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How Bits and Other Methods of Restraint Work
courtesy of Staci Layne Wilson
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How would you like to ride your horse galloping full
out across a meadow, you in nothing but a loincloth
and your horse in nothing but a soft rawhide rope
which is tied around his lower jaw, as you wend your
way through a herd of thundering buffalo? (Don't
forget letting go entirely of your one rein so that
you can use your bow and arrows.)
Or how about riding your horse as fast as you can
push his cumbersome body, you in a suit of armour
complete with heavy helmet, full visor, long,
sharp-pronged spurs and your horse also in full body
armour with a severe, long-shanked spiked bit and
'blind' head armour, as you charge into battle? (Don't
forget letting go of your reins so that you can wield
your weapons.)
Horses really were ridden in such contrasting ways by
the Native Americans and by the European knights,
respectively. Today we are somewhere in the middle.
However, we should aspire to that first scenario
(loincloth optional). I once had an Appaloosa mare
that I could ride all over the trails, or in town,
even in a parade once, with nothing other than a
leadrope around her neck, or a thin rope tied through
her mouth and under her chin.
This exercise really helps you get a feel for the
animal's movement, and teaches you to use your body
weight and leg pressure more effectively. It's amazing
how much more you will feel when you have no
traditional reins, no bit, and no saddle. Later on you
can even try completely tackless riding. Of course, I
don't recommend that you try any this unless you feel
at least somewhat comfortable with your horse and know
him well. (And, you needn't venture out into the great
beyond; a large enclosure will work just fine.)
Another eye-opening exercise you can try while riding
your horse, with or without traditional tack, is to
just close your eyes for a few seconds as you go along
the trail. The movement of the horse, his footfalls,
his body shifting, his breathing, will all be
amplified to you threefold. It's an amazing feeling,
and a little scary, but definitely worth a try if you
are really interested in learning how to better
communicate with your horse. The very best tool you
have for getting the very best response from your
horse is you. Not you and a bit and a whip and a
tie-down, just you.
All of the equipment we put on our horses helps us to
specify and amplify the messages we relay to them. But
I believe that most of it, especially those billed as
'disciplinary aids,' are not needed. For example, I
almost always ride with a crop. However I use it as a
tool, not as a means for punishment. Once you have
taught your horse to move away from pressure, the
light touch of a whip is a great aid in moving
forward, sidepassing and turning. My use of the whip
is more like an extension of my arm. In races jockeys
whip their horses on the rump to mimic , whether they
know this or not, the claws of a predator hot on
their heels. The racehorses are moving away from the
pressure. Whips should never, ever be used on a
horse's head or face.
Before the whip is used to encourage forward motion,
you should try your heels (and before that, a squeeze
of your upper thighs; and before that, your voice and
body shifting, always start with the smallest amount
of pressure, then work your way up). I personally do
not use spurs and have never, ever had the feeling
that I should have had them. However, for very long-
or very short-legged riders, spurs can be a needed aid
to better communicate their wishes to their horses.
The area right behind the horses' elbow is the most
sensitive spot for heel cues, and sometimes heels
won't reach there while heels with spurs will.
Dressage riders use their spurs in different spots
along the horse's side to ask for certain maneuvers.
Rowel (Western) spurs are fine as long as they are
rounded on the spoked ends and the circular portion
spins to allow for some give, but I would prefer to
see more horses being ridden in blunt nub (typical
English style) spurs. If you ride with spurs, please
use leg-pressure only: being flat-out kicked with
spurs to get the horse to speed up is very painful and
it will only lead to resentment and sour behaviour
from the horse. Besides, spurs were really designed to
obtain sideways, not forward, motion.
Although I abhor the excessive use of leverage bits,
I myself have ridden in them for a specified purpose.
Leverage, or shanked, bits are sometimes needed for
achieving a certain headset; I have found that my Paso
Fino's fino-fino gait is much improved when I ride him
in a full bridle (one snaffle, one curb, and double
reins) than when he is in his usual sidepull (no bit,
no leverage). The tilt of his head changes the entire
carriage of his body and makes it more conducive for
him to make those tiny paca-paca steps. However, his
basic responses to my cues for anything else that
might I ask are the same in either set of head-gear.
