There’s something different about Neue Schule design and engineering. They’ve talked to you, looked at what has gone before, thought about your horse and your ambitions and built our reputation on keeping you and your horse happy to work together and to have fun.
Neue Schule company Founder, Heather Hyde, started one of the first horse bit rental companies in the UK in the late 1990s after seeing first hand how difficult it was to find bitting solutions to problems you were having. Seeing that the traditional and highly regarded Lorinery industry was in decline in the UK, Heather set about filling the gap in the horse bit market with well considered bit designs. Involving the adaptation or overhaul of traditional designs, Heather fine-tuned her design strategy, guided by the thoughts and needs of riders and their horses as they entered the 21st century.
This ‘new school’ of thinking (“Neue Schule”) is embodied in the refined designs, more accommodating profiles and cutting edge materials to be found in our products. Paradoxically, going forwards like this in bit design may help us rekindle the ancient art of classical equitation first documented by the Greeks. Whether out on a leisurely hack or in the heat of international competition everything we do for bitting may lead us back to a more considered approach to the horse.
We chose to stock Neue Schule bits because their fantastic quality and attention to detail. We love that there is an option for every horse and rider combination with extensive research going into everything they produce.
Salox – Sound Science – Good Sense
Engineering Metal for the Mouth – A Warm and Soft Environment
Metals are the first choice for modern horse bits. They have the basic strength to meet the demands of a powerful sport and recreation such as riding and can be formed into an infinite range of precisely defined shapes.
But other than these basic requirements what other properties would the perfect metal possess?
The Neue Schule answer to this question is based on a simple philosophy following the wise words of Professor Paul René van Weeren, of Utrecht University– that which is good for the horse is all that matters – the rest will follow.
The mouth is warm and soft and needs to remain as calm and still as possible to listen for the rider’s aids. So, after ensuring that basic engineering strength and toughness is satisfied, the metal should then also be:
WARMTH
‘Hot’ and ‘cold’ are sensations for the horse that depend on the rate at which heat energy is transferred from, or to, an object in contact with it.
SOFTNESS
There is a possibility that many horses will make variable degrees of contact between the teeth and the bit.
BIOACTIVITY
Provided the bit is comfortable there should now be nothing that interests the horse about the bit that can become a distraction to the rider’s aids.