What, in your opinion, is the worst bit to use on a horse?

Z

Ziggy_

Well-Known Member
Joined
11 November 2007
Messages
2,324
Visit site
I'm not talking any of the frankly bizarre creations you can find on the internet complete with twisted bits and attatched razor blades or whatever, just the 'everyday' bits you would find in your average tack shop.

What, in your opinion, is the worst?

I know it depends on the riders hands and on the horse, but are there any bits or items of tack that would make you go 'urgh no way!' if someone advised you to try it?
 
I know what works on pickle so would go no way to many bits which I wouldn't mind on other horses. Its all about the horse, for example I would say no way to anyone who suggested a pelham on pickle, he absulutely hates it. Allthough another livery at my yard has a pelham on there horse and I can completely see it works for them
 
what a bizzare question to ask..................

i would try anything on any of my ponies if it helped enhance their way of going and my way of helping to achieve it.
 
i am having bitting issues with my boy, typical cob conformation of thick tongue and low palate.....i am open to suggestion and would keep and open mind on any bit.
what i HATE to see is people sawing away on a snaffle with a strong horse because it's "kinder" i always used to ride my first pony in a kimblewick, i had brakes at a small touch rather than a pullathon in a snaffle!!, so technically no bit can be the worst bit - sometimes you just have to experiment until you find what is right!
 
I agree with Lilym; the showjumper I had ride on last summer could be very strong and keen, it was far better to have him in a pelham and have control and lovely light hands then riding like made on a uncontrolable horse. Eeek trying to get a horse with no breaks or stirring around a course is not fun!!

I would of said a eggbut snaffle, I perfer loose rings so horse can't fix or lean and dislike the nutcracker action so I tend to start by and put everything in a loose ring frenk link.... I put Spider in one and he shortly bucked me off... he feels beautiful in a eggbutt snaffle, just goes to show.

I kept getting told to put him in a hackamore but I just don't think my hands are good enough, so I guess I dislike using strong bits because I just don't have the confidence in my hands.
 
Ok thats what I was thinking!! Any bit is OK as long as ridden properly and the horse likes it. Its just that my friends YO has a insane dislike of pelhams. Friends horse goes beautifully in it and objects to anything else but YO won't have it and keeps pushing her to change it. She says they are severe to the point of being dangerous. Yet 50% of the horses at the yard are ridden in a dutch gag on the bottom hole including childrens' ponies and those owned by beginners. I thought it was weird but I wondered if I was missing something!!!! Hence strange question!!!

ETA my old YO despised dutch gags being used on the bottom hole and had a go at me for it despite the fact that my mare was happy and I really needed the brakes!... I get so frustrated with over-opinionated yard owners!
 
I don't like single jointed bits. Put one over your upper arm, where the skin is thin, and get someone to pull back - it pinches like hell, now imagine it hapening to your tongue. Yes, the answer is always in the riders control of their hands, but a stronger bit used in a sympathetic manner will always beat a yank in the gob with a 'mild' bit.

I don't like gags, IMO horses don't seem to go kindly in them, you can see where their lips are being stretched longer, and the horses face doesn't have a look of calm acceptance of the contact - quite the opposite! Of course, this is all based on personal opinion, and luckily all horses are different, we can only hope that we find the bit that suits our horse and our riding ability the best.
 
Ditto to spot the risk

Anatomically fitting the single jointed bits are horrendous. The bit pinches and puts a lot of pressure on the interdental space (the bars of the mouth between the incisors and first premolar). Also, the amount of injuries that I have seen on horses hard palate are uncountable due to the "nutcracker" action banging on the roof of the mouth.

Also, slimmer mouthpieces such as the myler range are far more comfortable better fitting compared to the thicker mouthpieces such as a vulcanite pelham.
 
S_T_R and VictoriaEDT - I've always disliked them for the same reasons like I stated. But the horse feels beauitful in it, surely if the horse is working correctly and accpeted the contact then it would cause no issue as no preasure is on the bit?
 
an ill fitting one.
I see an awful lot of ponies in unremarkable eggbutt snaffles, WHICH DON'T FIT - and I think it must be torture. I have one child with the hands of an angel, who rides just about everything in a loose ring snaffle, and one somewhat less light handed (as yet - I do believe hands can develop, though not to the degree of a 'gift' of light hands) who rides in what ever encourages her to be light on the pony, sometimes a snaffle, with a flash, sometimes a pelham.
I'd rather ride in an effective bit and not pull, myself.
I also think it perfectly reasonable to , for example, school in a snaffle and hunt in a double, or a pelham. I don't like seeing people fight for control and the horse's jaw losing.
 
pelhams can do a hell of a lot of damage, according to my Equine Dentist. i had a young mare on my yard who had been in 2 professional yards previously, who had extensive damage to the bars of her mouth, basically totally wrecked, bone splinters off the jaw right where the bit sits (i had her x-rayed, alerted by the fact that she would not accept any contact at all, and gasped every time she was put into canter, then held her breath. poor mare.) apparently this kind of damage is usually done by a pelham and a very strong pair of hands, you have huge leverage and often a very fat bit which the horse can lean on, not a good combination at all.
i don't like and will not use jointed curb bits, they are a total contradiction in terms imho.
 
i agree with a lot of what people have said about single jointed bits and about the hands at the end of the reins.