I understand that certain types of leverage bits are
required in the show ring and might be needed for
interim use on hard-mouthed horses for the rider's
safety until their mouths can be 're-educated.' But,
if you are a pleasure rider or an open show
competitor, you should need nothing more than your
saddle, nub spurs, a crop and your basic bridle
(English or Western headstall) with an eggbutt
snaffle. That's it. (Even the saddle, spurs, and crop
are optional for pleasure riders.)
In kind, knowledgeable hands, leverage bits do have
their place; but for those who are unsure of how they
work, or for those who are not extremely sensitive to
their horse's body language, a leverage bit is nothing
but a source of pain for the horse. When a person
tightens the reins while using a leverage bit, the
strength of that pull is multiplied. It's like trying
to pry open a door with a crowbar: if you hold the bar
towards the end rather than close up at the crook, you
will be able to achieve a much stronger pull because
you have leverage. This is great for doors that won't
open, but does a horse's mouth need that kind of
pressure?
A leverage bit with a port, depending on the height
of the port, not only increases the pressure on the
horse's mouth, but in addition the port pushes against
the roof of the horse's mouth. Pretty soon the horse
can get a really painful bruise with is aggravated
every time the port pushes against it. This will cause
the horse to toss his head (note: there are also other
reasons for head-tossing). A shanked bit with a broken
mouthpiece (typically called a snaffle; but 'snaffle'
truly refers to the lack of leverage , no shanks , not
the type of mouthpiece) also pushes against the
palate, but in addition squeezes the sides of the jaw
for a nutcracker-like effect. If you have a chinstrap
as well, pressure points will include under the chin
and behind the ears.
A ring, or snaffle, bit, whether it has a broken
mouthpiece or a mullen mouth (or even a mild port) has
a 1:1 pull ratio: as much pressure as you put on the
bit is as much as the horse feels. You can't make a
mistake and hurt him unless you actually do pull or
jerk hard; with a leverage bit, it's easy to pull in a
little, yet impart a lot of pressure to the horse
without even realizing it. When a horse rears up and
falls backward, it is almost always because a
frightened rider using a shanked bit pulled back too
hard and brought the horse right over.
There are also several bitless bridles available. The
most severe of these is the German, or mechanical,
hackomore. It typically has very long shanks and the
vise-like pressure is felt all the way around the
horse's muzzle area, especially on the bridge of his
nose. If the hackomore is not adjusted properly and is
allowed to hang too low on the nose, it can cut off
the horse's air and even damage the cartilage above
the nostrils. Bicycle chain encased in soft rubber is
the usual material used for the noseband. I own a
mechanical hackomore like this, but the noseband and
chinstrap are both covered in soft sheepskin and
fluffy fleece, I'd suggest anyone using a mechanical
hackomore do the same. There is also a less severe
mechanical hackomore available with a wide, flat
leather noseband and shorter shanks called an English,
or jumping, hackomore. The least severe bitless
bridle, and the one that I use religiously, is called
a sidepull. It is almost like a halter, except the
noseband is made of rolled rawhide. The reins attach
to rings located near the mouth and it has a leather
chinstrap. The bosal (or jaquima, or California
hackomore), is also a non-severe bitless bridle. The
large round rawhide noseband comes together in a
'knot' below the chin, where the reins are attached.
Although I have no problem with the bosal, I
personally don't use it because you can only neck rein
with it. With the sidepull, you can use either a neck
or direct rein.
There are a few rules of thumb about fitting the
equipment to your horse:
o Chipstraps should be adjusted so that you can fit
one or two fingers between it and the horse's chin. A
too-loose chinstrap is almost as bad as a too-tight
one, however on a mechanical hackomore or for a very
long-shanked bit, it's better to leave a little more
play in your chain or leather strap.
o Bits should be just tight enough to create one
wrinkle at the corners of the horse's mouth. Any
tighter and he will have no relief; too loose and the
bit will bounce around in his mouth and possibly knock
against his teeth. It's better for the bit to be a
little too loose; at least then the horse can hold it
in place with his tongue, if it's too tight he's got
no options.
o The nosebands on hackomores, bosals and sidepulls
(and dropped or figure-8 nosebands, which should be
used with snaffle bits only) should come just a few
inches above the nostrils, but not low enough to press
down on the airways. Feel for where the hard, bony
part of the bridge of the nose begins and then adjust
your headgear to rest just above that. If adjusted too
high up on the face, sinuses are then adversely
affected. Be sure that you can comfortably fit at
least one finger width between the noseband and the
horse's face. Adjust it as you would your watch or
your belt: snug enough to stay in place, but not so
tight that it cuts off the circulation or so loose
that it's useless.
