Mullen Mouth Bits Horse

A mullen mouth bit has a single, unjointed mouthpiece with a slight curve over the tongue. The shape spreads pressure evenly across the bars and tongue, without the nutcracker effect of a jointed bit. Mullen mouths are popular for horses with sensitive mouths, horses that don't tolerate bit movement, or horses being retrained for softer contact.

A mullen mouth suits horses that fight against jointed bits, horses with low palates (where a joint can dig in), horses being introduced to a bit for the first time, or horses returning from mouth injury. The flexible synthetic Nathe patterns add another layer of softness for particularly sensitive horses.

Measure mouth width at the corners and pick a bit that sits with about 5mm clear on each side. Mullen mouthpieces typically come in 15mm-20mm thicknesses - thinner for more direct feel, thicker for greater pressure distribution.

A jointed bit (single or double-jointed) has a hinge in the middle that creates a "nutcracker" pressure when the rein is taken, focusing pressure on the tongue and bars. A mullen mouth has no joint - pressure spreads evenly across the entire mouthpiece. Mullen is gentler but offers less directional cue; jointed is more precise but stronger.

Nathe (the Sprenger-owned flexible synthetic mullen mouth specialist) covers loose ring, D-ring, full cheek, Pelham (in flexible and hard with port options), 3-ring, gag Pelham and tandem snaffle patterns. Sprenger covers mullen mouth in hard carbon eggbutt and rubber Pelham. Metalab makes a stainless steel mullen barrel mouth eggbutt.

Rinse the bit in warm water after every ride. Stainless and rubber clean with rinsing alone; the Nathe synthetic mouthpiece cleans with a soft brush - avoid abrasive scourers. Check the mouthpiece regularly for wear - synthetic mullen mouths in particular need inspection for splits before they fail.