Bit post....some of my opinion on bits

There is a lot to know about bits, but it isnt as difficult as you might think, what is more difficult is figuring out what works for your horse.

I thought it might be fun to show you some of what I have in my tack room, instead of pulling stock photos from the Internet. This is most of my tack room wall, last summer I had Hubby bend all the old horseshoes I could find and make me all these hangers, and finally get it all organized.

In my opinion, there are only three basic kinds of bits. A curb, which is a bit with shanks. A snaffle, which is a direct pull bit, no shanks. The Gag bit, which I dont own so I may have to pull a pic, or have you do your own research on that one. There is a myriad of half breed and variations on these three bits, all I can say is if it has a shank it is a curb, direct pull as in an eggbutt snaffle, then it is a snaffle. The original Gag bit slides on a rope and can be pulled way up into the horses mouth, not something I have ever chosen to use.

This is my favorite snaffle to use, green goo and all LOL, it is a loose ring snaffle, the rings are thick and what is called weighted. The mouthpiece is sweet iron, in the classic snaffle shape, tapered and not to thin, this bit has a Les Vogt stamp on it. I have seen some snaffles that to me defy the logic as to why anyone would put that kind of torture device in a horses mouth! (((shakes head)))
Emma has never had any bitting problems and has taken whatever I have put in her mouth, so I try to stay soft with her.

This is Emmas curb bit, mullen mouth, made of sweet iron, tongue relief, she seems to like this bit.

Easys curb bit, a little higher port, as she likes more tongue and pallet pressure, same shank as Emmas bit, about 6 inches.

This is Easys correction bit, she has been a pain to bit, as she forever is behind or in front of the bit, and snaffle bits she runs through, or your arms get so tired fighting with her, she is 24 and probably wont change now! anyway she keeps a leveler head and doesnt throw it as much and is a lot smoother in this bit. Easy likes the fast events more than she likes the Equatation slow work, always has LOL

This is Mickeys Eggbutt mullen mouth snaffle, it arches but does not break in the middle, she does not like the pressure that a regular snaffle puts on the bars of her mouth, and she hates dropping a metal bit, these nylon bits have made things a lot easier for her.

This bit is one of those half breed bits. It is used primarily for fast events, although it is a pretty mild bit. This bit would also be considered to have a little gag action as the mouthpiece slides up. This is Mickeys again, used when she did gaming events. This bit has a couple of names, wonder bit is one. The shanks allow you to have more, lower, or less, top hole, leverage as you may want. Again the nylon mouth piece to spare Mickeys teeth. She started throwing her head up and running backwards, and getting a metal bit stuck on her lower teeth(((sigh))) but with careful slow work and using these bits and using a pressure signal by squeezing her pole before dropping the bit, we have gotten her over the worst of it.

And for Katherine, yes I have english bits to LOL, the dreaded Kimberwick, although I dont see why so many people have a problem with them, especially at the 4-H level, it you are showing dressage and working your way up through those levels, no way! But 4-Hers who are learning and have bad hands to begin with, they are a good learning bit for beginning Huntseat riders.
I have ran across Kimberwick snobbishness from some people. I think it is a decent transition bit from wester shank to snaffle eventually, and the kid can work on equationtion instead of fighting the horses head all the time. Just my opinion again.

And the classic eggbutt snaffle, used by both English and Western riders alike. I do have quite and extensive collection.

These are just the ones that I have on bridles, I still have some Billy Allen and copper mullen and .....etc. in my box.

I taught my girls to ride Western and Huntseat and bareback. They have done Equatation and have done Gaming, and it seems we have all the differnt tack to go with those disciplines!

I do have a bitless, Parelli type halter bridle, that I tied up myself too, next to it on the left a Parelli round ring snaffle bridle and on the right, one of our Parelli halters and our carrot sticks. I would never push Parelli on people, but it really has helped me find some answers with my mares and really has given my more patience with them.

I hope you enjoyed my little tour, what bit you use is dependant on what discipline you ride and what your horse will tolerate. Also, there are no magic bits, harsher doesnt replace patience and training. As for the mecate on the halter bridle or snaffle, its ok, but I tend to fight with it more than I like and for a beginner, again in my opinion, they are not very safe, to much rope to get hung up in. I said before my preference is split reins. If there is any questions you have just let me know. I didnt want to do a post telling you what each bit is, you can find a lot of that on the Internet, but this is more personal and tells you what bits I chose for our horses and some of why.