cowpuncher
10-26-2008, 06:53 PM
Bits Are Not Brakes!A cowboy’s thoughts on bits and bitting
As a cowboy, working on large ranches throughout the west, I’ve spent an awful lot of time a-horseback. As a professional horse trainer, I’ve ridden thousands of miles on hundreds of horses. I’ve used just about every type of bit and bitting device that can be used to “control” a horse. Over the years, one of the most important things I’ve discovered about riding is that bits don’t control horses.
That may seem like an absurd statement to make in an article on bits, but it’s true. A well-broke horse will work well with no tack at all, as evidenced by Stacy Westfall’s renowned performance in freestyle reining at the AQHA Congress. A poorly trained horse though, will run right through a two-handed jerk on the most severe bit in the tack shop…if he doesn’t flip over backwards on you instead. Nevertheless, a well-made bit of appropriate design can, and will, aid you in making your horse perform better.
The first characteristic of a useful bit is that it should be as comfortable as possible for the horse. Comfort of course is relative, but if the bit you are trying to use on your horse pinches, cuts, or just plain doesn’t fit, then it’s not useful. Communication is the critical cornerstone of any relationship. Pain and stress will always blur the message you are trying to share, and a torn up mouth is a sure way to stress your horse out.
A bit should be designed for the task you are trying to accomplish. If you are dragging calves to the fire at a branding, on a finished horse, chances are that a curb bit of some sort is the most appropriate. Any well-made, finished horse should be capable of being rode in a curb bit. If you are trying to teach a horse something though, chances are that the simpler the bit, the better. For this reason, when starting colts under saddle, the snaffle bit is usually the bit of choice.
A snaffle bit is a shankless bit that operates by direct contact on the bars and corners of the mouth and lower jaw. It may have a solid or jointed mouthpiece, but the direct contact, and lack of leverage, is what makes it a snaffle bit. The snaffle bit is a training tool. Combined with the knowledgeable and intelligent use of the seat and leg aids, it allows a trainer to teach a horse how to position it’s body for the most efficient action. This is the bit used by a good trainer in order to teach a horse to perform with softness and suppleness.
I see a lot of people jerking their horses left and right, in what they consider a “neck rein.” A horse that will not perform in an athletic, collected frame though, is not broke. Asking a horse to do something that puts it out of a balanced frame is not riding the horse well, is unfair to the horse, and is a good way to get the horse nervous and uncomfortable. Nervous horses cause wrecks.
Cowboys call this “farmering” a horse around, and it’s not good, or even decent, horsemanship. On a good outfit, the cowboy that can’t get his horse to do it’s job without having to jerk it around this way, is going to end up back in town, unemployed, pretty quick. This “whip and spur” style of horsemanship should not be acceptable to anyone, anywhere.
The snaffle bit, as a training tool, is designed to be ridden with two hands, in a subtle manner. Although it may occasionally be necessary to ride a snaffle-bit horse one-handed, such as introducing it to roping, it should be done as seldom as possible. The horse should be experienced enough to work well off the leg and seat aids, in order to not lose frame when performing the task. The horse that can be ridden regularly in the snaffle bit with one hand is ready to be transitioned into the curb bit.
The curb bit is recognized by it’s shank cheek pieces and the presence of a curb strap. Whether with a jointed or solid mouthpiece, the curb bit is for the horse that is well along the path to being finished. While it may be used two handed, with VERY slight direct reining for support, in the initial transition phases, the curb bit is designed to be used with one hand holding the reins.
In the flat-saddle world, the curb bit is half of the double bridle outfit, and is generally reserved for a pretty advanced horse. It was the bit of the cavalryman , charging with raised sabre, into a mass of screaming men and dying horses. It gave him the ability to help guide his horse while slaying his enemy’s.
In the stock saddle world, the curb bit is the bit of the cowboy who has to work a rope with his free hand. Unfortunately, all too often, it is slapped into a stock horse’s mouth long before he is ready for it. It’s the bit of the broke horse, and improper use, or too early use will lead to the “whip and spur” method of control. Knowledge of suppleness and collection are critical to riding any horse properly, and if the horse has not learned them in the snaffle bit, he won’t understand them in the curb.
As a trainer riding for the public, I have to recognize that my time is valuable and limited. Most people cannot afford to keep a horse in training for the two or three years needed to make a Spade Bit Bridle horse. In order to give them a finished horse they can ride successfully, I have to use a standard curb bit.
For this kind of transition, in the course of a few months, my choice is the “dogbone“ jointed mouthpiece curb, after the horse is working extremely well in the snaffle. Following the “dogbone” the transition goes to a high port, fixed moutpiece curb, commonly referred to as a “correction” bit. Because of the design of both these mouthpieces, they allow for a great deal of mouth and tongue relief, and work off the bars off the horse’s mouth, instead of the tongue. This is far more comfortable for the horse than other options.
