, she also has a bit of a sensitive mouth (although not as bad as Faith) so I put her in it as well and have been very pleased. She's been going in it with zero issues, actually got her to accept contact Friday for the first time, and briefly last night before it started raining.

I do have a tooth mark from my mare at a show stealing some hay while waiting for our class. She managed to bite through it to the cable, but there weren't any sharp edges. I bought some sealtex to wrap the bit, but keep forgetting to put it on.

[Lives2Jump]

My adult amateur hunter goes in the duo bit. I love it, my horse likes to chew on it though I don't look forward to replacing it one day.

[lintesia]

I put my older mare in the loose ring upon the recommendation of Greg Best during a clinic.

Interesting! I tried it my horse as well, also based on the recommendation of Greg Best during a clinic!

My horse has a nice mouth and the bit I was using was indeed more than what he needed. I bought the Duo but found that by the third day or so, he was just hanging on it and getting really heavy on the forehand.

I ended up with a HS single-jointed D-ring with the aurigan (sp?) mouthpiece. He's been happy ever since!