Full Cheek Bits
A Full Cheek bit is a fixed-cheek bit. A fixed cheek can be useful for younger horses that are not yet settled with a bit as there is less movement in the mouth. It should encourage the horse to stretch into the contact.
If your horse is prone to leaning or taking hold of the bit, a fixed cheek may be less suitable, and we suggest you consider a loose ring cheek first of all, because this gives less downwards pressure.
Full Cheek bits can be useful for bringing on young horses, because they help to teach the horse to turn, if the rider is struggling to do this with the backward rein aid alone: The long cheek bar of the Full Cheek cannot slide through the mouth as might a smaller-cheeked snaffle and it will also apply sideways pressure to the outside of the horse's lips and bars, encouraging to move away from the pressure.
This also makes the Full Cheek useful for horses that nap or are always looking elsewhere at what they are missing, because the cheek bar can be used to remind him to face the right direction.
Full Cheek bits are designed always to be used with fulmer loops (also known as bit keepers). These help stabilise the bit in the horse's mouth, and allow the bridle to pull the bit back off his tongue when the rider relaxes the rein aid, thus giving a much clearer "on" and "off" signal, so the horse is rewarded when he does as the rider asks.
Bit keepers will give the bit a small amount of poll pressure, but this releases endorphins, so is normally a positive influence.