A couple of other rules of thumb to bear in mind:
o A mouthpiece with a slow twist (loosely spaced
indentations on the mouthpiece) is less severe than
one with a fast twist (tightly spaced indentations).
o A wider/rounder mouthpiece or noseband is milder
than a thin one.
o Shanked bits that are curved (like the S-shaped
grazing bit) are less severe than those with straight
shanks.
o Loose ring snaffles are more likely to catch and
pinch the horse's skin than an eggbutt or a D-ring.
o Full-cheek snaffles won't pull through a horse's
mouth if one rein is drawn in sharply. (Although I've
never had this happen with any kind of a snaffle,
apparently that is what the full-cheek was designed
for. I think it's better to just put a leather
chinstrap on your snaffle if you're worried about
this.)
o A mouthpiece with copper on it ('sweet mouth')
encourages salivation and is generally more pleasing
to the horse. Roller, or 'cricket' bits, also
encourage salivation and some horses enjoy having a
sort of toy to keep their mouths busy. Horses
typically do not like the taste of rubber bits or
aluminum bits (aluminum bits also heat up inside the
horse's mouth).
If you are currently using a shanked bit because your
horse won't stop otherwise, I strongly suggest that
you make the effort to wean yourself away from this
crutch as soon as possible. Relying on a big bit for
control is a terrible habit to fall into. Although the
leverage bits can inflict pain thereby causing the
horse to slow down in search of relief, as time goes
on the horse becomes used to the pressure and
eventually becomes completely insensitive to any bit.
What I would suggest as a first step is to teach your
horse to do what I call a 'stirrup kiss.' The idea
behind this is to disengage his hindquarters, thereby
taking away his power of impulsion, he can't take off
with you.
This is a natural action for the horse, so if he
resists strongly at first, don't be fooled: he can do
it.
When teaching him to do his stirrup kisses, use only
a sidepull bridle or an eggbutt or D-ring snaffle with
a standard broken mouthpiece. Begin while standing
still and gently coax the head around to your knee (or
foot) taking turns on both sides. Leave your far rein
loose so that you don't inadvertently pull back. If
the horse starts to spin rather than keep his feet
still as he's supposed to, try not to use steady
pressure. Use gentle tugs instead, and if he starts to
lean his body (prelude to moving his feet) immediately
release the pressure and start again, bring his nose
further in each time. If that doesn't work, then bring
the rein around, using steady pressure, but not
pulling. Let the horse turn until he stops and yields
to the pressure (yes, he will eventually!). Then
immediately release that pressure and praise him.
Focus on (look at) your toe as you do this. You should
end up with a bent elbow, rein hand at your belly, and
the horse's nose resting at your toe. Praise every
try, no matter how slight. Teach the horse to yield on
both sides equally.
Be sure and pause once in a while to give the horse a
mental rest. When you hear his mouth working (licking
his lips) he's pondering his lesson, which a very good
sign. He's starting to understand and accept what you
are communicating to him. He's relaxing. Once the
horse is really responsive to turning his nose to your
toe (or knee), try it from a walk. This is a much
better way to get a feisty horse to stop or slow down
than hauling back on the reins, this way, you take
away his ability to move ahead by disengaging the
hindquarters and you don't injure his mouth. This is
not only more effective physically, but
psychologically as well.
There are many, many different kinds of bits most
of which come with the promise of being the' bit you
really need to solve all of your horse's behavioral
problems. If you really think you need a gag-bit, then
you wear it, have a friend pull back on the reins and
see how it feels to have the corners of your mouth
drawn up to your ears.
As for other so-called training aids, such as
tie-downs (or standing martingales in the British
vernacular), chambons, draw-reins and running
martingales, are best avoided when used as a crutch.
These items may have their place in working with the
finished show horse or performance horse, but they
should not be used as band-aids.' If your horse is
high-headed, it is due to human error somewhere in his
training and the problem should be fixed the right way
through retraining. If your horse gapes at the mouth,
it doesn't actually solve the problem when you use a
dropped noseband, it just says you're lazy. When you
get a horse's head down because it's being physically
pulled down and held in place, he is submitting to a
device, not to you.
Isn't it better to have a horse that is responsive
because he wants to be, not because he has no choice?
courtesy of Staci Layne Wilson. You can buy Staci's book at her website: http://www.staciwilson.com/horses/
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