The Difference Between the Wilkie and Bevel Horse Bits

The Wilkie and the Bevel are both Loop Bits. They are both similar to the Loose Ring Snaffle designs with a loose ring mouth to cheek connection. They both have a small ‘loop’ on the inside of the ring for the rein to connect to that, upon rein engagement, rotates the ring. They both have a ‘loop’ on the opposite side to the ring for the cheekpiece to attach to. The big difference between these two bits is that the Wilkie has the cheekpiece ‘loop’ on the outer side of the ring, and the Bevel has it on the inner side of the ring.

Because these bits both have a loose ring mouthpiece to cheek connection and have leverage, they do fall into the broad ‘Gag’ category of bits, or more accurately, ‘Loose Lever’ bits. They can come with a variety of mouthpieces, and the mouthpiece choice can influence the severity of the bit.

Where the size of the cheek ring is the same across both bits, the amount the mouthpiece can rise is roughly the same.

We attempted to measure poll pressure on a model horse. As you can see from the photos below, the Wilkie created an additional 1.3lbs of poll pressure, and the Bevel created an additional 0.7lbs with the same amount of rein pressure. Although these amounts may vary slightly when used with a real horse, they can be extrapolated to prove that the Wilkie creates more poll pressure than the Bevel.