When to bit up !?

[scats]

Anything bolshy or strong when doing fast work gets put in a kimblewick here. It’s my bit of choice that I’ve used successfully for 30plus years on a range of ponies.
Millie does farm rides in one, but I school and hack her at home happily in a snaffle.

 

[ycbm]

Whilst completely agreeing with using the bit that works, it really is a training issue. It's just that a lot of people are neither willing nor capable of doing the necessary work.

I agree with you for every activity except competitive cross country jumping and any group ride situation. I've been able to train all my horses except one to a snaffle for schooling and solo hacking, and most of them for xc and hunting too, but there have been some who found life so exciting in the other activities that their brains left their heads. I'm pretty sure nobody could have trained my big black hunter to hunt in a snaffle. Maybe I'm fooling myself there, since I backed him myself, but I don't think so given all the others I've done too. Riding for time xc and going fast in a pack are just mind blowing for a lot of horses.
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[Cortez]

I agree with you for every activity except competitive cross country jumping and any group ride situation. I've been able to train all my horses except one to a snaffle for schooling and solo hacking, and most of them for xc and hunting too, but there have been some who found life so exciting in the other activities that their brains left their heads. I'm pretty sure nobody could have trained my big black hunter to hunt in a snaffle. Maybe I'm fooling myself there, since I backed him myself, but I don't think so given all the others I've done too. Riding for time xc and going fast in a pack are just mind blowing for a lot of horses.
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Oh quite agree: see other comments above re individuality and using what each horse and situation requires. Absolutely no historical horses were ridden in snaffles (except Mongol hordes, but they weren't required to do fancy moves).