The JHL Pro Steel French Link Full Cheek Eggbutt Snaffle from the JHL Pro Steel collection.
The French link has proven one of the most popular mouthpieces; it has 2 joints, which means the pressure of the bit is distributed over both the tongue and bars of the mouth. Because the mouthpiece has two joints, it shouldn’t cause any interference with the roof of the mouth.
The French link uses tongue pressure to encourage the horse to go on the bit and has bar and lip pressure but not a ’squeezing’ action like that of a bit with a single joint. The more joints a bit has the less likely the horse is to lean as the bit becomes more mobile.
Full Cheek bits are a fixed cheek bit, this may be useful for horses that are a bit unsure of the bit as it doesn’t move around to much in the mouth, it should encourage the horse to stretch into the contact. A fixed bit would be less suitable if your horse is prone to leaning or taking hold of the bit Full cheek bits are very useful for breaking in, or bringing on of young horses, as they help tremendously with the turning aids, and help to teach the horse to turn, the full cheek bit does not slide through the mouth as would a normal snaffle would if your horse doesn’t like to turn.
The bit is particularly useful for horses that nap, as the bit will help if the horse suddenly makes a dash for the gate or for the nosey horses who spend half their time looking at what they are missing whilst being in the paddock, The full cheek bit works by applying pressure to the cheek when an turning aid is asked. The full cheek bits can be used with or without fulmer loops/keepers, although many would say that the keepers keep the bit in the correct place, they also add poll pressure, so if you don’t need any poll pressure then, it wouldn’t be useful to use the keepers.