Bit question ??? please advise !?
A bit is to refine, not control. If you need one because your horse is forward, I suggest you put on a halter and teach her to relax and move with her brain, not in crazy horse mode. I have several the same way and you would be surprised at how they relax and don't hang on the bit when you take away the thing that they are opposing. Really cool.
First of all using a Fulmer bit without the loops is much the same as using any other snaffle bit. The Fulmer is designed to act on the mouth and the poll and if you don't use loops it can't do the latter. It is a relatively mild bit - not as mild as a snaffle but still not as strong as (for example) a gag type bit or a Pelham. The question you should be asking yourself is does the bit work for your horse? If you try it with the Fulmer loops and it does work and she's comfortable in it then remember the old adage If it ain't broke don't fix it. As for her being strong remember that in horses strong is the result of bad or incorrect training. Rather than filling her mouth with a severe bit, keep her in what she's comfortable with and do lots of schooling based on lessons which teach her to obey your hands, legs, voice and seat (not your whip) with lots of praise and the odd carrot when she gets it right.
If your horse seems to respond well to it and you use it the way it is supposed to be used, with gentle hands, then its a fine bit. I believe any bit is fine so long as it is used the way they were made, to be ridden by gentle hands. The only way a bit is made to be harsh is if our harsh hands get in the way, you can have a twisted wire snaffle that looks pure evil but if the rider doesn't touch it, and the horse licks his lips and foams at the mouth, the bit works for him. Many people, and I am sure I will get flack for saying this right now, but many people will look at my bit and say that I am abusing my horse or my bit is the harshest in the world cause I ride with a spade bit, but what most people don't know is that I rarely ever touch those reins, whenever I touch them is when I signal my horse to get ready for something (and those that are reading this and think that the spade is evil, do some reading, you will find out that that metal piece sitting on the tongue is a lot gentler than that little bit of snaffle metal splitting that tongue apart)
