The Bombers McHardy – a medium port, creating space for the tongue, relieving pressure… one of our top selling mouthpieces
October 10th, 2019
The McHardy from Bomber Bits is one of our top selling mouthpieces – here, Stephen Biddlecombe our MD explains its benefits, in content sourced from an article for Polo Times magazine. NB this mouthpiece is stocked here as 2.5 ring, full cheek, & big ring polo. The McHardy big ring polo is pictured directly below.
Q.
I have a five year old gelding, a former racehorse. On the track, he ran with his tongue out and he still does this! I originally started off with the 3 Ring Gag – with this, he still poked his tongue out. I then tried a Waterford, and his tongue does not stick out as much, but I still find him very strong. Any suggestions?
LR, Oxford
A. Firstly I assume you have had his teeth, neck and back checked by a qualified physical therapist – just to rule out physiological issues. This issue of ‘tongue poking’ does sound like tongue sensitivity, and is very common. If I am right, he would have raised his head in the rope gag, not because of the mouth piece, but because the action of the gag is to raise the bit in the horse’s mouth, aggravating the issue.
My suggestion is to try him in a McHardy. The McHardy still provides tongue relief, but it is stronger than the Happy Tongue. It will give you some poll pressure, as well as helping with the turning aids. This bit has a medium port, creating space for the tongue, relieving pressure. The Buster Roller in the middle increases bar pressure, as a result lifting the horse’s head, and giving more control.
The McHardy was created to be a combination of a jointed Happy Tongue with a Buster Roller centre. It is an excellent bit for polo when more control is required, allowing at the same time comfort for the horse’s tongue.
The 2 ½ ring version (LEFT) is the softest version, as the ‘half’ ring softens the leverage on the mouthpiece and poll. All Bombers bits are made from blue sweet iron, which encourages salivation and helps bit acceptance.
The McHardy from Bomber Bits is stocked at Worldwide Tack as 2.5 ring & full cheek (LEFT)), as well as the big ring polo, both pictured above.
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