An often overlooked aspect of bit selection is the choice of materials. The fact is though, that different materials work with different effect. Some work remarkably well, and some are just junk. Choosing a bit constructed of good materials is as important a facet of bit selection as design is.
The traditional material for bits is mild steel. Commonly referred to as “sweet iron,” it has been used for centuries. Sweet iron is still the good horseman’s material of choice for bit material. If you walk into the tack room of any ranch or professional training barn in the west, you will see a pile of lightly rusted bits hanging from well-used, much-loved bridles on the wall.
This rust is the characteristic that makes the sweet iron “sweet.” It tastes good to the horse, and thus increases salivation. This moistens the mouth, leading to increased responsiveness, due to the activity of the mouth and lower jaw. That makes for a good bit.
Stainless steel is a material popular among the weekend recreational riders because it doesn’t rust. It always looks “pretty” and new. They may not share the professional’s view that a bit that is lightly rusted from long use, because horses like it, is “pretty” in it’s own right. That makes a horse awful attractive to a person that rides all day long, every day.
Stainless is considered a less than ideal choice because it doesn’t encourage the desired salivation. Like chromed bits, it just seems to not taste good to most horses. It may be redeemed however if the mouthpiece is mild steel, or at least inlaid with some strips of copper.
Aluminum is the last choice commonly used in bit construction. Thankfully it is not as common as it was in the past. Not only does copper not encourage salivation, it manages to actively dry the mouth for some reason. Since a dry mouth causes friction and soreness, aluminum is one of the absolute worst choices in a bit material. The only good use for an aluminum bit is as landfill waste.
Although seldom used for the construction of entire bits, copper and rubber are both used in the construction of mouthpieces. When used for the entire mouthpiece, copper tends to be too soft. A horse with the desired active mouth, while enjoying the taste, can actually chew a bit in half. This is a sure way to tear a horse’s mouth up. Instead the ideal use of copper in the mouthpiece is either in the form of small strips, inlaid in the steel, or as rollers revolving freely around the steel. The only issue with rollers is that they can be too large in diameter to be comfortable in the horse’s mouth.
Rubber, commonly used because a rider believes that steel is too harsh, is generally recognized among the knowledgeable as a poor choice. Like aluminum, it tends to dry the mouth out, and even hard rubber is relatively easy for a horse to chew through accidentally. Additionally, a rubber mouthpiece, to avoid being chewed through, tends to be far too large in diameter for comfortable fit in most horse’s mouths.
With the exception of spade bits and hackamores, which are a specialized niche, even amongst trainers, these are the characteristics of popularly used bits.
As a cowboy, working on large ranches throughout the west, I’ve spent an awful lot of time a-horseback. As a professional horse trainer, I’ve ridden thousands of miles on hundreds of horses. I’ve used just about every type of bit and bitting device that can be used to “control” a horse. Over the years, one of the most important things I’ve discovered about riding is that bits don’t control horses.
That may seem like an absurd statement to make in an article on bits, but it’s true. A well-broke horse will work well with no tack at all, as evidenced by Stacy Westfall’s renowned performance in freestyle reining at the AQHA Congress. A poorly trained horse though, will run right through a two-handed jerk on the most severe bit in the tack shop…if he doesn’t flip over backwards on you instead. Nevertheless, a well-made bit of appropriate design can, and will, aid you in making your horse perform better.
The first characteristic of a useful bit is that it should be as comfortable as possible for the horse. Comfort of course is relative, but if the bit you are trying to use on your horse pinches, cuts, or just plain doesn’t fit, then it’s not useful. Communication is the critical cornerstone of any relationship. Pain and stress will always blur the message you are trying to share, and a torn up mouth is a sure way to stress your horse out.
A bit should be designed for the task you are trying to accomplish. If you are dragging calves to the fire at a branding, on a finished horse, chances are that a curb bit of some sort is the most appropriate. Any well-made, finished horse should be capable of being rode in a curb bit. If you are trying to teach a horse something though, chances are that the simpler the bit, the better. For this reason, when starting colts under saddle, the snaffle bit is usually the bit of choice.
A snaffle bit is a shankless bit that operates by direct contact on the bars and corners of the mouth and lower jaw. It may have a solid or jointed mouthpiece, but the direct contact, and lack of leverage, is what makes it a snaffle bit. The snaffle bit is a training tool. Combined with the knowledgeable and intelligent use of the seat and leg aids, it allows a trainer to teach a horse how to position it’s body for the most efficient action. This is the bit used by a good trainer in order to teach a horse to perform with softness and suppleness.
I see a lot of people jerking their horses left and right, in what they consider a “neck rein.” A horse that will not perform in an athletic, collected frame though, is not broke. Asking a horse to do something that puts it out of a balanced frame is not riding the horse well, is unfair to the horse, and is a good way to get the horse nervous and uncomfortable. Nervous horses cause wrecks.
