"Hi H&C, can you shed some light on a small discussion I was having with a friend the other day about bitting? I have always believed that a French link is milder than a single joint, but my friend thinks the opposite. What's the real truth about the different links/mouthpieces? And what effect does a lozenge have as I currently ride my mare in a kk snaffle which has a lozenge.
Many thanks, Tamar."

H&C's bloggers Alice Oppenheimer and Jo Barry are both dressage riders and these are their replies to your questions:

“A French link is indeed milder than a single joint as a single joint has a nutcracker action on the tongue and also contacts the roof of the mouth. A French link also has more manoeuvrability. A lozenge is milder again than a French link as it is more rounded so it doesn’t have a defined edge and doesn’t dig into the tongue. Personally, all of our horses are ridden in lozenges when in both snaffle and double bridles, and we very rarely use a single joint. I hope that answers your question.
Alice Oppenheimer."

“From my experience, even though the French link works on the tongue pressure via the plate in the centre of the bit, I find horses are happier in it than ones that have a single joint and rely on the nutcracker action that it produces. So I would tend to agree with you in that it is less severe. The lozenge in the Sprenger KK training bit is designed to help the horse soften in the jaw and be better in the hand. From experience it has a lesser action to the french link from the point of view of control but greater action in helping to find softness. I feel it gives a more honest opinion of the quality of the training of the horse rather than hiding behind stronger bits to achieve the results. I start all of my horses off in the KK lozenge and find if problems are dealt with within the scales of training there is no need to alter the strength of bit though maybe thickness of the bit or the angle of the lozenge can be adjusted to the individual horse’s needs.
Jo Barry."