Just makes me wonder now? Effects of the Bit

[Reble]

 

[Miss Gracie]

Thanks for sharing!!! I ride my big horses in a Parelli rope hackamore. No one should just throw a halter or rope hackamore on a horse as it does require training. It's more about control of the mind but the rope hackamore is your safety net if needed. Although I do drive my miniature in a bit I try to be very light as I know the effects it can have on her.

I hope everyone will take the time to watch the video that you posted.

Thanks,

Carol

 

[susanne]

This video neglects one obvious solution -- using a French (or double-jointed) link mouthpiece. The problems with a single-jointed mouthpiece is well-known and taken into consideration by knowledgeable horsepeople when bitting a horse.. Many horses, especially minis, have shallow mouths, making a single-jointed mouthpiece painful.

A hackamore or bosal is not necessarily a more humane option. It simply puts pressure on the sensitive nerves of the horse's face. Either choice, bit or hackamore, can be an instrument of torture if misused. The narrator's example of controlling a spirited horse with heavy hands on the bit is more an example of his poor horsemanship than the evil of bits.

This video illustrates well how a single-jointed bit works, but it is extremely heavy-handed and single-minded in its message and does not show the whole picture.

 

[Minimor]

Susanne is right--while some horses work very well and are quite comfortable in a plain jointed snaffle, others are simply not comfortable in that same bit. And if that bit is used by a heavy/rough handed rider/driver the results can be disasterous. It's the same thing with any bit--a well trained spade bit horse with a light handed rider that knows how to use a spade bit is, so to speak, a work of art. But, you cannot put that spade bit on a horse that isn't trained to that level and expect him to work well in it--in that case the spade bit is entirely out of place. Put that spade bit in the hands of a rider who has no clue of how to properly use such a bit and/or who is heavy handed and that spade bit can break the horse's jaw!

Hackmores--I've seen all sorts of them misused. A bosal (which works on the bones of the lower jaw) in the wrong hands, or on a horse that does not know how to give to that bosal--that bosal can peel the hide off of the horse's jaw. I kid you not on that one.

 

[Reble]

Thanks for your replies, always good to hear what is good or bad, and yes not enough explanation on all.

I always was taught to but a chair (tilted chair ) when driving and see how to balance it and that should be all you need for pressure on a horses mouth.

Just wondering about the nose band when driving, wondering if it can be good or bad?

 

[Minimor]

The noseband? Properly adjusted it is not bad. If it is done up very tight in an attempt to keep the horse's mouth shut....as many people tend to do...then it becomes a bad thing. Cavessons (whether it is a riding bridle or a driving bridle) are not meant to be used to keep the mouth shut. The cavesson is positioned around the jaw in such a place that it is around the molar area of the mouth. So, when you adjust that very tight, it is pushing the inner cheeks against the molars. If you are using a joined snaffle, the action of the bit is such that when you use the reins the bit pulls up in the horse's mouth--more specifically, it pulls up into the molars. Now you've got the bit right up there with the molars, with the cavesson squeezing the cheeks into the molars, as well and the bit and that tight cavesson grinding the inner cheeks between them--this causes extreme pain to the horse, plus is likely to create open sores on the horse's inner cheeks--all of which is even worse if the horse hasn't had regular dental checks/care and has sharp edges or hooks on his molars.

 

[Reble]

The noseband? Properly adjusted it is not bad. If it is done up very tight in an attempt to keep the horse's mouth shut....as many people tend to do...then it becomes a bad thing. Cavessons (whether it is a riding bridle or a driving bridle) are not meant to be used to keep the mouth shut. The cavesson is positioned around the jaw in such a place that it is around the molar area of the mouth. So, when you adjust that very tight, it is pushing the inner cheeks against the molars. If you are using a joined snaffle, the action of the bit is such that when you use the reins the bit pulls up in the horse's mouth--more specifically, it pulls up into the molars. Now you've got the bit right up there with the molars, with the cavesson squeezing the cheeks into the molars, as well and the bit and that tight cavesson grinding the inner cheeks between them--this causes extreme pain to the horse, plus is likely to create open sores on the horse's inner cheeks--all of which is even worse if the horse hasn't had regular dental checks/care and has sharp edges or hooks on his molars.

Thanks Minimor, great explanation.

 

[Miss Gracie]

Before ever pulling on the reins I use my weight and body for communication, if my horse doesn't respond then I will use my hands as light as possible. Unfortunately when I'm driving I have to rely on my voice, hands and the whip as my only communication with my horse. Rather it be bit or hackamore it can only be as harsh as the hands that use it.

Carol