Well thank you for the explanations on the bits. When I got one of my horses the owner at the time to use a snaffle bit with long shanks. Tonya does put her weight into the bit. When I first got her she was fine but soon turned into a pull back horse. Now reading your article says a longer shank translates into more leverage and hence a more severe bit. I now wonder if the previous owner actually tried the long shanks on tonya. I wonder if tonya is reacting to the severity of the shanks. Thank you
Roxanne, A snaffle bit does not have shanks - in fact, a snaffle is defined by its lack thereof. Curb bits do have shanks; shanks are the defining feature of a curb bit. Curb bits can be made with jointed mouthpieces. A jointed mouthpiece is not a "snaffle" and while snaffle bits are typically jointed not all jointed bits are snaffle bits.
Thanks, Courtney, for your comments. You are quite correct: western curb bits can indeed have a jointed mouthpiece and yet still be a curb and work on leverage. A jointed mouthpiece does not a snaffle make. On the other hand, a snaffle can have a solid, straight mouthpiece: a mullen mouth snaffle is the prime example. Hopefully as we add more bits to the guide these differences will become even more clear and precise. I hope this will help readers like Roxanne learn more about bits. It can really be confusing!
Something else they could've mentioned is bitless bridles as they are much more humane and some horses (not all!) like them better. Good article though.
Hi, What's the difference between a racing D-ring snaffle and a hunter D-ring snaffle?I know the Ds are shaped differently, does that make a difference?
How does the horse feel with such a foreign object in its mouth? Is it a natural thing? How many of us humans would like to be 'ridden' like a horse with bith bits and snaffles and what not to control us? Horses were not born to be used like this. Free them.
Love your depiction,,I am the developer and patent holder of perhaps the most significant bit for horses in the last 10 years called MIRACLEBIT see us at http://www.miraclebit.com It stops soft palate displacement fully and guaranteed to do so, it stops tongue hanging, and allows more oxygen intake just to name a few of the attributes. I am a graduate in equine science from Colorado state and have trained successfully many Million dollar winning racehorses. Can you show the picture which I can produce digitally for you as I am certain your readers would be interested. Thanks Mike Owner Miraclebit.com