Cowboys call this “farmering” a horse around, and it’s not good, or even decent, horsemanship. On a good outfit, the cowboy that can’t get his horse to do it’s job without having to jerk it around this way, is going to end up back in town, unemployed, pretty quick. This “whip and spur” style of horsemanship should not be acceptable to anyone, anywhere.
The snaffle bit, as a training tool, is designed to be ridden with two hands, in a subtle manner. Although it may occasionally be necessary to ride a snaffle-bit horse one-handed, such as introducing it to roping, it should be done as seldom as possible. The horse should be experienced enough to work well off the leg and seat aids, in order to not lose frame when performing the task. The horse that can be ridden regularly in the snaffle bit with one hand is ready to be transitioned into the curb bit.
The curb bit is recognized by it’s shank cheek pieces and the presence of a curb strap. Whether with a jointed or solid mouthpiece, the curb bit is for the horse that is well along the path to being finished. While it may be used two handed, with VERY slight direct reining for support, in the initial transition phases, the curb bit is designed to be used with one hand holding the reins.
In the flat-saddle world, the curb bit is half of the double bridle outfit, and is generally reserved for a pretty advanced horse. It was the bit of the cavalryman , charging with raised sabre, into a mass of screaming men and dying horses. It gave him the ability to help guide his horse while slaying his enemy’s.
In the stock saddle world, the curb bit is the bit of the cowboy who has to work a rope with his free hand. Unfortunately, all too often, it is slapped into a stock horse’s mouth long before he is ready for it. It’s the bit of the broke horse, and improper use, or too early use will lead to the “whip and spur” method of control. Knowledge of suppleness and collection are critical to riding any horse properly, and if the horse has not learned them in the snaffle bit, he won’t understand them in the curb.
As a trainer riding for the public, I have to recognize that my time is valuable and limited. Most people cannot afford to keep a horse in training for the two or three years needed to make a Spade Bit Bridle horse. In order to give them a finished horse they can ride successfully, I have to use a standard curb bit.
For this kind of transition, in the course of a few months, my choice is the “dogbone“ jointed mouthpiece curb, after the horse is working extremely well in the snaffle. Following the “dogbone” the transition goes to a high port, fixed moutpiece curb, commonly referred to as a “correction” bit. Because of the design of both these mouthpieces, they allow for a great deal of mouth and tongue relief, and work off the bars off the horse’s mouth, instead of the tongue. This is far more comfortable for the horse than other options.
An often overlooked aspect of bit selection is the choice of materials. The fact is though, that different materials work with different effect. Some work remarkably well, and some are just junk. Choosing a bit constructed of good materials is as important a facet of bit selection as design is.
The traditional material for bits is mild steel. Commonly referred to as “sweet iron,” it has been used for centuries. Sweet iron is still the good horseman’s material of choice for bit material. If you walk into the tack room of any ranch or professional training barn in the west, you will see a pile of lightly rusted bits hanging from well-used, much-loved bridles on the wall.
This rust is the characteristic that makes the sweet iron “sweet.” It tastes good to the horse, and thus increases salivation. This moistens the mouth, leading to increased responsiveness, due to the activity of the mouth and lower jaw. That makes for a good bit.
Stainless steel is a material popular among the weekend recreational riders because it doesn’t rust. It always looks “pretty” and new. They may not share the professional’s view that a bit that is lightly rusted from long use, because horses like it, is “pretty” in it’s own right. That makes a horse awful attractive to a person that rides all day long, every day.
Stainless is considered a less than ideal choice because it doesn’t encourage the desired salivation. Like chromed bits, it just seems to not taste good to most horses. It may be redeemed however if the mouthpiece is mild steel, or at least inlaid with some strips of copper.
Aluminum is the last choice commonly used in bit construction. Thankfully it is not as common as it was in the past. Not only does copper not encourage salivation, it manages to actively dry the mouth for some reason. Since a dry mouth causes friction and soreness, aluminum is one of the absolute worst choices in a bit material. The only good use for an aluminum bit is as landfill waste.
Although seldom used for the construction of entire bits, copper and rubber are both used in the construction of mouthpieces. When used for the entire mouthpiece, copper tends to be too soft. A horse with the desired active mouth, while enjoying the taste, can actually chew a bit in half. This is a sure way to tear a horse’s mouth up. Instead the ideal use of copper in the mouthpiece is either in the form of small strips, inlaid in the steel, or as rollers revolving freely around the steel. The only issue with rollers is that they can be too large in diameter to be comfortable in the horse’s mouth.
Rubber, commonly used because a rider believes that steel is too harsh, is generally recognized among the knowledgeable as a poor choice. Like aluminum, it tends to dry the mouth out, and even hard rubber is relatively easy for a horse to chew through accidentally. Additionally, a rubber mouthpiece, to avoid being chewed through, tends to be far too large in diameter for comfortable fit in most horse’s mouths.
With the exception of spade bits and hackamores, which are a specialized niche, even amongst trainers, these are the characteristics of popularly used bits.