Becoming a Neue Schule Academy Qualified Bit Fitter is the most prestigious qualification in its field. The course provides rigorous theoretical and practical instruction to a syllabus and standard of delivery that has been approved by the UK LANTRA awarding body.
Demand for this course is extremely high but we will ensure that everyone has the same opportunity to enrol on the next student cohort.
We cannot answer individual queries about the scheduling but can assure you that we will announce the next availability through all channels open to us. This will include social media (Facebook) and email to the group providing their details here. The instructions will clearly set out your responsibilities to help you secure a place.
We look forward to meeting you in due course.
Students will be assessed in two stages;
- During the online remote learning (RL) component students view videos and undertake continuous assessment tests on Bit Analysis, Lorinery Science, Anatomy and Practical Bit Fitting and are expected to read and become familiar with the accompanying course material. This will be assessed in an invigilated online examination. Students must achieve at least a pass grade in the examination to proceed on to the Field Studies (FS) component*.
- The final part of the formal assessment is the submission of a series of four FS cases completed to a satisfactory standard, two of which benefit from the oversight of an accredited equine professional. Assessment is by submission of Case Studies which are assessed by the Academy teaching staff.
Certificates are awarded as follows:
- On successful completion of the RL component and passing the QBA exam
- On successful completion of the FS component and submitting case studies that meet the satisfying criteria (QBF)
Notes on the certificates:
- The QBA certificate may be used for personal or professional purposes and qualifies the student to analyse bitting situations**. The post-nominal, QBA may be used. THIS IS NOT A BIT FITTING QUALIFICATION
- The QBF certificate permits the student to operate as a professional bit fitter and carries the post-nominal, QBF. QBFs may opt to be registered by the NS Academy on an online public record of Bit Fitting Professionals along with, as a minimum, their name and location.
*Students who fail this examination at the first attempt may retake the examination under time-constrained virtual invigilation conditions. Medical concessions to retake the online component of the course in its entirety or just the examination component can be considered should a student produce medical evidence.
**Note that to undertake bitting analysis the student is able to define feature lines, bore axes or shank axes of interest on the bit(s) of interest, the tongue line of the horse (from full profile photographs) and the working angle of relevant bits (also from profile photographs). Students holding the QBA title are then able to advise clients on how the mouthpiece features align to the tissues of the mouth (tongue in particular) and therefore advise on the relative degree of bit pressure that a particular bit delivers.
Until holding the QBF title after successful completion of the third stage of the course and therefore being eligible for a public listing of competence in bit fitting, the student must not claim to act as a bit fitter. They must only undertake trainee bit fitting appointments for the purposes of generating Case Studies until receiving confirmation of satisfactory performance.