We would like to explain the different parts of bits and how they work in a horses mouth.
1) Leverage Bit
A) Purchase. When looking at purchase the higher the purchase the more the mouthpiece rolls up in the corner of the mouth and the lower the purchase the more the mouthpiece hits directly into the jaw line. To understand which purchase works best for your horse depends on how long your horses lip is. The longer lip horses need a shorter purchase. So you do not pull their inner lip up into their teeth where they can bite it and make it sore..
B) Port: When looking at the port, there are several things you must look at. One is how high the port is made. A lower port with a shorter mouthpiece is more of a tongue pressure bit that tends to stiffen the horse more in the mouth, if he is a sensitive horse .If not this will help you with a horse not as sensitive in the mouth. A higher port is designed to give you more tongue relief and more palate pressure giving a more flex look at the poll. My belief is that a port that is an inch and a half high and the mouth piece is tighter to the center of the port. This is a tongue relief port letting the mouthpiece rest on the bar staying on the tongue. This type of bit must have a round smooth edge where the port and mouthpiece comes together. When this is done the horse relaxes more. If you have a horse that is not sensitive in the jaw you would look for a port that connects to the mouthpiece at a sharper angle. This will give you more pressure on the lower jaw.
C) Mouthpiece: When looking at the mouthpiece, the shorter the
mouthpiece, the less support you have for the port to stand up in the mouth. The longer the mouthpiece on each side the more support you have for the port. Some ports have rollers in them. This bit is a tongue pressure bit that gives a smaller port or a larger port more support to stand up in the mouth giving you more tongue pressure and palate pressure. The roller gives the horse some relief when pulling on the shanks, when this happens the horse will tend to pull his tongue upward letting him relax. Bits without rollers that have shorter mouthpieces are tongue pressure bits. It is harder for the horse to pull their tongue up to help them relax.
D) Shank:. When looking at the shank the shorter the shank is, the quicker it is in the beginning of the pull of the reins. The longer the shank is the slower it is in the beginning of the pull and at the end of the pull giving you more leverage on the mouthpiece and the curb chain. The other things that we look at in the shank is what we call loose cheek or swivel cheek I believe the shank makes it a softer bit when it is a swivel or sleeve type connections where the shank and the mouthpieces come together. If it does not have a sleeve on it, this type of bit may tend to pinch the horse in the corner of the mouth.
E) Headstall ring and a curb chain holder.
F) Rein Ring: This is where your reins connect to.
2) Snaffle
A) The mouthpiece itself. You have several smooth types of snaffles. One is the diameter of the snaffle. The smaller the diameter the more it affects the corner of the horses mouth and the edge of his bars. For example if you have a small diameter snaffle and the horse is very sensitive in the mouth this type of
mouthpiece will tend to make the horse fight the bit. For example if you have a larger diameter mouthpiece, and a horse that is thicker tongue or skinned and not very sensitive the horse will tend not to respond as good to the bit.
B) The design and curve of the mouthpiece. One is a straight type of a snaffle this gives the horse tongue relief at the top of the tongue. But at the same time it can have a knuckling effect on a horse that has a low palate. But if the horse is sensitive in the tongue this will let him relax more in the mouth. The next type that we have is a curve snaffle where the mouthpiece is bent to have a more of a morling mouth effect. This is good for horses that have a low palate so the center helps eliminate the knuckling effect on the palate. But if the horse is sensitive it can tend to put to much pressure on the horse tongue. So this bit is design for a thicker tongue and this is less sensitive.
C) Now we are going to talk about wire twisted snaffle. Wire twisted and cork Screw type snaffle are designed to work on the corner of the mouth and the jaw line. These bits are designed for thicker lipped horses and if used on a sensitive horse it can teach a horse to sometimes get behind the vertical to much. These types of mouthpieces can tend to pinch or irritate the corner of the horse lips.
D) Cheek pieces in snaffles. There are several types of cheek pieces.
1) Half cheek: This cheek piece is designed to put lower pressure on the outside jaw. It is a driving bit.
2) Full cheek: This is designed to put pressure on the side of the face and on the jaw line. This bit was originally a driving bit but they use it is English riding.
3) O-Ring: This puts pressure more to the corner of the horse’s mouth when pulling. This is a western or an English bit. The smaller O ring snaffle is designed for using in double bridles. They are called bradoon. 4) Eggbut: This puts a little more pressure to the side of the mouth than a 0 ring does. It is an English bit.
5) Dee Ring. This is a western or English cheek piece and can help with laterally control.
6) Off-Set Dee: This is also a western or English bit and works the same way that a Dee ring works.
3) Three piece snaffles. These bits were designed to try to help eliminate the pinch to the tongue. But these are the type of bits that can be very strong in the horses mouth because when pulling on the snaffle now you are putting more pressure throughout the whole mouth. These are great for horses that are not as sensitive in the mouth.
4) Gag Bits. They can have many different mouthpieces. One is the shank gag this is a type of gag that works of the top the horse poll and the corner of his mouth and the back of the jaw where the curb chain is. Depending on how long the shank is depends on how much pressure you are putting through out the whole system. The next type of gag is called the sliding gag. This was design to help elevate the horse in the bridle. This works off the top of the poll in the corner of the horse’s mouth. If you have a wire twisted mouthpiece in the sliding gag, the horse will tend in the beginning to want to go down in the bridle. If you have a smooth mouth piece in this bit this type of bit will help you elevate the horse in the bridle.
Copyrighted 2007 by Dave Robart
