Which Bits Should Be Banned And Why?

Wilkie 'Snaffles' because there is no way in high hell it's a snaffle and people use them without a true understanding of them. They are gags plain and simple and should be named as such to stop people using the excuse of - it's called a snaffle therefore it must be a nice mild bit.
 
EKW said:
Wilkie 'Snaffles' because there is no way in high hell it's a snaffle and people use them without a true understanding of them. They are gags plain and simple and should be named as such to stop people using the excuse of - it's called a snaffle therefore it must be a nice mild bit.
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Hmmm perhaps a re-name although they are used for childrens showing ponies and actually are a very useful bit.

Echo poster about cutting peoples hands off though.............
 
Yes they are used on kids show ponies and that is what annoys me most! Giving an inexperienced set of hands a bit that exudes vast amounts of poll pressure. They fix ponies in an outline and it takes a LOT of time to reschool a pony that has been subjected to one of these. They are not dressage legal and thus should not be allowed in kids classes in the show ring.
 
I was thinking of normal uk type bits, but agree re some of the bizarre bits. And couldn't agree more re novice kids with wilkies, they are grossly misnamed. However I would include that under my theory of 'hands not allowed near mouth'.
 
Most of these are seldom seen these days (thank all that's holy!): twisted snaffles; twisted wire snaffles; "W" mouth snaffles; American elevator bits; mechanical hackamores.
 
Nowt wrong with a twisted snaffle. I've ridden a horse who was far happier in one than his myler comfort snaffle!

They don't have to be sharp, the spiral shape helps prevent leaning and grabbing. No worse than a cherry roller or Waterford, in fact possibly nicer.
 
Any bit in the wrong hands. I have always thought that the Kimblewick was a rather unpleasant bit as it was usually used on childrens ponies in my days as a child.
 
Any of the horrible homemade bits that are designed to cause pain, eg the notorious chainsaw bit.

chainsaw.gif
 
PingPongPony said:
These sort of horrible things:
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connie-combs-gag-bit.jpg
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the first one, out of interest..whats it for and why would you need 3 mouthpieces..some sort of dr Bristol? surely, you wouldnt need to go to such lengths to stop a horse getting its tounge over the bit?

the second one with its thin twisted wire mouthpiece and huge shanks looks truly horrific
 
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Wagtail said:
Waterfords.
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thats interesting.

i always use to hate waterfords, thought they were terribly severe.

Ive never needed to use one myself but i know of people that have used them with success for horses that put their head down, lean on the bit and tank off so am undecided.

once again, very much depends on the hands holding the bit in question i suppose..
 
lula said:
the first one, out of interest..whats it for and why would you need 3 mouthpieces..some sort of dr Bristol? surely, you wouldnt need to go to such lengths to stop a horse getting its tounge over the bit?

the second one with its thin twisted wire mouthpiece and huge shanks looks truly horrific
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i have no idea, i saw it being sold on ebay a while back, and i thought its horrific, i remeber there was another bit thread on here then so i posted this picture and its stayed in my photobucket. i don't know why or even how you would put this in a horses mouth :mad:
 
Wagtail said:
Waterfords.
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No one seems to know how they work, which gets me- so they use them on a horse that leans and gets very strong- ok. But then they use it badly... My sister gave me a massive lecture on that! We've used one to good effect on a pony who would grab and go, and although it wasn't great it was better than anything else!

I hate dutch gags on children's ponies. Hate them more than anything. Don't like them generally, but with kids at the other end (or novicey adults) it's even worse. I appreciate they are a fine bit in good and correct hands but the good and correct hands are a rare sight :D (and I am always desperate to put bloody roundings/ an extra rein on!)
 
I haven't got a problem with waterfords. I hunt a pointer who is meant to be awfully strong and fights a lot. In a waterford he goes very nicely on a light contact.

It horses for courses. And agree with others... its rarely the bit which causes the problem but the rider.
Same with bitless bridles... can be incredibly harsh tools in the wrong hands.

Obviously very very thin bits (wire) or anything sharp should be banned.
 
Lolo the amount of times I got asked why I had two reins on when I rode in a Dutch gag, it drove me insane!

I'd also like to ban bad hands.
 
ROTFLMAO....ok I'll bite!!! Every bit should be banned. If everyone rode bitless and all competitions banned bits then horses would be a lot happier!!!.......'hard' hands can do less damage to a noseband than to the sensitive parts of the horses mouth!!! Rollkur wouldn't happen, nor would some of those horrific showjumping pics!!! No steel should be allowed in the head area of the horse......Let the popcorn abuse of this opinion begin!!!
 
Isn't the horses nose almost as sensitive?
I'm sure you could ride a horse in rolkur with a bitless bridle, and some of those look pretty severe...?
Omg at those pics....the second looks like cheese wire :-o
 
The reason I hate waterfords is that the thin bars of the lower jaws sit between the nobbles. The bars are very thin and fragile. Any slight unbalance in the rider results in severe pain for the horse as the bar is caught between the nobbles. It's all well and good saying that it is fine with good hands, and most of the time, I'm sure that it is, but sadly no one can guarantee that they would never pull the bit sideways in the mouth, for example if the horse should spook or swerve. The potential for damage is too high with this bit IMO.
 
I think before anyone gets to hold the reins, even little kids, the bit should be placed over their elbow & gently pulled & jiggled about, & then ask them to imagine that same light pressure in their mouth, so they realise exactly how important being sensitive is.
Even though my mare used to wear a dutch gag for proper jumping, I hate them being called 3 ring snaffles. They're only a snaffle if you have one rein on the big ring. And should always have two reins. And I hate seeing kids with strong bits purely because they are over horsed. Same for adults.
As for alyths no bits argument, I've seen numpties dragging horses about & tying up in duallys, & tbh it looks every bit as unpleasant for the horse as if they did the same in a bridle. Idiots will always find a way to misuse equipment.
 
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