I dont have a 'worst' bit, but my absolute pet hate about bits is how many inexperienced and quite frankly novice riders (wannabe showjumpers mainly) stick a dutch gag in on bottom ring straight from a snaffle 'because their horse is strong'. This seems to be a fashion around here and with kids especially i want to pull them off and slap them. i'd say about half the livery at the riding school i sometimes ride at (and know a few people at) have them in. Most are under 16, overhorsed and half the said horses turn into manic rearers and probably end up with a helish life after beign ruined and sold on after less than a year.

woooo... bit of a rant came out then haha sorry!
 
I agree with most people mainly.
A bit is only as strong as the rider makes it.
A horse would feel more pain with a snaffle and a pair of hands sawing at it, than in a pelham or a gag and a light contact being taken up.
I actually quite like dutch gags and find that some of the horses ive had perfer them, espically when using two reins or roundings.
However single jointed bits I also dislike, the pain it must cause the horse.
 
Speedybeat: I agree, dutch gags are best used with 2 reins/ roundings. I like them and would use them but not because its in fashion-only if out of all the bits out there i thought it would be best for the horse.

Spose its people who dont know why they're using a bit and what affects it has that is the worst thing.
 
Ok, I don't dispute the following;
[ QUOTE ]
pelhams can do a hell of a lot of damage, according to my Equine Dentist.

[/ QUOTE ]
Although I think pretty much ANY bit in the wrong hands can do a hell of a lot of damage.
I don't dispute this either
[ QUOTE ]
i had a young mare on my yard who had been in 2 professional yards previously, who had extensive damage to the bars of her mouth, basically totally wrecked, bone splinters off the jaw right where the bit sits (i had her x-rayed, alerted by the fact that she would not accept any contact at all,

[/ QUOTE ]

But this doesn't make any sense as horses don't breathe through their mouths
[ QUOTE ]
and gasped every time she was put into canter,

[/ QUOTE ]
Perhaps you would like to rephrase?
smile.gif
Grunt perhaps?

I've heard of horses doing this
[ QUOTE ]
then held her breath. poor mare.)

[/ QUOTE ]
So I don't dispute that either.

[ QUOTE ]
apparently this kind of damage is usually done by a pelham and a very strong pair of hands, you have huge leverage and often a very fat bit which the horse can lean on, not a good combination at all.

[/ QUOTE ]
Not all pelhams are fat though.

[ QUOTE ]
i don't like and will not use jointed curb bits, they are a total contradiction in terms imho.

[/ QUOTE ]
But some horses do go well in them.
 
I actually always frown when I see a pelham with roundings, two reins are much better if the horse needs a pelham
 
my pet hate is badly fitted dutch gags.
usually on the bottom ring - because the horse is still "too strong" - but the fact that the cheek pieces could go up 3 holes has nothing to do with it???


bits need to be fitted correctly to work correctly
 
I do not like rough hands/riding. A bit which does not fit or is suitable for the horse.

My personal dislikes are single jointed bits for the reasons previously mentioned.

I am also not a fan of dutch/continental gags (esp if single jointed) because they seem to be more of a fashion item than what is best for the horse.

I like mullen mouthed Pelhams, despite what somebody said about them. They are great for strong horses with sensitive mouths and those with fat tongues and low palates. Its not the bit, it was the way it was used which causes the injuries.
 
agree with the hands being worst..

but i hate 3 ring dutch gags!!
most people think that the 3rd ring is the strongest when it isnt - the middle one is. also some people here have them far too low in the mouth
confused.gif
 
I also believe that peoples hands play a big part. I know of a 'top' dressage rider and trainer who once made a horses mouth bleed badly with a snaffle just because it didn't understand how to do a more collected half pass and she lost her temper!!!!!! yes i no this is an extreme example but just goes to show what a kind snaffle can do in harsh hands....

generally most horses don't like single jointed bits- and i don't really- except one of my horses seems to love them!
confused.gif
and I hate it when people use bits just because it seems cool. i think the worst bit is the one used by rough hands and the one the horse AND rider can't communicate effectively through.

[ QUOTE ]
most people think that the 3rd ring is the strongest when it isnt - the middle one is.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have heard this before but could someone explain why pls. Thanks.
 
The worst bit you could use is one in rough harsh hands. The harshest bit in the world is fine if the hands which hold it are soft and the rider has an independent seat IMHO.
 
Would also be grateful if someone ould explain to me why the middle ring is more severe than the bottom?
We have bought an old B.S.J.A. pony who sadly goes in one of these bits - I hate them too, but we have recently moved the rein from the bottom ring to the middle thinking we were doing her a favour -were we wrong??
confused.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top